By now, Yoko Taro’s become one of the more prolific game developers around, and not just because of the distinctive moon mask he always wears during public appearances. Nier: Automata is a genuine worldwide sensation, a spin-off from his Drakengard series, and during a recent conversation he mentioned he’s really done all he set out to do in the medium.
The RPG creator sat down to speak with fellow dev Keisuke Okabe, who directed EnderLilies, for the opening ceremony of The Tenth Mosaic in late September. During their conversation, covered by 4Gamer and translated by Automaton, Yoko Taro got into his current slate of projects.
Well, he mentioned there’s not a huge amount happening in that area, by choice, because he’s quite satisfied with his achievements at the minute. The first Drakengard was a distillation of more or less everything he wanted to do in the medium, he revealed, and everything that’s come since is really just him using up his “remaining days.”
He openly admits he’s not keen on maintaining a strict work schedule, and all; going well, he hopes to step away from making games on a full-time basis. Apparently, he’s doing good enough financially that stepping away is increasingly viable.
“Therefore, speaking from just an emotional standpoint – it’s over,” he says. “I’m done working, I don’t want to do it anymore.”
I imagine many of us would love the power to say the same. Good on him, honestly. Since the early 2000s, we’ve had a trilogy of Drakengard games, and a pair of Nier installments. The second, Automata, completely set the industry alight, pushing the franchise onto the global stage and making Yoko Taro a celebrated creative mind.
Perhaps the right move is to step aside while you’re ahead and fade into the sunset. That said, he does mention that there’s another motivation to keep working to some extent: avoid the onset of dementia, because data suggests the risk of developing the condition goes up if you retire early.
“Even now, there are a lot of frustrating things concerning my work,” he says, “but when they do happen, I overcome them by telling myself: This is good for preventing dementia.”
As good a source of motivation as any. And if it helps us get a third Nier game eventually, all the better.