In an interview returning to the development of the first Fantasy Finale And mana games, Square Enix veterans Hiromichi Tanaka, Kouichi Ishii, and Yoshinori Kitase discussed the development of these franchises and their work for Square during its illustrious SNES era, while also sharing the similarities between developing games during that era and doing so in the increasingly AI-driven world of modern game development.
The interview, conducted by Famitsu to mark the 35th anniversary of mana series, saw the developers reminisce about their early work. Kitase, in particular, carried out Chrono Triggermany Fantasy Finale games including VII, VIIIAnd X on PS1 and PS2, and was also one of the producers of the original game Hearts of the Kingdom.
Secret of Mana was originally planned to be a game for Nintendo’s canceled CD add-on for the SNES, featuring character designs from Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, they said, before it was reimagined as a standard SNES game. Toriyama didn’t end up working on it, but did work on Chrono Triggerwhich was split after this change Secret of Manadevelopment. This turbulence during development, along with Nintendo’s decision not to switch to discs for the Nintendo 64, led to the decision to go to discs. Final Fantasy VII exclusively for PlayStation.
The gang claims that the fact that games back then required smaller teams and took less time to make than today gave them the flexibility to make many changes in a game’s development. And according to them, AI could allow smaller teams to create games that would otherwise be beyond the scope of what they could achieve. “Just as various technologies have already supported game development, I think we could see AI playing an increasingly important role in game development,” Kitase noted. “However, we will need to think carefully about how to get the most out of it. »
For the group, AI could be a useful tool like generalized engines like Unity and Unreal Engine, which ensure that developers no longer need to create their own tools to create a game. This does not mean, however, that AI can take care of all the work necessary to develop a new game. For the next generation of creators, a human being must know how to turn an idea into something worthwhile.
“Nowadays, with engines like Unreal and Unity available, the foundations of game development already exist for many people,” adds Kitase. “Combined with support for new tools and other technologies, this allows even those with little experience to create games, which is a major change because it allows them to gain the experience of developing and completing work on a game. However, when it comes to creating something and taking it from 0 to 1, you absolutely need people. That will never change, so the next generation of developers must have the ability to create something from 0.”
Ishii adds that even if AI were to be used in prototyping, the final game needs a human touch or it won’t resonate. “Although we need to think carefully about how to integrate AI into games, I have to admit that I am very excited about it,” he adds. “If we can develop prototypes faster, we will have more time to test and refine them, considering whether to try them in another way. But humans will still need to define the start and end of the work process. If we rely solely on AI, the result may look neat, but it may seem cold and lack the necessary human touch.”
It’s this need for a human touch – Kitase gives an example, recalling that two years ago he considered using AI to help him write a speech for his eldest son’s wedding before deciding it didn’t feel right to do it and write it himself – that keeps the group away from technology as a whole. Yet when it comes to how technology, if implemented, could change the role of a creator and redefine what it means to create in the future, their comments mirror those made by Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto as he received the Order of Culture for his contributions to game development last week.
Discussions about the use of AI in Japanese development circles generally skew toward responsible use, rather than whether it should be used, which makes sense given that recent surveys have concluded that more than 85% of developers in Japan are actively using or considering using the technology. It remains to be seen whether developers find that balance between the technology itself and human contact, as well as whether the public can accept its use.
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