Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies producer Ryutaro Ichimura is working on a new game that is not tied to slimes or chocobos. Famitsu reports, Ichimura’s next game will be an original action RPG developed with the Unreal Engine. Square Enix dabbled with Unreal Engine in 2008 while they were creating The Last Remnant (pictured).
The untitled action RPG will be a new series and have a different style. Famitsu showed screenshots of medieval castles and buildings characters with middle ages flair. The game has a Western look, but Ichimura says the game is being designed for worldwide appeal. That’s one of the challenges for this action RPG. The other is working with Unreal Engine 3, which Ichimura described as a process of trial and error.
Ichimura and his team have been collaborating with overseas staff (presumably other Square Enix owned studios), to make sure the game looks authentic. For two years, the staff toured the world and also got user feedback through surveys and test plays. At last, the basics and technology have been finalized. The core team is around 35 people with experience developing RPGs, Ichimura said, but they are looking for new staff who previously made action titles or games with network functions. That sounds like a hint that Square Enix’s action RPG will have some kind of online play. A job recruiting site (hopefully with screenshots) will open this week.
One interesting tidbit Ichimura mentioned, is the game’s platform(s) has not been decided. He’s targeting the game for current consoles, but is also considering next generation hardware if the timing is right.
