Dev says Like a Dragon series must keep using its own engine

The Like a Dragon series “absolutely must” continue using its bespoke Dragon Engine, but staff must also learn about alternate options, the series’ technical director says.

In an interview with Japanese publication Type, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio technical director Yutaka Ita stressed that the Dragon Engine is fundamental to the Like a Dragon series, but that it can’t improve without knowledge of alternatives.

Ita explained how the studio used Unreal Engine instead of its own Dragon Engine to make Yakuza Kiwami, its 2016 remake of the first game in its Yakuza / Like a Dragon series. He noted that doing this let the studio identify areas where the Dragon Engine was lacking.

“One of them was the expression of light,” he explained. “In Yakuza Kiwami, Unreal Engine made it possible to show shininess in bright daytime environments, and beautifully advanced depth of field.

“Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, on the other hand, was developed using the Dragon Engine, but after getting a request to incorporate the effects we were able to achieve in Yakuza Kiwami, we added new lighting features to the engine.”

Ita explained that even though the Like a Dragon series will continue to use the Dragon Engine going forwards, new recruits are also taught how to make games using Unreal and Unity so they can identfy their strengths and help incorporate them into the Dragon Engine.

“We have to keep up with the changes in the games industry,” he said. “Perhaps in the future, if a very good general-purpose game engine comes out, all the game companies in the world may start using it. If Dragon Studio can only use the Dragon Engine at that time, we may no longer be able to compete in this world.

“We don’t know which direction the game industry and development environment will take in the future. That’s why when we train new employees at Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, we have them learn how to create games using three engines – Dragon Engine, Unreal Engine and Unity.

“By knowing the other two engines, we can make