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[Green Mamba]

Designing things a certain way because you want to escape media trends is just as bad as pandering to them.

SE has shown it has no issues with prominent female characters; it's not under any obligation to include them in every single game if it doesn't want to.

I'm not talking laser guided trend subversion here. Just that I wish they were more mindful in their decisions. And of course they aren't obligated. No one's obligated to do anything in this situation. Much like they aren't obligated to take my criticism. I don't care. I'm just voicing my disappointment.

I would say that given the series usual inclusion of multiple female strong characters, often as leads, as well as an entry that starred only female characters, I wouldn't take XV's cast of bros as a negative sign for the overall direction of the series. In fact it's a kind of rare break from the norm.

I get being personally disappointed though.

I don't see it as a negative turn for the series. I don't have any doubts there will be more prominent female characters in the next mainline FF. But... really, when do you think that's coming? We're in FFXV bro land for the forseeable future.

Maybe we'll get FFXV-2 starring Stella and her friends in the meantime, but seriously, fuck FF direct sequels (but that's a story for another time).

 

[Flakster99]

The "androgynous" look (and it's not even androgynous, but whatever) has been with the series since the beginning.

You're failing to make the distinction between illustrations and in-game. I, and many others, had no issues with Amano's art (FF1-FFVI) because it wasn't depicted in-game. Got it? When said illustration/art made it's way into the games (post FFVII) then yeah, absolutely their androgynous look became a giant turn off.

 

[IsntChrisL]

As someone who really doesn't play FF games, I've gotta say: the girly-man designs of the series (and several JRPG's, to be honest) really tend to turn me off. What's the reasoning for this? Are these characters more identifiable to young men in Japan? Why is this style so popular?

 

[BocoDragon]

I don't see it as a negative turn for the series. I don't have any doubts there will be more prominent female characters in the next mainline FF. But... really, when do you think that's coming? We're in FFXV bro land for the forseeable future.

Maybe we'll get FFXV-2 starring Stella and her friends, but seriously, fuck FF direct sequels (but that's a story for another time).

That's a common frustration of FF over the last 10 years. Whatever entry comes along you know you're going to be stuck there for 5+ years. We know this too well as we've been stuck in Lightning land since the beginning of the decade.

 

[Skilletor]

You're failing to make the distinction between illustrations and in-game. I, and many others, had no issues with Amano's art (FF1-FFVI) because it wasn't depicted in-game. Got it? When said illustration/art made it's way into the games (post FFVII) then yeah, absolutely their androgynous became a giant turn off.

I don't think the characters are androgynous. The only male I have mistaken for a female in a Final Fantasy game is Kuja.

I often feel like people are misuing that word in order to insult the artists.

 

[Terareflection]

I don't really mind bad character design as long as they written well, though bad-looking characters usually aren't written well, so...

I don't think Nomura's art is bad, however. It's good when is it not too fantastical, ala FF7/PE1/FFVIII.

 

[Village]

would not mind being stuck in noctis land, if it actually plays like KH: Final Fantasy edition,

Imma have KH in my KH so I can Namura while I Namura.

 

[BocoDragon]

As someone who really doesn't play FF games, I've gotta say: the girly-man designs of the series (and several JRPG's, to be honest) really tend to turn me off. What's the reasoning for this? Are these characters more identifiable to young men in Japan? Why is this style so popular?

Cultural differences? Asian cultures have a different ideal of masculinity in many ways (obviously taken to a fantastic degree in these fantasy games). There's probably a whole essay to unravel about the topic.

Why are burly men with shorter, practical hair considered the epitome of masculinity in our country? It's arbitrary.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

I haven't had a chance to play Plaescape:Torment yet (just started it and am still in the opening area), but Vegas was good until it refused to work on my PS3 (talk about a game the devs should've been sued over). What I've seen from Avellone I've liked though.

He's the fuck fantasy tropes kinda guy. Obsidian does a good job making the setting they are handed feel different for a chance. Mask of the Betrayer offers something unique imo.

 

[Alvarez]

That's a common frustration of FF over the last 10 years. Whatever entry comes along you know you're going to be stuck there for 5+ years. We know this too well as we've been stuck in Lightning land since the beginning of the decade.

That's what I loved about the old FFs. If you didn't like FF6, a brand new installment would be out 2 years later. Didn't like FF7? New installment 2 years later. FF8? Two years later. FF9? Two years later. FF10? Two years later.

