THE FUSE

Koei Tecmo and Gust’s Atelier franchise has exploded in popularity globally in recent years, in part thanks to the success of Atelier Ryza and the design of the titular female protagonist, one its creators admit they deliberately made quite voluptuous in an effort to appeal to more players. While the developers themselves have moved on to other stories, releasing numerous Atelier games in subsequent years without this beloved character, Ryza’s continued popularity and visual appeal have contributed to making her the subject of Koei Tecmo’s latest generative AI experiment, designed to leverage fans’ feelings for her into a parasocial, free-to-start AI chatbot-driven RPG.