HIT EJECT

Here’s what happened when I dug into The Roottrees Are Dead, featured in Steam’s #DetectiveFest that claims to be a success of using AI that’s later replaced by human artwork. What a surprise; that “artist” is using AI, too. @steampowered.com had originally taken it down for the first AI violation.

The illustration by Henning Ludvigsen on The Roottrees Are Dead’s Steam page— two adult men, two adult women, a child, standing together in what appears to be a factory. all of their hands are hidden in their pockets or behind something else to obscure them.

something else a bit too on-the-nose is how they mention that the previous AI images had the obvious fucked up AI hands. What another strange coincidence that the replacement said; this time, no hands 😌 there you go. isn’t that better? Are you happy yet?

The Verge reputation harm." Johnston mentions the case of Cyan Worlds, the developer behind Myst, receiving backlash for using "Al assisted content" like texture assets in its latest game. The Roottrees are Dead seemed to skirt these issues by being transparent about its use upfront, as well as releasing for free, Johnston says. Ward also points out that "in this case, it's the case of 'there would be no game' versus 'there is a game." Johnston agrees that without the use of Al-generated artwork, the initial version would never have been released, meaning the eventual full version with Ludvigsen's work in it would also never have existed. Ludvigsen himself says he "really enjoyed" replacing the illustrations, given he's "not a big fan of" Al art generation in general.

= The game was released on Steam in January 2025. "The vast majority of people are like, I'm very happy you got rid of the AI," Ward says. Although some have said they prefer the more photographic quality of the generated art, Ludvigsen's work is undeniably an upgrade, from the untwisted fingers to the increased consistency in design for characters who appear in multiple photographs, which makes some puzzles more understandable. The Roottrees are Dead is now a critical and commercial success, which would not have happened without both generative Al and a human artist. Both Ward and Johnston note that the game took an unusual route to its current state. But with the increasing prevalence of Al tools, it's possible more games will end up on the same path.

Evil Trout - [developerl Jan 28, 2025 @ 12:02pm Originally posted by Keiyuu: For me it isn't just the fact that it's Al. I simply think the original photos look significantly better and contribute more to the realism. The drawings don't look great at all and if they're Al generated, that makes it even worse. Why was the decision made to replace them with Al art? Did someone really sit down, look at the Al generated pictures and think "Yup, this looks better! Let's go with that!" ? Hopefully a setting can be added to allow switching to the original art. Otherwise I'd rather stick to the original game. Yes, again for the record: none of the artwork in the Steam version of the game is made by Al. The original game with the photorealistic look used Al art. There will be no setting to switch back to the original art. It's still available on itch and you're free to play that if you prefer it. #14

like. what an absolute load of horseshit. The “developer” going,“Yes, again for the record: none of the artwork in the Steam version of the game is made by Al.” It is. They tried turning this into a success story of, “we wouldn’t have this without AI, but we replaced it, and AI is inevitable!”

Here’s the thread where I looked at the updated visuals for the game, where there were immediate signs of AI rendering. It just kept getting worse, the more you analyze each visual from it;
bsky.app/profile/on-t...

The “artist’s” Instagram page, Henning Ludvigsen, stating; Henning Ludvigsen 1,287 posts 1,681 followers 2,306 following Artist #boardgame artist | Badger Punch Games | Rock Pocket Games | Professional geek! #boardgames #digitalart #geek #art #gamedev #digitalart #retro #c64 www.henningludvigsen.com © henningludvigsen # Henning Ludvigsen

Instagram screenshot; henningludvigsen - Illustration of Rix Road, the main road in Ferrix City, on the planet Ferrix seen in the Andor series... more November 10, 2025 henningludvigsen

A close up of two figures within the same image— obvious signs of AI rendering. Proportions and placement of limbs don’t make sense. The person on the left has a strangely elongated arm, and has pants / shorts that break into two segments, missing one foot all together. The figure on the right doesn’t have hands, and the placement of the feet don’t make sense.

another two figures from the same post— one figure appears to be walking, but with an entire leg missing. The figure on the right has proportions of their legs that don’t make any senses. It looks like the examples of AI upscaled releases of old anime that have happened over the past year or so.

What a coincidence, to get called out + have the game removed from steam when people rightfully criticize the use of AI, just to end up with an “artist” that — somehow — consistently puts out “art” with obvious AI tells. From the “artist”, Henning Ludvigsen’s Instagram page;

How The Roottrees are Dead ditched AI and became a hit One of this year’s hit puzzle games wouldn’t have existed without AI — but it wouldn’t have become a hit without a human to replace it.

This article, along with the game’s creator for The Roottrees Are Dead, is lying to you.
They ditched the outdated AI renders with the cleaner, updated AI versions. Except, surely, the artist who takes credit for doing this version would never lie. Except.. he did.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

Checked out the cited “artist”’s work a bit more, stumbled onto something that clicked everything into place :/ the shit is definitely AI. pretty baffling after telling everyone your game is now 100% human made when it was already AI.

Screenshot; WasitAI Try it now— BETA ® Check if image is Al-generated We are quite confident that this image, or significant part of it, was created by Al.

