Dragon Quest Creator Wants To Revolutionize NPC AI For The Series
Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Hori talked about what he envisions for the series in the future in a new interview. He also talked about the series’ past.
Yuji Hori was interview by Yahoo Japan in an interview that marked the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the series. The series is a cultural phenomenon in Japan, and it is even considered a national game there.
While the original interview is in Japanese, a translation of this interview was shared on Twiter by soulstyce. In the interview, Hori shared many interesting comments on the history of the series as well as what he envisions for it in the future.
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In the beginning, Hori used to decide not only the scenario but also the monsters, the items for sale in the shop, and the prices. According to him, the major difficulty that they faced earlier was the limitation of the memory of the hardware and they had to decide on it before beginning the development of the game.
He recalls the most difficult game that he had to develop was Dragon Quest VII as it was the start of a new era with CD-Rom that allowed them to go above and beyond their previous limitations. “We made the world so big that we couldn’t finish the development, and the release was delayed for two years, ” said Hori.
Hori mentions how Demon Slayer is a really good anime, while he also talks about his favorite game and how he can’t stop playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. He mentions paraglider as one of the reasons why he is hooked to the game.
When asked what he thinks about the future of the series, Hori said: “It’s a secret (laughs). Depending on what happens with the consoles, there may be a day in the future when you can enjoy the world of Dragon Quest in VR from the comfort of your room.”
“We also think it would be interesting to incorporate AI into the personalities and conversations of the companion characters. It would be great if the companions you adventure with could be AI, and grow up to become your friends. We want to continue to offer new and exciting games under the Dragon Quest name.”
Another interesting comment he made was regarding a “surprise” that he wants to bring to life. “One day, I would like to create a ‘Grave of the Hero’ in the real world (laughs). I want to make it so that everyone can enter the tomb as a hero. It’s a “grave + database”, where you can store your memories of your life in the grave. When people visit, they can see the data that I have prepared, and they can learn that this person lived a life in a certain way. For example, if your great-grandfather talks to you as a hero.”
Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition has just launched for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC. You can read our review to find out more about the game. Square Enix is currently working on Dragon Quest XII as confirmed by Yuji Hori.
