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Every book Jonathan Lai recommended on podcasts
Jonathan Lai is a games industry expert who appeared on the a16z Podcast to discuss the future of artificial intelligence in interactive entertainment. During the episode, he referenced several classic games, role-playing franchises, and related texts to illustrate how players form deep emotional connections and engage with personalized narratives. Lai cited the Halo franchise, pointing to the AI companion Cortana, who resides in a chip inside Master Chief's helmet, as a historical example of players developing strong attachments to pre-scripted in-game characters. He also highlighted Naughty Dog's franchise The Last of Us, which inspired works like Peter Admirand's The Last of Us and Theology, as another prime example featuring an AI companion that travels alongside the player throughout the journey. To discuss deep personalization and character customization, Lai referenced Baldur's Gate 3 and its detailed character builders. Furthermore, he cited Dungeons & Dragons—alongside references touching upon sourcebooks and associated guides like Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Academy: Last Best Hope and Diana Cooper's Dragons—as the foundational, age-old role-playing experience where a human game master improvises a personalized adventure for a group of friends.
Books recommended by Jonathan Lai
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Baldur's Gate 3
Discussed“so uh role playing games like balers Gate 3 have incredibly detailed character Builders where you can customize everything from your skin color”
Where to get it
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Dragons
Discussed“one of the oldest RPGs of all time is Dungeons and Dragons which by definition is a personalized Adventure that is told by a human narrator a dungeon master a game master he basically crafts an improv adventure with you and your group of friends”
Where to get it
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Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Academy: Last Best Hope
Discussed“one of the oldest RPGs of all time is Dungeons and Dragons which by definition is a personalized Adventure that is told by a human narrator a dungeon master a game master he basically crafts an improv adventure with you and your group of friends”
Where to get it
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The Halo
Discussed“a great example is the halo franchise there's an AI companion in that game called quana and she talks to Master Chief comments and what he's doing basically like is a it's a chip that rides in his helmet and he and she tells him where to go next when he's lost and is there from the beginning to the”
Where to get it
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The Last of Us and Theology
The Last of Us and Theology by Peter Admirand is an academic exploration of the religious, philosophical, and moral themes present in the critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic franchise.
Discussed“um and in another game a favorite of mine The Last of Us which is a famous Naughty Dog franchise that was recently turned into an HBO share you play as Joel but then you have Ellie as an AI companion and she follows you around for basically the entire game”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Big Ideas: AI-First Games That Never End with Jonathan Lai | a16z Podcast | 2023-12-16 | 5 |