Dragon Quest's creator made a game with AI in 30 minutes, and it’s a bit of a wake-up call

Yuji Horii, the creator of the popular Dragon Quest series, has unveiled a new game made using artificial intelligence in approximately 30 minutes. The text-based police interrogation game was shared on X/Twitter and instructed players not to press a specific button. Horii explained that AI allows individuals to create a playable game from scratch by providing it with instructions, regardless of their drawing or programming skills.

He drew a parallel to his earlier game, The Portopia Serial Murder Case, which he designed, illustrated, programmed, and published all by himself in 1983.

In the latest AI-generated game, players interrogate a 72-year-old suspect, Komiya, a former locksmith, regarding a burglary at a pawnshop's safe. They have until a lawyer arrives at 11pm to elicit statements, after which they confront the suspect's denials with evidence. The suspect's resistance increases during the interrogation, making him easier to extract information from until it reaches 100, at which point he remains silent.

Horii has previously integrated AI into games, with Square Enix collaborating with Google to introduce a chatbot named Chatty Slimey, powered by Google's Gemini, into Dragon Quest X. In a recent interview with Famitsu, Horii expressed his belief that AI makes it simpler for people to engage with the technology. He is currently involved with the development of Dragon Quest 12 and Next: The Portopia Serial Murder Case, which is scheduled for release in 2027.

Unity recently introduced Unity Spark, a browser-based tool that enables the creation of 3D games using text prompts, set to launch in beta on Google's Playground later this year.