And that's when the series............... changed. Two years of waiting became eight years of waiting.

 

[Wazzy]

You're failing to make the distinction between illustrations and in-game. I, and many others, had no issues with Amano's art (FF1-FFVI) because it wasn't depicted in-game. Got it? When said illustration/art made it's way into the games (post FFVII) then yeah, absolutely their androgynous look became a giant turn off.

None of the characters listed are androgynous.

 

[Green Mamba]

That's a common frustration of FF over the last 10 years. Whatever entry comes along you know you're going to be stuck there for 5+ years. We know this too well as we've been stuck in Lightning land since the beginning of the decade.

Of course. All of pretty much any one Final Fantasy fan's possible woes they have regarding the series or individual titles or whatever can be traced back to SE's output failings.

Every time I reflect on it, I come to this realization. FFXII held up everything. FFXIII was a disaster that ended up holding everything up. FFXIV held up everything... twice. And now FFXV is holding everything up. It's a bitter, endless cycle that they've shown no signs of stopping. Arrggghhhh

 

[BocoDragon]

That's what I loved about the old FFs. If you didn't like FF6, a brand new installment would be out 2 years later. Didn't like FF7? New installment 2 years later. FF8? Two years later. FF9? Two years later. FF10? Two years later.

And that's when the series............... changed. Two years of waiting became eight years of waiting.

Yeah it's funny how many different FFs I got in my adolescence alone.

For the entirety of my 20s, only two mainline games will come out!

It's unfortunate... but higher graphical standards really killed the ease of making these games....

 

[Flakster99]

I don't think the characters are androgynous. The only male I have mistaken for a female in a Final Fantasy game is Kuja.

I often feel like people are misuing that word in order to insult the artists.

Not a slam, an observation.

Androgyny: refers to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. Sexual ambiguity may be found in fashion, gender identity, sexual identity, or sexual lifestyle. In terms of gender identity is a person who does not fit neatly into the typical masculine and feminine gender roles of their society.

Goes without saying not every single character fits this mold, but we are talking about a visual medium and an art form that I don't care for, especially one that permeates the series. (imo)

 

[Alvarez]

It's unfortunate... but higher graphical standards really killed the ease of making these games....

So Square claims, but The Witcher 2 was made in 2 years with an 8.5 million dollar budget. Compare to FF13's 70+ million dollar budget.

Over the years, Square has claimed that this and that are "impossible" or "too expensive", but the reality is that every other company has had no problem. Square is doing something called lying.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

Of course. All of pretty much any one Final Fantasy fan's possible woes they have regarding the series or individual titles or whatever can be traced back to SE's output failings.

Every time I reflect on it, I come to this realization. FFXII held up everything. FFXIII was a disaster that ended up holding everything up. FFXIV held up everything... twice. And now FFXV is holding everything up. It's a bitter, endless cycle that they've shown no signs of stopping. Arrggghhhh

It's rather unfortunate. As soon as Square (even back in the Squaresoft days) dedicated themselves to making each FF a blockbuster experience, loaded with innovations, they put themselves in a corner. They have to continually outdo themselves and make bigger games each time. Bigger budget, more cinematics, more drama. HD development has crippled AAA JRPGs more than any other genre (mainly due to the need to create HD full scale towns with 30+ hours of content), because their model is just not feasible anymore without buttloads of sequels or DLCs.

I wonder what will be the breaking point. Will Square eventually scale back their FF titles, or will they hit bankruptcy, first?

So Square claims, but The Witcher 2 was made in 2 years with an 8.5 million dollar budget. Compare to FF13's 70+ million dollar budget.

Over the years, Square has claimed that this and that are "impossible" or "too expensive", but the reality is that every other company has had no problem. Square is doing something called lying.

Wait, wow, i did not know that. Only 8.5 million??? Jesus, Square really needs to manage money better. After hearing about the Tomb Raider/Uncharted 2 cost comparison, I thought that was an extreme scenario, but I guess it's just poor management.

 

[BlazingRain]

Not a slam, an observation.

Androgyny: refers to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. Sexual ambiguity may be found in fashion, gender identity, sexual identity, or sexual lifestyle. In terms of gender identity is a person who does not fit neatly into the typical masculine and feminine gender roles of their society.

Goes without saying not every single character fits this mold, but we are talking about a visual medium and an art form that I don't care for, especially one that permeates the series. (imo)

And very few FF characters can truly be characterized as effeminate.

