Dragon Quest creator makes game with AI in 30 minutes

A 30-minute game

Yuji Horii, the 72-year-old creator of the Dragon Quest series, posted a new browser game on October 11, 2026, claiming it took him just 30 minutes to make ¹. The title, "Interrogation Room Komiya," is a text-based police mystery where players question a suspect named Komiya, a former locksmith ².

In a post on X, Horii wrote that he did not draw the pictures or write any code himself ³. Instead, he gave instructions to an AI system and let it build the game from his prompts ⁴. He warned readers not to press the boost button inside the game ¹.

From solo coder to AI director

Horii first rose to fame in 1983 when he single-handedly created The Portopia Serial Murder Case on a personal computer ³. He wrote the story, drew the artwork, and programmed the game all by himself ². Now he says the opposite approach is possible: even someone who cannot draw or program can build a decent game by simply telling an AI what to do .

"It's truly astonishing," Horii wrote in Japanese, translating to: back then I did everything alone, but now with AI even I can make a decent game just by giving instructions ². He called the shift in game-making genuinely surprising ¹.

The game itself

In Interrogation Room Komiya, players take the role of an interrogator facing an elderly suspect ². The screen shows a recording interface with a clock reading 21:00 and two gauges tracking the suspect's agitation level and resistance . Players have 20 moves to extract the truth before a lawyer arrives at 11 pm ³.

Six questions are available, covering topics like Komiya's whereabouts after midnight, his relationship with a local shop owner, his past as a locksmith, and whether he will discuss his late wife ². One of those topics, the question about his wife, was marked "no lead" when reporters tried it . A decisive move option unlocks after the player exposes four lies .

A long history with AI

Horii is not new to experimenting with artificial intelligence in games. Earlier this year, Dragon Quest X partnered with Google's Gemini to create a chatbot named Chatty Slimey, an in-game character that talks to players ¹. In a Famitsu interview, Horii defended the project by saying modern AI is smart, rarely makes things up, and lowers the barrier for people who want to try chatting with an AI character .

He is also working on Dragon Quest 12 and a surprise sequel to The Portopia Serial Murder Case set to release in 2027 ¹. The broader game industry has been divided over AI tools, with some developers and actors worried about jobs . This week, Unity revealed a text-prompt 3D game builder called Unity Spark that will enter beta later this year ³.

Horii's 30-minute game post quickly gained traction, reaching 1.9 million views and 16,000 likes on X by the next day ².

Key facts

• Yuji Horii says he built a playable game in about 30 minutes using AI prompts
• The game is a text-based interrogation mystery called Interrogation Room Komiya
• Horii created The Portopia Serial Murder Case entirely alone in 1983
• Dragon Quest X already uses Google's Gemini for a chatbot named Chatty Slimey
• Horii's post about the game reached 1.9 million views on X

Seen on social

その昔、PCで『ポートピア連続殺人事件』を作った時は、自分で物語を考え、絵も描いて、プログラムもして、ひとりでゲームを作りました。そして今、ＡＩを使えば、絵を描けなくても、プログラムしなくても、ＡＩに指図するだけで、ひとりで、そこそこのゲームを作れてしまいます。ホントびっくりです。…

— 堀井雄二 on X, see the post

その昔、PCで『ポートピア連続殺人事件』を作った時は、自分で物語を考え、絵も描いて、プログラムもして、ひとりでゲームを作りました。そして今、ＡＩを使えば、絵を描けなくても、プログラムしなくても、ＡＩに指図するだけで、ひとりで、そこそこのゲームを作れてしまいます。ホントびっくりです。…

— 堀井雄二 on X, see the post

Sources

1. After Dragon Quest 10 got its own controversial chatbot, series creator Yuji Horii releases a new AI-generated game made — eurogamer.net
2. Yuji Horii Says He Made a Mystery Game With AI in About 30 Minutes — gaming.net
3. Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii releases game he says he made with AI ... — gamesindustry.biz
4. Yuji Horii AI Game Creation: A Game in 30 Minutes — aimiracle.ai
5. The latest game from the creator of Dragon Quest was made in ... - VGC — videogameschronicle.com