Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
They've been saying this since 1997 and they had a thing going until they hit the PS2 years.
RPGs are not like action games. They can't just push them out and expect a large quality diverse world. Whatever, let's see how they kill it.
RPGs are not like action games. They can't just push them out and expect a large quality diverse world. Whatever, let's see how they kill it.
The writing has been subpar already. I'm not hopeful the stories will get any better with this news.Apparently they can't with years of dev time either these days.
They already tried to streamline FF XIII and it still took them too long. They need new people and processes when they take that long to make an FF game and everything but the art and engine is lackluster. I think part of the problem is some of these guys are career employees that aren't really the best choice to be managing game development.
The writing has been subpar already. I'm not hopeful the stories will get any better with this news.
what an idiot.
cod, assassins creed etc are milked like crazy because they are the hot shit right now. Its their time right now and ea/activtion/ubi are taking advantage of it as much as they can,
Thats why they release 15 games a year.
final fantasy time has passed, its a series with a downward spiral. They need a great game to revitalise the series before they can milk it again.
They seem pretty intent on two judging by their historical comments.There's no inherent reason that this would even be difficult -- an FF-scale title can absolutely be developed in 3 years
No kidding, sherlock.
Anyway, this is what I expect:
2011-2012: Final Fantasy XIII-2
2012-2013: Final Fantasy Versus XIII
2013-2014: Final Fantasy XV
2014-2015: Final Fantasy XVI (new HD console game)
2015-2016: Final Fantasy XVI-2
It's not like it's working for them right now. I think it would be better if they took a break so they can come up with better stories and dialogue than what we've been getting lately. Pushing games out every 1-2 years isn't gonna improve the stories.It's not like the stories of Final Fantasy games are kind of mediocre because they just didn't spend enough time working on them.
They seem pretty intent on two judging by their historical comments.
You can't really talk about RPGs and FPS together - with some of the big name Western titles like Modern Warfare and Battlefield you can expect a new game in one year or two - a very quick turnaround. On the other hand, FPS the basics are already there - it's established, so you don't have to create everything from scratch. That's one of the reasons that they can make these games in such a quick turn-around.
When it comes to RPGs like Final Fantasy, obviously you have to make everything from scratch. As you say, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, so all the basics and technology was already there, so we only had to upgrade some aspects. If we wanted to make a numbered Final Fantasy title, you have to create a story, mechanics - everything. It's a painstaking process. In a way, it's inevitable that we take a little bit longer time.
I think it would be better if they took a break so they can come up with better stories and dialogue than what we've been getting lately.
It's not really a time problem. For instance, Level 5 developed a number of RPGs but the stories are all pretty mediocre because the person who probably sticks his face in the writing the most is Akihiko Hino. It's not lack of time that results in hilariously bad stories, it's just the person writing.It's not like it's working for them right now. I think it would be better if they took a break so they can come up with better stories and dialogue than what we've been getting lately. Pushing games out every 1-2 years isn't gonna improve the stories.
Kitase commented on this to me in an interview I did 2 weeks ago in this very same press tour. He said:
So, basically, expect more sequels to main-line games reusing assets as main games will "inevitably" take longer with current tech - according to him, anyway.
Link to full piece..
Cuz I think having more time allows them more time to come up with better scenarios and better plots. Sure, the writers are shit but don't you think giving them more time with rewrites would help? Rushing them through development isn't gonna help make them better, imo.Again, really unclear on why you think time is in any way an influence on this. Inasmuch as SE games have shitty writing, it's because they're written by shitty writers who are writing stuff that targets a market who are interested in shitty writing.
I'm kind of wondering if he just means going from 18 months to 24 months however.
Edit:
That or there's some kind of pre-production is done on the new major entries while a sequel entry comes out as you noted.
Personally, I think that the technology, the way of thinking and experience should all solve this problem. I think, especially for Western-developed games, they are having a quicker pace of releasing titles, and I think from the Tokyo side we should do that as well.
It's true that XIII took a long time to develop, but XIII-2 is coming out quite quickly, so as long as we use this kind of technology and experience more efficiently it is possible to do things much more quickly.
Of course, compared to previous platforms like the Family Computer (NES) or PlayStation 1 the efforts required to create assets is much, much more, so you can't develop games in the same timely manner of course. That said, we still need to think about how we can bring more titles to market in a more timely manner.
When I'm at work we do hear the jokes like 'When I started on this project I didn't have a child, and now it is finished he is already five years old,' and that's true - and I really think that is too long. You can't spend an entire generation on just one game, so we at Square Enix - especially the Tokyo side - need to make sure we make changes and try to become more efficient. I think XIII-2 is a good example of how we can do that.
Of course, compared to previous platforms like the Family Computer (NES) or PlayStation 1 the efforts required to create assets is much, much more, so you can't develop games in the same timely manner of course. That said, we still need to think about how we can bring more titles to market in a more timely manner.
Development of Final Fantasy VII resumed in late 1995,[31] and required the efforts of approximately 120 artists and programmers, using PowerAnimator and Softimage|3D software.[44] It was the most expensive video game in its time, with a budget of around US$45 million,[45] equivalent to $62 million in 2011.[4
Those other games come out every year or two because the developers in those games don't try to build a new engine for every game that comes out. They use things like Unreal Engine 3 and... middleware.
This doesn't have anything to do with the new Montreal studio does it?
Has anyone made the "it's nice to want things" joke yet?
That's for Hitman, which will presumably take a similar pace.
I would assume it is more of a "What do we have that has the highest chance of selling really well?" move.I understand wanting to pump out a FF game every year or two, but is hitman really on the same level as the other 1 - 2 year plan games?