Ex-Dragon Quest director wins note writing award for indie game memoir
The former Square Enix director took the grand prize and a publisher award at the 2026 contest, which drew 180,206 entries and named 74 winners.
A former director of the Dragon Quest series has won the top prize at a writing award co-hosted by the text platform note and the story-posting site TALES, according to news.denfaminicogamer.jp. The organisers announced 74 winning works selected from 180,206 entries in the 2026 edition of the contest.
The winner, who is also general director of the game Fourth Boundary, took the grand prize as well as the Film Art-sha award in the business category. The winning entry is a non-fiction piece titled “I Thought I Wanted to Make a Game Just Once More” — the full account of a former Dragon Quest director’s attempt at indie game development.
The work follows his path from leaving Square Enix and declaring his retirement as a game director to building a new game from scratch after an encounter with a certain game.
In its judging comment, publisher Film Art-sha praised the piece for exploring new forms of storytelling and for conveying both the difficulty and the joy of making things.
The grand prize comes with a trophy and prize money. The organisers said talks are underway with media partners about book publication, film adaptation and media coverage.
Earlier context
At Square Enix, the winner directed the Dragon Quest series before leaving the company and announcing his retirement as a game director. In 2025, some creators previously selected or awarded in note’s contest went on to reach the grand prize the following year.
Quick answers
Who won the 2026 note and TALES writing award?
A former Dragon Quest series director and current general director of Fourth Boundary won the grand prize and the Film Art-sha award in the business category for a non-fiction account of developing an indie game.
How many entries did the 2026 contest receive?
The organisers said 74 winning works were chosen from 180,206 entries.
Will the winning work be published as a book?
The organisers said talks are underway with media partners about book publication, film adaptation and media coverage.