 

[MilkBeard]

Yeah it's funny how many different FFs I got in my adolescence alone.

For the entirety of my 20s, only two mainline games will come out!

It's unfortunate... but higher graphical standards really killed the ease of making these games....

Yup. They can't pump them out anymore. Well, They have been pumping out the spinoff sequels, but the mainline games take ages to make...

 

[JordoftheDead]

No, I really really dislike that fey J Pop boy band look of the FF games about as much as I dislike the WWE meathead look of games like Gears of War. Does nothing for me at all.

 

[BlazingRain]

It's rather unfortunate. As soon as Square (even back in the Squaresoft days) dedicated themselves to making each FF a blockbuster experience, loaded with innovations, they put themselves in a corner. They have to continually outdo themselves and make bigger games each time. Bigger budget, more cinematics, more drama. HD development has crippled AAA JRPGs more than any other genre (mainly due to the need to create HD full scale towns with 30+ hours of content), because their model is just not feasible anymore without buttloads of sequels or DLCs.

I wonder what will be the breaking point. Will Square eventually scale back their FF titles, or will they hit bankruptcy, first?

That's why they're changing their model to focus on creating worlds with multiple games/sequels instead of stand-alone titles, as well as the many spin-offs and mobile games.

SE's business model in the SNES and PS1 days just isn't sustainable with how expensive game development has gotten. Hopefully Cerny's claims of the PS4 returning to a PS1 like environment end up true. If it does, we may see a JRPG revival.

 

[Parakeetman]

They're okay I guess.
I think I would like to so something more like Bravely Default:

Bravely Default is by far more Final Fantasy than the bullshit we have been getting lately. Same with 11 and 14 (having the feel of being "final fantasy"). But the non mmo stuff. Dear god.

 

[MarkusRJR]

No, I really really dislike that fey J Pop boy band look of the FF games about as much as I dislike the WWE meathead look of games like Gears of War. Does nothing for me at all.

Yup. Both ends of the spectrum are terribly uninteresting and turn me off.

 

[MilkBeard]

So Square claims, but The Witcher 2 was made in 2 years with an 8.5 million dollar budget. Compare to FF13's 70+ million dollar budget.

Over the years, Square has claimed that this and that are "impossible" or "too expensive", but the reality is that every other company has had no problem. Square is doing something called lying.

Your numbers are a little off, but yeah, CD Projekt Red are setting new standards. Thus, that actually makes them the exception to the rule, actually.

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Witcher-2-Cost-10-3-Million-Make-58698.html

 

[Fimbulvetr]

So what you're saying is that if there was some ridiculous optional in game encyclopedia file explaining at length the in world justifications for FF's asymmetric hairstyles and outfits, you'd be ok with them?

because that's basically what mass effect does to justify lizard people, sexy blue women and evil robots in its fiction.

He's basically trying to talk about verisimilitude. Though, while Tidus' costume is pretty dumb, I don't think it is a problem in that regard.

Pretty much everyone from

Spoiler

dream

Zanarkand wore stupid-looking semi-contemporary pseudo-futuristic fashion disasters. Within that context, there's no real inconsistency between the game world and what Tidus is wearing. His clashing with characters from the rest of Spira is kinda the point.

If anything, the character with the worst design is Lulu, and I'm not just talking about the belts (as dumb as they are on their own).

Nothing about Lulu's faux-western goth aesthetic fits any part of Spira. She's the worst combination of "looks dumb" and "makes no sense".

Also, Yuna's design, while aesthetically pleasing, doesn't really gel with what every other Yevonite or Summoner is wearing.

 

[Alvarez]

Wait, wow, i did not know that. Only 8.5 million??? Jesus, Square really needs to manage money better. After hearing about the Tomb Raider/Uncharted 2 cost comparison, I thought that was an extreme scenario, but I guess it's just poor management.

You'd be surprised.

Crysis (one of the best-looking games of all time) development? 22 million dollars.

Current gen AAA multi-platform games cost 20-30 million to develop. But, if you waste a lot of money, you could spend 217 million, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Skyrim spent 100 million. MGS4 spent 90 million. Crysis 3 spent 70 million.

Are you ready for this one? Wii Fit spent 60 million.

Cry of Fear, one of the best horror games ever made? 0 dollars.

Dear Esther? 0 dollars.

I don't have any numbers for how much A Machine for Pigs and Amnesia cost, but I can tell you that it's most likely under 5 million each.

