Last week AMD made its killer Fidelity FX Super Resolution 2.0 (say that five times fast) upscaling technology available for all developers to implement in their PC games. "Developers" is a broad term, of course, and it technically includes tireless PC game modders, who love nothing more than to tinker with releases until they're better, stronger, faster than they were before. Such is the case with Cyberpunk 2077, CDProjekt Red's troubled sci-fi opus, and a selfless and intrepid modder known only as PotatoOfDoom1337. The FSR 2.0 mod for Cyberpunk allows for advanced resolution super sampling on more or less any graphics card. Unlike Nvidia's similar DLSS technology, it doesn't require developers to apply game-specific machine learning algorithms, and it works on any graphics card from any manufacturer.

Popular modders are able to find jobs in the gaming industry because they've proven they can design features fans want to add to their game, says Alex Velicky, a design lead at Bungie, the developer behind the popular multiplayer franchise "Destiny." Velicky would know -- he got his job at Bungie after he created an entire island for "Skyrim" with a full cast of voice actors, which has been downloaded more than 3 million times. Growing up, Velicky always used to build miniature campaigns in "Age of Empires 2" and "Timesplitters 2″ but Bethesda's creator kit from "Skyrim" and "Oblivion" -- an earlier title set in the same world 200 years before the events in "Skyrim" -- felt like the first time he could really build anything in a game.

A game modder recently released an unofficial update to the popular game "The Witcher 3," which was a welcome addition for fans of the series. But the new mod comes with an extra side of controversy, Input Magazine reports. The modder, who goes by the handle nikich340, trained an AI algorithm on voice actor Doug Cockle's performance as Geralt, the game's main character, and then had it spit out all-new lines of dialogue in his voice -- a development that's causing anxiety for human voice performers. Part of the problem mirrors the rise of automation in any other industry -- performers told Input that they're nervous that game studios might try to replace them with sophisticated algorithms in order to save a few bucks. But the game modder's decision also raises questions about the agency that performers have over their own voices, as well as the artistry involved in bringing characters to life. "If this is true, this is just heartbreaking," video game voice actor Jay Britton tweeted about the mod.

The recent AI boom has had all sorts of weird and wonderful side effects as amateur tinkerers find ways to repurpose research from universities and tech companies. But one of the more unexpected applications has been in the world of video game mods. Fans have discovered that machine learning is the perfect tool to improve the graphics of classic games. The technique being used is known as "AI upscaling." In essence, you feed an algorithm a low-resolution image, and, based on training data it's seen, it spits out a version that looks the same but has more pixels in it.

The first generation of 3D video games are ugly. I think they are ugly in a charming way, but many people disagree with even that. The truth is that the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Saturn were like the Atari and Intellivision for 3D graphics. While modern technology has easily surpasses those hardware limitations, new processes may have a way to make those old games look slightly better. And it all comes down to neural networks and machine learning. One of the big reasons a game like Final Fantasy VII looks so ugly today is because of its textures.

Super Mario 64 is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Its large, imaginative levels and increasingly difficult challenges have defined the 3D platformer genre since its release on the Nintendo 64. Similarly, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time -- the first in the franchise with 3D graphics -- is considered a classic with a record 99 rating on Metacritic. Both have been celebrated with portable re-releases and a deluge of fan movies, artwork and soundtrack remixes. But never have the two games been combined in a fan-made ROM hack like Super Mario 64: Ocarina of Time. The unofficial and legally dubious project allows players to traverse Hyrule, the mystical kingdom found in the Zelda series, as Nintendo's portly plumber. The world is a little different to the one found in Link's adventure, however. Hyrule Castle, for instance, is owned by Peach and patrolled by pink Bob-ombs. The Forest Temple, located in the Lost Woods, is filled with colorful Boos instead of flaming skulls.

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series developed by GSC Game World is somewhat of an underrated gem with a global cult following. They are a trilogy of games that take on the role of depicting an alternate history. Within this world, the Chernobyl Incident occurs twice, rather than once. The second time Chernobyl is hit with a blast of radiation, it changes the landscape around it, causing all sorts of issues. There is no clear cause within the game lore but the area is contaminated beyond any repair, leaving it extremely hostile and teeming with unknown creatures born from mutation and other elements.