Square Enix and Google Add AI Companion to Dragon Quest X

Square Enix and Google announced a partnership over the weekend to integrate artificial intelligence into the Japan-only massively multiplayer online role-playing game Dragon Quest X, introducing a conversational companion character named Chatty Slimey powered by Google's Gemini AI model.

The collaboration, revealed at a press event, aims to enhance the experience for players, particularly newcomers, by providing an interactive guide within the 12-year-old game. Chatty Slimey will respond to player inputs via text or voice, generate speech automatically, and analyze on-screen events to offer context-specific assistance. For instance, the AI can provide hints for progression, comment on victories against powerful enemies, or acknowledge changes in a player's outfit or acquisition of rare items. It may even initiate conversations based on gameplay developments, such as defeating a boss or obtaining loot. Developers emphasized that interactions will be limited to game-related topics, with safeguards to prevent inappropriate responses and ensure privacy, as conversations with the AI will not be recorded or shared.

Takashi Anzai, director of Dragon Quest X's development and...