JRPG Creator Urges Developers to Seek Inspiration Beyond Gaming to Avoid Repetitive Designs

Aya Nishitani, the mind behind the Megami Tensei novels that inspired the iconic Atlus game series, emphasizes the importance of drawing inspiration from various media in game development.

While The Witcher stands out as a major success in the realm of video games adapted from literature, Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei arguably holds the title for the most significant influence. Atlus’ flagship series began as a sequel to the first two novels and has since expanded into beloved titles like Shin Megami Tensei, Devil Summoner, Soul Hackers, and the renowned Persona series, along with the unique Jack Bros. for the Virtual Boy.

In a recent Twitter thread (translated by Automaton), Nishitani responded to a user discussing how developers once looked to movies and music for inspiration rather than other games. He stated, “I believe that if you draw inspiration from other forms of media, you’ll be able to come up with brand-new game systems, but if you draw inspiration from outstanding games, you’ll usually just end up making the exact same system.”

Nishitani further expressed his concern that focusing solely on creating popular content leads to stagnation. He noted, “If there are only works that are made with a tendency to become hits, the market won’t expand and will start falling into a diminishing equilibrium.”

He elaborated, “This means that, despite more creators coming on board, market revenue will drop, causing individual income to become even lower. This is something that often happens in other industries too.”

JRPG fans can look forward to Nishitani’s return after a 16-year break from game development with an upcoming “school life RPG.”