No, just for some visual concepts, but all the finishing touches are done by artists, including the codes :D
I hope you see it in Ethernia soon.

I checked the website and it's very sus. Obvious AI generated images used for the blog posts, the site's background, and promotional material. They've even got an AI generated anime animation for their official teaser trailer. Even odder are the stolen assets used on their site. About half way down the main page is a gif of a minecraft pickaxe swinging and BNB token (though I could find no connection between the dev's and THAT specific crypto token).

Other curiosities surrounding the site: many of the links on their press kit page appear to be dead, on their main page you can click AI generated images about game mechanics and be taken to blank pages that all just say "It works! Python 2.7.18", and one of the reviews on their website is written by the studio itself.

Speaking of the studio, Pugna Studio doesn't have a whole lot of a footprint online (at least in English speaking circles) other than their social media accounts, where their Instagram describes them as a "blockchain game development studio". It seems that their X account also promoted their ties to Web3, according to Google search cache's, but they've since changed their bio to remove that bit.

They might not be utilizing AI or stolen assets or crypto for the game itself, but with how much of the schlock is surrounding it's promotion, it might be hard for the dev's to convince people.

Thank you very much for your detailed observations 🙏.
The name PUGNA (well known from DOTA as well) has likely been used in other contexts before, which might have caused some confusion. But I want to clarify that I am a solo developer, and this is my first game, which probably explains some errors on the website (like broken pages) and some noise in the marketing.

I also made it clear from the beginning that AI was only used for conceptual material, such as blog artwork, backgrounds, and some illustrative visuals — exactly as you pointed out. It makes me sad to see the word “theft” mentioned, since everything not made by me has been properly purchased and paid for, supporting the work of other artists.

As a solo dev, I’ve been focusing much more on what I believe is the heart of the project: the gameplay, which will be free to play. That said, I will certainly work on fixing all the points you raised. I truly appreciate your attention to detail — this kind of feedback is very valuable. I hope I’ll also have the chance to see you exploring and reviewing the world of Ethernia soon ✨.

there is a large stigma on the use of AI because at the end of the day, really, it does make the game look like slop, the same's true for premade assets as well, there's just so much slop out there these days that it's hard to give the benefit of the doubt, i'm not saying this to discourage you and i will be trying this game and judging it just as i would any other game when it does drop, if you've made a good game it'll speak for itself more than any assets you used could

Originally posted by Halligan:

there is a large stigma on the use of AI because at the end of the day, really, it does make the game look like slop, the same's true for premade assets as well, there's just so much slop out there these days that it's hard to give the benefit of the doubt, i'm not saying this to discourage you and i will be trying this game and judging it just as i would any other game when it does drop, if you've made a good game it'll speak for itself more than any assets you used could

I also really believe in this and it's a way to invest in other parts of the project, like a good server to guarantee the connection and fun that will always be updated mechanically and visually.

Are you a solo developer? And this is your first game? An MMORPG? Who are you? ... What are you? An immortal being?
No, don't get me wrong, I'm completely in awe, but I can hardly imagine how anyone could manage a game in such a complex genre alone. Maintaining servers, submitting tickets, moderating everything, responding on the forum and Discord, creating new content, and so on. I don't think you'll have a full-time job, or study, or weekends, vacations, free time, or a personal life—you need to dedicate everything to the project, otherwise it will sink or shrink to the size of a small village where everyone knows everyone else, which isn't the scale you'd like. But I hope you succeed somehow.

Yes. It's got AI slop involved.

Originally posted by Akrimus:

Are you a solo developer? And this is your first game? An MMORPG? Who are you? ... What are you? An immortal being?
No, don't get me wrong, I'm completely in awe, but I can hardly imagine how anyone could manage a game in such a complex genre alone. Maintaining servers, submitting tickets, moderating everything, responding on the forum and Discord, creating new content, and so on. I don't think you'll have a full-time job, or study, or weekends, vacations, free time, or a personal life—you need to dedicate everything to the project, otherwise it will sink or shrink to the size of a small village where everyone knows everyone else, which isn't the scale you'd like. But I hope you succeed somehow.

Yes, I've dedicated myself 100% to the project for the last 8 months and have been working on it part-time for 5 years. The community's help is also fundamental in this journey, accumulating very few hours of sleep to be able to talk to people from all time zones :')

Originally posted by BlyZeraz:

Yes. It's got AI slop involved.

It's even noted on the page that I used AI for marketing and posting. As I'm a solo developer and the game is free, I managed to do everything by leveraging technology in a few hours. All the game's art was created by human hands and ideas, whether from packs, freelancers, or artist friends having fun on weekends.

i don't get the hate for this one, the game ist from one person and will be free, try it or not but you don't need to trash it because it has some AI.

Originally posted by Kelandi:

i don't get the hate for this one, the game ist from one person and will be free, try it or not but you don't need to trash it because it has some AI.

Thank you for your kind words, and I hope to see you in Ethernia giving us this chance <3

Dont get why people are crying , even if its a Fully made game with AI. if game is good doesnt matter , since 100% in like 20-30 years from now everything gonna be like 90% AI Made!! Thats the future boys and girls :)

people crying because of politics with elon musk

Originally posted by Juzzex:

Dont get why people are crying , even if its a Fully made game with AI. if game is good doesnt matter , since 100% in like 20-30 years from now everything gonna be like 90% AI Made!! Thats the future boys and girls :)

Yes, even more so for small businesses with globalization proposals and free-to-play (f2p) ideas!

I read today that Expedition 33 won the "Game of the Year" and "Debut of the Year" awards at the Indie Games Awards, and hours later, those awards were revoked when they discovered generative AI was used in its creation. This is pure hysteria and a witch hunt. They can't see the forest for the trees.