The creator of NieR admitted that he doesn't quit game development only because he's afraid of dementia.
At the gaming culture festival The Tenth Mosaic, Japanese game designer Yoko Taro shared that he no longer wishes to be involved in games and would prefer to end his career, but his health concerns hold him back.
Yoko Taro during the Square Enix press conference at E3 2015. Photo: Christian Petersen
According to Taro, he fully realized himself back in 2003 when the first part of Drakengard was released. It was his debut game as a director, and he achieved almost everything he envisioned in it. Since then, Taro has continued to work mainly for financial reasons.
Now, at 56 years old, Taro believes he has saved enough money and could theoretically afford to retire, if not for his fear of developing dementia. The game designer pointed out that he has heard of cases where cognitive functions sharply decline in people who have stopped engaging in their work, and he fears a similar scenario. Therefore, Taro added, in difficult moments at work, he tells himself that ultimately all of it is beneficial for preventing dementia.
Taro also commented on the state of the Japanese gaming industry. In his opinion, it's much easier for developers to enter the game development field now than it was in his youth, thanks to AI and technological advancements in general. However, with this ease, competition has intensified.
"I think that over time this competition, like a fire, will spread from the younger generation of developers to the older one. And since I already belong to the older generation, I can only hope with fear and anxiety that this flame doesn't reach me while I'm still alive," Taro stated.