Charles Cecil Calls AI “An Expensive Mistake” in the Gaming

Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Software and creator of the Broken Sword series, has said that integrating AI tools during production of Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror, Reforged turned out to be “an expensive mistake.” Hoping to speed up remastering by using AI to upscale original 2D graphics into 4K, Cecil and his team instead found the results “unsatisfactory,” requiring them to redraw every frame by hand. 

Cecil Explains How AI Cannot Replicate the “Human Expresson”

Revolution’s earlier experiments with machine learning faced heavy backlash, prompting Cecil to fully abandon AI tools for the sequel’s 4K remaster. Instead, he doubled down on hand animation via a mix of UK artists and a Manila-based team rooted in the same Fil-Cartoons studio that worked on the 1997 original. Crowdfunding for Broken Sword: Reforged brought in more than $824,000, but true production costs far exceeded that. As a result, Revolution continues to depend heavily on older game sales to finance new work.​

“It’s naive to think an AI can add human expression or detail where there was none,” Cecil explained in an interview to Gamesindustrybiz. The hand-drawn approach ultimately produced richer results but cost the studio hundreds of thousands in labor.​ Despite the financial pain, Cecil says the experience reaffirmed Revolution’s creative philosophy. “Humans create emotion. AI copies,” he said, calling the ordeal proof that technology cannot replace traditional artistry. 

As fans await Broken Sword 6: Parzival’s Stone, Cecil plans to reimagine the franchise’s formula with more systemic storytelling and player-driven innovation, an evolution inspired by narrative standouts like Disco Elysium and Kentucky Route Zero. For Cecil, true progress lies in “balancing heritage with reinvention.”