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Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii participated in a dialogue on the topic of RPGs with Katsura Hashino, the director and producer of Atlus’ upcoming Metaphor: ReFantazio. In an excerpt recently published by Denfaminicogamer, Horii talks about the foundations of Dragon Quest’s storytelling and mentions a small but unexpected challenge the franchise is facing now that video game graphics have evolved to be more realistic – and it has to do with how the protagonist is depicted.

Yuji Horii, who originally aspired to be a manga artist, turned to video games due to his love of storytelling and fascination with the interactivity offered by computers. From his idea of telling a story that progresses though interactions with bosses, Horii eventually created Dragon Quest. “DQ basically consists of dialogue with townspeople, with very little in the way of narration. The story is created within the dialogue. That’s what’s fun about it,” the creator muses.

Another foundation of the Dragon Quest is its silent protagonist, or as Horii describes it, “the symbolic protagonist.” The idea behind this was to enable players to become the silent main character – they could imagine the character’s reactions freely, allowing them to easily project their own emotions onto the protagonist. However, this approach was partly facilitated by the graphics of the time, as Horii comments jokingly, “as game graphics evolve and grow increasingly realistic, if you make a protagonist who just stands there, they will look like an idiot.”

On the other hand, there is no easy fix for the situation, as Horii notes that having the protagonist explicitly react to events can make it hard for players to relate and connect with them, jeopardizing immersion. “That’s why, the type of protagonist featured in Dragon Quest becomes increasingly difficult to depict as games become more realistic. This will be a challenge in the future too,” the creator concludes.

Silent protagonists in games in general have certainly been a frequent topic of discussion among players. It seems that the Dragon Quest series’ creators, while aware that the trope can sometimes come off as unnatural, aren’t keen on simply switching sides either. It will be interesting to see how the issue is tackled in future installments.

Source - Automaton West

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Odd statement, considering that the gacha genre has strengthened the trend of games with these design decisions (mute self-insert character, cell shade graphics).

Unless what he actually means, but doesn't say it out loud, is that anime-style graphics and animations are also evolving and he fears those who are pushing those enhancements.

 

[GymWolf]

Strange thing to say, just continue with your style but make it more detailed, the end goal is being identical to a big budget anime, amd we are still nowhere close.

The last berserker looks very modern and it's still use cell shading.

 

[Jack Videogames]

You really don't need to do it

 

[SkylineRKR]

What does it matter. The last thing DQ needs is chasing realism. Just continue with the way DQXI looked, with higher resolution and framerate, seamless world.

 

[emivita]

DQXII with XI graphics in native 4K/60 and I'm happy. Thanks.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Just use DQXI graphics and make new game. I don't want realism in my Dragon Quest.

 

[Hudo]

I am really curious how DQ12 will end up being. We haven't even seen artwork of the protagonist.

That being said, I think the rendering of Toriyama's art style is the way to go. DQ8 still looks nice. And DQ11 looks even nicer. So they "just" need to continue walking this path.

 

[T-0800]

You really don't need to do it

 

[Fake]

Art style still rules. Stick with that and will be OK.

 

[Saber]

Weird. He talks more about the silent protagonist trope than actual realistic graphics. DQ were never about realistic graphics, it was all about art direction and being loyal to the source material.

 

[LazyParrot]

They'll have to compromise if they want to expand their Western audience.

You saw it when DQ11 released and a lot of reviews criticized the 8-bit sound effects and MIDI music - two intentional choices made by the developers looking to evoke nostalgia for the older games in the series. Worked like a charm in Japan where DQ is king and nostalgia is a significant factor in its enduring popularity, but not so much in the West, where it has always been a niche series even among JRPG enthusiasts. They eventually relented and added orchestral music and a "character voice" option (which is really just grunts) to the Switch port, IIRC.

If they decide to go further along that road, I'm sure we'll end up with a fully voiced protagonist eventually.

 

[Labadal]

Either go celshade, or just keep on with DQXI sryle graphics.

REgarding 8-bit music: That was the composer who wanted that. There is a possibilty that we will get a higher quality soundrack for XII.

