Takiya Iijima (also known as Takeo Iijima), the Japanese creator of titles like Gakkou De Atta Kowai Hanashi and the Apathy visual novel series, recently faced attention from fans over a promotional video for a new Apathy installment, first hinted at on August 1. After initially avoiding the subject, Iijima confirmed that the video was produced using generative AI and shared his views on the technology (as noted by Game*Spark).
According to Iijima, generative AI enables him to “almost perfectly” craft visuals matching his exact casting ideas (the trailer is styled as a live-action piece). His remarks then shift to indie development, where he states he aims to “do what he wants to do” for the rest of his life. “I’ll release the new game under 7Korobi8Korogari (his indie studio) as an indie title for under 1,000 JPY, so I won’t be causing any issues for the major publishers.”
Iijima also tackled concerns about copyright in generative AI training and the rights of actors and illustrators during a livestream, per Game*Spark. The developer mentioned that he “verified that the copyright issues were resolved,” and he is using several AI tools commercially at a cost of hundreds of thousands of yen monthly. These AI tools are reportedly trained using his studio’s own copyrighted materials.
Regarding the creative process, Iijima explained: “We are certainly not just assembling things with a single button press; we spend time carefully refining prompts to build character images from scratch based on the vision in our minds.”
He also noted that using AI tools allows him to produce engaging content at a cost below 1,000 JPY with just one or two people.
Iijima expressed his intent to explore more AI-assisted creation in the indie gaming scene, with no plans to use the technology for home consoles (where major publishers and many stakeholders enforce stricter AI policies). Conversely, Iijima stresses that he draws a clear line on when to use generative AI tools, as the script for the upcoming Apathy sequel will be penned entirely by him.
A new Apathy game is currently in development.