Interest
Square Enix Applies AI Tech to Classic Detective Visual Novel
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Square Enix is demonstrating the powers of AI technology in an illuminating revisit of the classic The Portopia Serial Murder Case visual novel by Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii. The game was first published in Japan in 1983, featuring a gameplay style typical among visual novels of its time: players could influence the story by inputting text through their keyboards. Back then, the game could only respond to very specific commands. But with the power of modern AI, the possibilities are theoretically much wider.
Square Enix announced on Friday that it will release its Square Enix AI Tech Preview: The Portopia Serial Murder Case educational demonstration for free on Steam on April 24. Notably, Square Enix is billing the software as a "tech demonstration" rather than a game, as seen in how the visual novel is categorized as an "application" on Steam. Nevertheless, the release includes the entire game from start to finish and will be available in English and Japanese.
Square Enix is streaming a trailer previewing the story, characters, and demonstration of the text commands:
On the other hand, the tech demonstration will not showcase Natural Language Generation (NLG), which would involve the system generating natural-sounding replies to prompts that did not have a pre-written response. Square Enix's AI department teased that function when it announced the project at the Cedec + Kyushu 2022 tech event for game developers last November. However, for the current release, the team explained that "there remains a risk of the AI generating unethical replies." (Fair, considering that it was only three months ago when the AI-trained Virtual Youtuber Neuro-sama caused a stir for making Holocaust denial comments.)
Nevertheless, Square Enix did add that it is considering reintroducing this function "as soon as our research succeeds in creating an environment in which players can enjoy the experience with peace of mind."
AI researcher Yūsuke Mori told IGN Japan that the AI team used an older game as the base for the tech demonstration because it is easier to show how Natural Language Processing would apply. Modern interactive gaming features, such as hints that activate at certain times, would make it more difficult for the user to determine which parts are influenced by the AI. For a similar reason, the team uses the game's existing script with no additions.
Square Enix has consistently demonstrated its interest in applying new technology ideas to video games. In the company's Financial Results Briefing released on February 3, president and representative director Yosuke Matsuda revealed that blockchain games will release during or after the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024. The statement was in response to a question about the company's approach to sustainable growth.
Matsuda previously revealed in January that Square Enix has "multiple" blockchain games, or games that use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies, in development based on original intellectual properties (IPs). He also stated that Square Enix is focused on devoting aggressive investment and business development efforts to blockchain games. In addition, the company is engaged in global sourcing from an investment perspective.
Square Enix unveiled the story-based NFT collectible art project Symbiogenesis on November 3. The project launched its official website on March 17. Symbiogenesis revolves around the themes of monopolizing vs. sharing. The story features characters of various races and jobs across six chapters and sales of about 10,000 NFT artworks. The project will be available in English and Japanese. Square Enix is partnering with LGG, a large NFT gaming guild in Japan, to market the project.
Sources: Square Enix's website, Steam, IGN Japan (Kо̄ji Fukuyama)