 

[//DEVIL//]

Shit we can no longer charge 70$ for our ps2 graphics and game play engine ….

 

[cireza]

Dragon Quest series creator having issues others dealt with 20 years ago.

 

[SportsFan581]

Smooth cell shading looks great IMO, not sure why they would need to go photo realistic as that would seem limiting for a fantasy game.

 

[Little Mac]

Just focus on addictive gameplay while maintaining an art style reminiscent of the Toriyama covers of the original games, and have Final Fantasy be the series to push the graphics.

Also an extra coat of polish on menu design and user interface goes a long way too.

 

[Arsic]

Look at what Atlus does with their games. It oozes style, even just using menus is a slick experience.

Focus on a polished art style that’s vibrant and fun.

Realism in DQ is the last thing we need.

 

[Madserb2023]

They don't need to make it more realistic. In the same way Nintendo won't. The best looking game still this gen aside from Hellblade 2 is Rift Apart and that's not realistic.

 

[Lokaum D+]

DQ art direction ll be always more impactful than high fidelity graphics... NOW what DQ urgently need is a modernization of it soundtrack, i couldn't finish XI cause OST ruined the game for me.

 

[DonF]

People complained about DQXI graphics?? It looks great to me. Gimme that 4k@60 and we are set.

 

[MujkicHaris]

Japanese game developers love these low-hanging fruit topics. Dragon Quest creator shouldn't have problems with realistic graphics since the series has nothing to do with realism. Japanese anime style is expressive enough to offer a wide range of reactions. In many cases it does a better job than "realistic" approach.
What they should focus on is to finally switch to an open world environment. There is no need for linear chunks of maps anymore. If any game could benefit from an open world that would be Dragon Quest. But that's not low-hanging fruit. It's an actual risk and a hard task to do well.

Another thing. I didn't like how they approached textures in DQ XI. They looked boring and dry. I prefer the hand-painted look of DQ VIII. It has more soul and it feels way more open and epic.
VIII is still the best DQ and it seems like it's going to stay that way.

 

[cireza]

It oozes style, even just using menus is a slick experience.

It is unbearable. Way too distracting. They toned it down in Persona 3 Reload and that was for the best. Persona 5 was ridiculous.

 

[Rickyiez]

Make it looks better anime-ly? Like GG strive level good then we talk

 

[Evil Calvin]

Most of the best games do not have 'realistic' graphics.

I mean games like DQ 8, Okami, Castlevania SOTH......among hundreds of others are timeless and hold up today. Look at Hi-Fi Rush............

 

[IDKFA]

A hyper realistic style Dragon Quest in the style of FFXVI would be amazing!

 

[Eimran]

As I said in another thread keep the simple cell shaded style with better resolution. It fits DQ.
Don't fix something that isn't broken.

 

[SkylineRKR]

DQ art direction ll be always more impactful than high fidelity graphics... NOW what DQ urgently need is a modernization of it soundtrack, i couldn't finish XI cause OST ruined the game for me.

The OST in the PS4 release was absolutely terrible. But XI S fixed that with an orchestral soundtrack. S also had a higher framerate. But at the cost of graphic fidelity. And it had 2D mode.

So to speak there isn't really an ultimate version of DQXI I think.

 

[lh032]

Slime Goo Goo is shaking now

 

[Deerock71]

What does it matter. The last thing DQ needs is chasing realism. Just continue with the way DQXI looked, with higher resolution and framerate, seamless world.

As far as I'm concerned, the series died at XI, ESPECIALLY if this new guy is talking about ratcheting up the realism.

 

[Lokaum D+]

The OST in the PS4 release was absolutely terrible. But XI S fixed that with an orchestral soundtrack. S also had a higher framerate. But at the cost of graphic fidelity. And it had 2D mode.

So to speak there isn't really an ultimate version of DQXI I think.

i tried to play both and even the orchestral version couldn't save the game for me, i've just finished Persona5 and Xeno3 and booted DQXI, it was a really really really bad experience going from this





to this




it hurts my ears even today

 

[Rexket]

How many people actually read what he said before commenting?

