Creator of Dragon Quest Made a Game Using AI in Half an Hour
Yuji Horii used the neural network Claude to create a browser-based detective game without programming
Yuji Horii, the author of the *Dragon Quest* series, developed and released a browser-based text game in 30 minutes using the AI tool Claude from Anthropic. For comparison, creating his game *The Portopia Serial Murder Case* in 1983 took months—back then, it required writing the story, drawing graphics, and programming manually.
Horii’s new game is a detective story where the player interrogates a suspect in an interrogation room. The goal is to expose the liar by asking questions and presenting evidence before time runs out. The game is short but mechanically indistinguishable from projects created by humans.
Horii noted that AI tools radically reduce development time and increase efficiency. However, his experiment drew criticism from fans who value the handcrafted work and creative approach in *Dragon Quest*.
Square Enix, the publisher of the franchise, is actively integrating AI into its processes. The company plans to delegate most testing and bug detection to neural networks and is also using them to enhance text-based quests, including *The Portopia Serial Murder Case*.
In the gaming industry, AI has become a cause of mass layoffs: studios are cutting staff to replace employees with neural networks. Epic Games, for example, asked developers to "restructure for maximum acceleration using AI" to produce "more and better."
Fans of *Dragon Quest*, accustomed to the handcrafted fantasy worlds created by Horii and artist Akira Toriyama, are skeptical about fully AI-generated games. It remains unclear whether such projects can evoke the same love from audiences as the classic entries in the series.
