A month ago, Deadlock promised a major overhaul of its matchmaking system. It appears that a developer at Valve, working on their upcoming MOBA-hero shooter, has found an innovative solution through a conversation with the AI chatbot, ChatGPT.
Deadlock's New Matchmaking Discovered Using ChatGPT
Deadlock's MMR Matchmaking Criticized by Fans
The new matchmaking algorithm for Valve's eagerly anticipated MOBA-hero shooter, Deadlock, was discovered with the help of ChatGPT, the generative AI chatbot developed by OpenAI. Valve engineer Fletcher Dunn recently shared this discovery on Twitter (X), posting, "A few days ago we switched Deadlock's matchmaking hero selection to the Hungarian algorithm. I found it using ChatGPT," along with screenshots of his interaction with the chatbot. ChatGPT suggested using the Hungarian algorithm, which proved to be a suitable fit for Deadlock's needs.
A quick browse through the Deadlock subreddit reveals a wave of negative feedback regarding the game's previous MMR matchmaking system. One player noted, "I have noticed that the more games I've been playing, naturally I get harder games with better enemies. But I never had better/equally skilled teammates," echoing the sentiments of many others who expressed their frustrations. Another player commented, "I know it's alpha, but at the very least, looking at how many games people have played would be nice. It felt like every game, my team was in their first/second game versus people who actually know what they're doing. Feels pretty bad."
(c) r/DeadlockTheGame The Deadlock team responded swiftly to the community's feedback. Last month, a developer communicated to fans via the game's Discord server, stating, "the hero-based MMR one doesn't work very well [at the moment]. It'll be more effective once we finish a full rewrite of the [matchmaking] system we are working on." According to Dunn, the team successfully identified the most appropriate algorithm for their matchmaking system, thanks to the assistance of generative AI.
"ChatGPT has achieved an important milestone in its level of usefulness for me: I have a tab in Chrome that is reserved for it, always open," Dunn shared in another tweet (xeet). He openly acknowledges the value ChatGPT brings to his work and is eager to share his successes, stating, "I'm gonna keep posting my ChatGPT wins, because this thing keeps blowing my mind, and I think there are some skeptics who don't get how amazing this tool is."
While Dunn celebrated his achievement, he also reflected on the broader implications of using AI, saying, "I am kind of conflicted because it is often replacing asking the question to another human IRL, or at least tweeting it out to the virtual braintrust. I guess this is good (the whole point?), but it's just another way for computers to replace human interaction." In response, a social media user commented, "I think the skepticism comes from the narrative some corporate people are trying to push that AI is going to replace programmers."
Algorithms are essential tools that sort data based on specific parameters, rules, instructions, and conditions. This is evident when using search engines like Google, which return relevant results based on your query. In the context of gaming, where at least two parties are involved, such as A and B, an algorithm can consider A's preferences to match them with the most suitable teammates or opponents. Dunn specifically asked ChatGPT to find the most suitable algorithm "where only one side has any preferences," to solve certain problems and find the optimal "match" in a bipartite matching setup.
Despite these efforts, some fans remain unsatisfied and have voiced their frustration. One fan retorted, "That explains why there has been a sudden increase of complaints about the matchmaking. It has been awful lately. All thanks to you messing around on ChatGPT," while another criticized, "Go work instead of publishing screenshots of ChatGPT on Twitter, you disgrace. A millionaire company can't fix a beta game in a year."
At Game8, we believe Valve is crafting something extraordinary with Deadlock. For more insights into the game and our experiences with its playtest, check out our detailed article at the link below!