He’s not talking about moving away from the art style for photorealistic visuals. It’s about how the player character being able to emote in cutscenes can cause a disconnect now where older graphics would let the player imagine how the character would react.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

Fuck realistic graphics. Life is too real already

 

[Gambit2483]

I am praying that they don't ditch the classic Akira Toriyama art style for something more "Realistic".

All they have to do is keep the same art style for the characters and enemies while improving on things like lighting and shadows and environmental effects. This shouldn't be that hard to realize and implement.

How many people actually read what he said before commenting?

He’s not talking about moving away from the art style for photorealistic visuals. It’s about how the player character being able to emote in cutscenes can cause a disconnect now where older graphics would let the player imagine how the character would react.

I read that about the protagonist but I also recall them talking about going in a more "realistic" direction before. If they are indeed more concerned with main character depiction they could choose their words more carefully than "realistic".

 

[killatopak]

The fuck you mean? DQ11 art style was a perfect translation of Akira Toriyama’s. Why would you make it realistic? I would rather them make an effort on scale and presentation instead.

 

[TintoConCasera]

So to speak there isn't really an ultimate version of DQXI I think.

On PC you can mod XI S to enjoy all it's features while restoring the graphics and LOD of the original release.

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

I like the strong, silent type.

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

I would hate if Dragon Quest went the way of Final Fantasy. Art style is way more important than fidelity.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Stop pursuing visuals. Start pursuing design innovation.

I just saved the Dragon Quest series.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[TintoConCasera]

They better don't fuck this one up.

 

[Puscifer]

What does it matter. The last thing DQ needs is chasing realism. Just continue with the way DQXI looked, with higher resolution and framerate, seamless world.

The fuck you mean? DQ11 art style was a perfect translation of Akira Toriyama’s. Why would you make it realistic? I would rather them make an effort on scale and presentation instead.

I think that's part of the problem, though. They're having to use engines that power realistic graphics and its trickling down to them.

 

[killatopak]

I think that's part of the problem, though. They're having to use engines that power realistic graphics and its trickling down to them.

They're using UE though. The biggest UE game is Fortnite. A cartoonish game. I think they're just being peer pressured.

 

[Fbh]

I know it's a franchise staple and it's never going to change.
But I've never liked the silent protagonist thing in many japanese games (DQ, Chrono Trigger/Cross, Persona, Zelda, etc). It has never made me feel like "this is me!!", it just feels like I'm playing as a boring bland character that often makes scenes awkward.

Also if you want him/her to work as a self insert character for the player at least give me some character customization options. Let me create my own generic Dragon Ball character for the next Dragon Quest. I want to play as bootleg Vegeta or Piccolo instead of bootleg Goku or Trunks.

How many people actually read what he said before commenting?

He’s not talking about moving away from the art style for photorealistic visuals. It’s about how the player character being able to emote in cutscenes can cause a disconnect now where older graphics would let the player imagine how the character would react.

Actually reading the OP instead of commenting based on the title?

 

[amigastar]

I hope we'll see some gameplay from DQ12 soon.

 

[Physiognomonics]

Graphics are fine. What they should really do is improve and modernize the game. They are still doing the same game over and over and it's boring.

 

[SHA]

Make yarn or cotton textures, just deal with it, if you can't tell what you used to see what it really is I think blue point if I'm not mistaken the closest studio for this stuff.

 

[SHA]

Nvidia did their worst, so just calm down, you aren't even close to what Nvidia did.

 

[Gambit2483]

Graphics are fine. What they should really do is improve and modernize the game. They are still doing the same game over and over and it's boring.

I think they kept 11 so close to the "classic" gameplay because they were planning to include what is essentially an entire 2D Demake of the game as well.

12 will be probably feature much more modern gameplay concepts and designs

 

[Danjin44]

For Dragon Quest you absolulty DO NOT need to go with realistic visuals.

Visions Mana is also going for cartoony style and looks gorgeous.