# Cine-AI: Generating Video Game Cutscenes in the Style of Human Directors

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.05701 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.05701/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 2 of its 50 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Aug 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Towards a Robust Aerial Cinematography Platform: Localizing and Tracking Moving Targets in Unstructured Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.02319/) (2019)
- [The Prose Storyboard Language: A Tool for Annotating and Directing Movies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1508.07593/) (2015)

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [DanceCamera3D: 3D Camera Movement Synthesis with Music and Dance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.13667/) (2024)
- [CinePreGen: Camera Controllable Video Previsualization via Engine-powered Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.17424/) (2024)
- [DanceCamAnimator: Keyframe-Based Controllable 3D Dance Camera Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.14925/) (2024)
- [VERTIGO: Visual Preference Optimization for Cinematic Camera Trajectory Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.02467/) (2026)
- [Mind-of-Director: Multi-modal Agent-Driven Film Previsualization via Collaborative Decision-Making](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.14790/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Cutscenes form an integral part of many video games, but their creation is costly, time-consuming, and requires skills that many game developers lack. While AI has been leveraged to semi-automate cutscene production, the results typically lack the internal consistency and uniformity in style that is characteristic of professional human directors. We overcome this shortcoming with Cine-AI, an open-source procedural cinematography toolset capable of generating in-game cutscenes in the style of eminent human directors. Implemented in the popular game engine Unity, Cine-AI features a novel timeline and storyboard interface for design-time manipulation, combined with runtime cinematography automation. Via two user studies, each employing quantitative and qualitative measures, we demonstrate that Cine-AI generates cutscenes that people correctly associate with a target director, while providing above-average usability. Our director imitation dataset is publicly available, and can be extended by users and film enthusiasts.