Kainé (Atsuko Tanaka) clones rush into battle in Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (2021), Square Enix
When it comes to the video game industry in particular, NieR: Automata director Yoko Taro believes that the endgame of the current AI arms race is a world where actual creatives, in particular writers and directors, are replaced wholesale by machine regurgitations of their works.
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The eccentric Drakengard and NieR series visionary offered his take on the ongoing rise of machine learning technology while participating in a general roundtable discussion regarding the production of Danganronpa franchise creator Kazutaka Kodaka and Zero Escape series director Kotaro Uchikoshi’s new adventure title, The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-.
Hosted by Japanese video game news outlet Famitsu and attended by Taro, Kodaka, Uchikoshi, and New Sakura Wars story writer Ishii Jiro, the free-for-all talk touched upon a number of pressing industry-related topics, such as each creator’s ‘order of creative operations’, Taro and Jiro’s opinions on The Hundred Line‘s ambitious featuring of 100 unique endings, and the differences in freedom between working as independent creators and working under a larger company.
To this end, Famitsu would at one point press the panel for their personal opinions as to what adventure games should look like in the modern era.
While Odaka, Ishii, and Taro spoke in potentials, their thoughts concerned with the philosophical aspects of ‘what makes an adventure game’, Uchikoshi would offer up a specific example of what he saw as the future of the genre, declaring “I believe the ultimate form of the modern adventure game is Detroit: Become Human.”
“The visuals are outstanding,” he opined, as translated by ChatGPT. “But that doesn’t mean simply adding branching paths to live-action video makes for the ideal adventure game. What’s truly important is being able to interact and control the experience yourself. Someday, I’d love to create a work like Detroit: Become Human—one that only a Japanese creator could make.”
Met with the acknowledgement from Famitsu’s moderator that he “really wants to play” the Quantic Dream-developed title, Uchikoshi then opined, “I still have works I want to create, but I’m concerned that if AI keeps advancing like this, adventure games made by AI might become the mainstream.”
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In response, Taro asserted, “I also think game creators might all lose their jobs to AI. Fifty years from now, game creators might be treated like wandering bards.”
Further pressed by the moderator as to whether he thought “AI can create the kind of wildly imaginative worlds and stories that you all come up with?”, the famously-masked creator declared, “I think it can write them.”
While Ishii was quick to agree with Taro, Kodaka offered a slight pushback, clarifying “But while AI can imitate a writer, I don’t think it can behave like the actual person. For example, it might be able to generate a game scenario in the style of director David Lynch, but if it were the man himself, he’d probably deliberately break away from his own style and do something unexpected.”
In turn, Taro affirmed, “A highly advanced AI could anticipate even that and fully become the person it’s mimicking. Like, it wouldn’t output the manuscript exactly as instructed.”
“Eventually, I think we’ll shift from an era where we ask AI to mimic our favorite creators, to one where AI generates the stories we personally want,” he continued. “AI will evaluate the user’s preferences and generate branching storylines that they’re likely to enjoy—its recommendation abilities will keep improving.”
Bringing this portion of the roundtable to a close, Kodaka ultimately speculated, “That means the era of everyone sharing the same experience will decline, and we might stop seeing those huge global hits altogether.”
For fans of both Kodaka and Uchikoshi’s despair-and-mystery heavy writing styles, The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- is now available for the Nintendo Switch and PC platforms.
NEXT: ‘Danganronpa’ Creator Bets New Studio’s Future On Upcoming SRPG ‘The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-‘: “If It Doesn’t Sell Well, We Are Prepared To Go Bankrupt And Retire”
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