Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth dev shows off game’s C++ code, other Japanese devs join the trend 

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Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth art

Yutaka Ito, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Technical Manager and the Director of Lost Judgment shared a snippet of the actual source code of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the upcoming game in the iconic Like a Dragon series. The post has since garnered a significant response, with users expressing admiration for the simple and “beautiful” code. It has also prompted other Japanese game developers to join in the fun and publicly share some of their source codes. 

Post translation: By the way, Like a Dragon is written in the C++ programming language. I’ll show you a tiny bit of actual code used in Infinite Wealth. It’s actually quite simple, so I think that if you have a solid knowledge of the basics of C++, that’s enough to be able to work for Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Job-seeking graduates, we’re waiting for you! 

On January 10, Ito posted a thread on his official X account to extend New Year’s greetings to fans and to talk about what it means to be a technical manager and programmer. As part of his explanation, he shared a screenshot of the source code for the currently under development Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, written in C++. Going by Ito’s caption, his intention was likely to demonstrate that the programming is not as scary and complicated as many likely imagine, and to encourage young programmers to apply for the studio ahead of Japan’s competitive hiring season. 

In a following post, Ito added that Infinite Wealth is comprised of about 6,500 program files and contains about 2.7 million lines of code (not including the game engine part). The title has apparently had the biggest programming team in the studio’s history, counting 40 to 50 programmers. 

Ito’s post amassed many positive responses, with users praising the clean and simple code, and rookie programmers finding themselves pleasantly surprised by how much they’re able to understand. Some programmers expressed qualms about an apparent lack of a coding standard, to which Ito responded by explaining that all of their programmers are free to code in their preferred style, as the studio values efficiency and stress-free work more than worrying over bracket, break and indent positioning. 

Post translation: This is the gorgeous code used in Palworld 

Hopping onto the trend, Takuro Mizobe, CEO of Japanese developer Pocket Pair, shared a sneak peak of the code from Palworld, the company’s highly anticipated survival game. In contrast to the Like a Dragon source code, Palworld appears to be written in Unreal Engine Blueprints. 

Post translation: I’ve been making games with C++ for almost 20 years, and I don’t understand anything. It’s like reading a newspaper in a foreign language. Here’s what my C++ code looks like.

Keizo, the developer of ASTLIBRA Revision, also responded to the viral Like a Dragon post, but commented that the code felt “like reading a newspaper in a foreign language” even with his 20 years of experience. He then proceeded to share a screenshot of his own C++ coding. Surprisingly, the code is almost entirely in Japanese, including variable and function names. 

Japanese indie developer NamaTakahashi followed suit by posting a portion of the source code for their iconic puzzle platformer ElecHead, written in GameMaker. 

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Amber V
Amber V

Novice Editor-in-Chief since October 2023.

She grew up playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein with her dad, and is now enamored with obscure Japanese video games and internet culture. Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while making sure to keep news concise and developer stories deep and stimulating.

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