Screenshot; This image is likely created by Al 82% FAKE Al Likelihood 82% Confidence High Classification Fake

Screenshot; Al Probability: 52.8% app.illuminarty.ai

HitPaw Al Image Detector Free Al Image Detector Online This advanced Al image recognition tool helps identify Al-generated images with one click, delivering fast and highly accurate results. @ Al Image Detection Authenticity Detection Detection Result 97.% Al-Generated The input is likely to be: Al-Generated

I just think its interesting

Screenshot from the updated game trailer, where the character’s green tie appears confused on its own shape. It is looping in on itself. There also appears to be a smaller flap of the shirt under the right side of the collar before the green tie(?) closes off that part of the space. On top of that, very strange choice for pockets. The one side pocket looks fine, but another one closer to the center is.. odd. Why is the opening going so far inwards & why does the shirt’s bottom end a bit too early before it can be tucked into the pants. Why can we never see the full hands

man WHAT is going on here. Has this guy never seen men’s clothing before. what’s happening

this is such a strange thing to look into. The artist has been around since 2005 making the artwork for board games, which undeniably fits the style here. but then— why all the inconsistencies after all his experience? huh ?

The illustration by Henning Ludvigsen on The Roottrees Are Dead’s Steam page— two adult men, two adult women, a child, standing together in what appears to be a factory. all of their hands are hidden in their pockets or behind something.

The tie this man in the illustration is wearing appears to scoop to the side, pushing back the opening of the suit (?) ( hard to explain what it’s even doing) while the other side of the suit is overlapping itself.

Steam screenshot; RECENT EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS One Year of Roottrees ( image of three young girls smiling, wearing party hats that appear added in later to celebrate the anniversary) Thu, January 15, 2026

This girl doesn’t have any gums. the lips are connected to the teeth

Came across the “The Roottrees Are Dead” game, immediately thought the Steam illustration was AI. Turns out it had been, though later replaced by an artist’s ( Henning Ludvigsen ) work. except.. girls with no gums and guy with a tie and suit defying the logic of all things? + no hands shown?

A WIP sketch using procreate’s graphite bushes, rendering a young girl with deer-like horns that curl around her face and out from her head while she holds a rifle and has the traces of a smile on her face

🦌 2025 - 2026 / HUNTING SEASON / W.I.P. 🪵
#sketch #digitalart

YouTube video by Brickwall Pictures The Films of 2025 Retrospective and Ranking

My partner and I watched so many movies together last year, and he’s just released a great video ranking them all that I v v much recommend ♥️📼🎬🍿

youtu.be/Zg89vYidpHo?...

YouTube video by Brickwall Games The Wet & Wild World of Cleaning Games

I played a bunch of cleaning games to see how separate developers tackle the same ideas and mechanics and arrive at drastically different end results. Check out the video here: youtu.be/Pd87QDbhB_E?...

I’ll see yall next year ✨

Here's a look at the motel for Hardcore Homicide modeled in #blender, where lots of seedy shit goes down — #indiedev #gamedev #3dmodeling

Sam has been making such incredible progress on the models for our game— 3D modeling clicked for him so fast. After I was in school for animation and among so many people who were learning 3D for the first time, his passion for it really sticks out. So in love with my partner in all things

How to Write a Press Release for Your Indie Game A press release is one of the most effective ways to get your game noticed by journalists, bloggers, and content creators. It gives them everything they need to share your news quickly, whether you’re…

Indie devs, want to get press attention? 📰 #RGS has two must-read guides: how to make a killer press kit and how to write a standout press release. Learn how to grab coverage 👇 https://f.mtr.cool/flcqjduokt #IndieDev #GameDev

Vacation Terminal by Gelp A short 2D Psychological thriller, horror and survival based visual novel

I recently released a psychological horror visual novel!

Gavriil and Yeva, strangers who met by chance on the same train, in the same cabin, and when their train derails in the middle of nowhere- they're suddenly forced to work together to survive.

Download page:
gelppy.itch.io/vacation-ter...

Amazon listing; Sam Kench South of the Mason-Dixon 4.9 (11) 4.1 on Goodreads (27) SOUTH MASON-DIXON SAM KENCH HellBound Books • Kindle $0°0 kindleunlimited or $3.99 to buy Audiobook $0.99 with membership Paperback $1499 vprime

HEY 🗣️ 🗣️ ‼️‼️
Do you like horror novels? Horror novels with political commentary that takes on racism, homophobia, the religious conservative right, etc. in a way that doesn’t pull its punches?
‘Cause if you do, my partner’s sophomore novel is the thing for you;

a.co/d/8hVm1WA

make it exist first you can polish it later

play frogblock - now link in bio

#gamedev #indiegame #frog #art #frogblock #mobilegaming

Dude I HAVE to make something out of this

[ #vgm #indiegame #gamedev #gameaudio ]

of course :') returning the favor for your account, always love seeing your stuff

a daily figure study ✏️
#figuredrawing #art #sketch #illustration #digitalart

got your 👁️ on some teeth lately ? 🦷

#art #digitalpainting #digitalillustration

for any #indiedev + #solodev people that see this; if you have your game available to wishlist, you should def drop the link for it in the replies. I have an undying need to wishlist + support all the indie games that I possibly can

omfg the second guy is my favorite. Each design is so lovely + unique— seems really difficult to create a dragon type creature design that doesn’t look too similar to others, but you really nailed it here

Ohh my god it’s beautiful. thank you

Digital drawing of seven forest creature heads on a grey background done in a lineless style. Some of the animals have additional eyes and other strange features.

Lineless digital drawing of a symmetrical deer head on a grey background. The top of the deers antlers look like they are covered in veins or roots and the bottom part has a wood grain texture. In its ears are big eyes and in the middle of its forehead is a stern looking humanoid face.

I love designing freaky little creatures! Concept sketches for a game demo from last year.

#art #characterdesign #gamedesign #conceptart