Author who inspired JRPG hits Shin Megami Tensei and Persona says devs need to draw ideas from media other than games, or "you'll usually just end up making the exact same system"

Aya Nishitani, author of the Megami Tensei novels – which inspired the Atlus series of the same game – has said it's crucial that games take inspiration from other media.

While The Witcher is probably the biggest one in terms of popularity, when it comes to video games based on books, Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei has to take the crown. Atlus' flagship series started with a sequel to the first two books in the series, and eventually grew and spawned the likes of Shin Megami Tensei, Devil Summoner, Soul Hackers, and, of course, Persona (and Jack Bros. for the Virtual Boy, most importantly).

In a thread on Twitter (translated by Automaton) Nishitani responds to a user who cites developers basing their games on movies and music back in the day, as opposed to developers being inspired by other games. The author says: "I believe that if you draw inspiration from other forms of media, you'll be able to come up with brand-new game systems, but if you draw inspiration from outstanding games, you'll usually just end up making the exact same system."

Nishitani continues, sharing that he believes that "making only things that are popular" leads to stagnation. "If there are only works that are made with a tendency to become hits, the market won't expand and will start falling into a diminishing equilibrium."

He adds, "This means that, despite more creators coming on board, market revenue will drop, causing individual income to become even lower. This is something that often happens in other industries too."

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