AI: The Somnium Files writer Uchikoshi Koutarou and lead planner Okada Akira gave a short interview in the 3rd October 2019 issue of Famitsu regarding the game.
The interview begins with them being asked if they put extra effort into an aspect of the game, and Uchikoshi says that this is a difficult question to answer and says that they did their best on the characters, music, craziness of the somnium parts, graphics, world setting, plot, tempo of the story, tempo in general, and screenplay, but the one that they put their most effort in might have been the dirty jokes.
They are next asked to talk about interesting points in the story, and Uchikoshi says to look forward to the climax where the true culprit escapes to the moon in a rocket and Date flies after him, before immediately saying this is a lie.
The average age of the characters being higher than usual is pointed out, and Uchikoshi says that this was not done on purpose: Ages of characters were simply set in a way to make the story more realistic, and this was a result of the that. One thing that they did do on purpose however was set most characters’ ages at multiples of 6.
The interviewer next asks if they have any tips for the somnium parts, and Okada says that each stage has its own unique rules based on the personality or memories of the person creating the dream world, and the player needs to determine what those rules are and act accordingly. It may be confusing at the beginning, but the better you understand the characters the easier it will be to clear the game.
Route splits and endings are brought up next, and Uchikoshi says that there are countless small route splits in the story, and while he refrains from saying an exact number, he says that there are many endings as well.
How the character Sagan Iris, who is an internet idol, has a song and dance in the game is pointed out, and the interviewer asks if they plan on expanding the IP outside of the game. Uchikoshi says that they would like to, but this would depend on reactions to the game.
They are next asks what they would like to do in a sequel, and Okada says that there are many things he would like to do, but as he likes this game a lot he would like to do a sequel to the story of AI. He also got many new ideas while working on AI and would like to someday make a game based on those ideas. Uchikoshi says he would like the sequel to be a space opera with Date running low on oxygen and getting lost in space on the way to the moon and getting picked up by space pirates and ending up on a planet of Amazons where men have gone extinct.
Finally, the interviewer asks the two if they have anything to say to fans. Okada says that the somnium parts of the game will surely be a peculiar experience that players have never seen before, with strange things happening in stark contrast to the more serious investigation parts. He hopes that players will have fun trying out everything in them. Uchikoshi says he was lying about the sequel, but while the game is filled with similar crazy things, he worked on the main story of each route seriously and filled them with mystery and suspense. He calls it a great piece of entertainment and hopes that players will enjoy it.
