Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio remain firm on using its Dragon Engine for future entries in the series.
Speaking during an interview, Yutaka Ito, Technical Manager on the Yakuza series at Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, stated that the studio’s Dragon Engine is here to stay, and that the reason behind training new employees to work in Unity and Unreal Engine is to have them aid in making the Dragon engine better and keep the development team up to date whenever the technological landscape in the game industry changes.
Ito shared that the reason behind the improved graphics seen in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is that the development team worked had previously worked on Like a Dragon: Ishin!. The experience gained from the Unreal Engine title was, therefore, put to good use.
Working with a licensed game engine like Unreal Engine 4 gave the development team the opportunity to see what it was missing in its own engine. According to Ito, one of those things is the expression of light. As a result of working in Unreal Engine 4, the development team was able to express the gloss in bright daytime environments and the advanced depth of field using the Dragon Engine in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Ito said that perhaps in the future, if a very good general-purpose game engine comes forth, all the game companies in the world will start using it. He mentioned that he doesn’t know what direction the game industry or development environment will take in the future. That’s why in its training program for new employees, at Ryu ga Gotoku Studio has them learn how to create games using Dragon Engine, Unreal Engine, and Unity. Knowing the other two engines will help the development team in making the Dragon engine better and keep itself up to date with whenever direction the gaming industry takes in the future.