It's not about underpaid workers or bad graphics or anything like that. Low costs are the result of intelligent money management. Those Call of Duty commercials during the Superbowl? Yeah, those cost money, but they don't improve the game in any way.

Now let's think back to all of the FF13 commercials and billboards and building-sized posters. Are you remembering now? Yyyyep.

 

[TnK]

Let me echo some other people's words. I recently bought the Dark Horse FF Amano artbook, and as amazing as amano is, his art for drawing men is effiminate. New FF art is nothing compared to Amano's.

Also, what is wrong with having "androgynous" leads (if they even are androgynous). I actually like how they look (minus tidus and vaan), with squall being the best designed FF lead. All the girls I have talked to really like his design. Plus my avatar highly resembles me in real life, so it is nice to play as these heroes for a change, adds immersion

I think the real reason is how the characters are dressed in general. How they look facialy can stay, but all the elements in their clothing that are too out there should go. That and some of the hairstyles. Though at the same time not make it generic.

EDIT: Witcher 2 is 8.25 million? That is insane!! Witcher 2 is one of the most beautiful games I have seen on PC, and it arguably puts FFXIII to shame graphically.

 

[Raging Spaniard]

Lulu is a great design, shes very different and stands out, just like goth chicks did back in the day. That is consistent with her personality, voice, and animations. Good design all around.

I think a lot of this stuff boils down to: Non Japanese people dont like Japanese fashion trends.

 

[kevm3]

I don't think people really mean effeminate as much as they mean these characters look like they were designed to appeal to teenage girls/young women... like something akin to the Twilight of rpgs. I remember Nomura saying with FF8 he did the art to cater more to women and he ran with that trend ever since.

 

[IsntChrisL]

Cultural differences? Asian cultures have a different ideal of masculinity in many ways (obviously taken to a fantastic degree in these fantasy games). There's probably a whole essay to unravel about the topic.

Why are burly men with shorter, practical hair considered the epitome of masculinity in our country? It's arbitrary.

To a certain extent, sure. But these JRPG characters seem deliberately feminine in design. It's not just the hair. It's the jaw, nose, cheek bones, chin, and often times, the voice.

 

[BocoDragon]

So Square claims, but The Witcher 2 was made in 2 years with an 8.5 million dollar budget. Compare to FF13's 70+ million dollar budget.

Over the years, Square has claimed that this and that are "impossible" or "too expensive", but the reality is that every other company has had no problem. Square is doing something called lying.

That is food for thought...

 

[kevm3]

Castlevania SOTN's artwork is slightly feminine and is actually drawn by Kojima's wife, I believe, but nobody would complain about designs like this:

 

[BocoDragon]

To a certain extent, sure. But these JRPG characters seem deliberately feminine in design. It's not just the hair. It's the jaw, nose, cheek bones, chin, and often times, the voice.

Have you ever seen asian pop videos? Take some of that stuff and multiply it by "fantasy" and I think you come pretty much to the design of a jRPG character.

And I dunno... a lot of that jaw, nose, cheekbone stuff is probably because, well, Asian men. Many of them have slender features (not all of course, but those are the ones held up as the masculine ideal)

 

[TnK]

She is not his wife.

 

[BlazingRain]

So Square claims, but The Witcher 2 was made in 2 years with an 8.5 million dollar budget. Compare to FF13's 70+ million dollar budget.

Over the years, Square has claimed that this and that are "impossible" or "too expensive", but the reality is that every other company has had no problem. Square is doing something called lying.

No one knows how much XIII cost to develop, as the figure was never released.

And don't forget that the majority of those costs are marketing, not actual development. A game like Witcher 2 costs much less because it was marketed far less aggressively.

 

[Wazzy]

I don't think people really mean effeminate as much as they mean these characters look like they were designed to appeal to teenage girls/young women... like something akin to the Twilight of rpgs. I remember Nomura saying with FF8 he did the art to cater more to women and he ran with that trend ever since.

He designed teenagers because they're teenagers. Their appearance fit the game. Squall isn't effeminate at all. Noticeable Adam's apple, low brow, muscle, etc.

Even if he was catering to women, the designs in VIII are far from androngynous. Raijin has a beard, Seifer looks like any typical white guy, Zell looks like any teenage male who spikes their hair.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Lulu is a great design, shes very different and stands out, just like goth chicks did back in the day. That is consistent with her personality, voice, and animations. Good design all around.

I think a lot of this stuff boils down to: Non Japanese people dont like Japanese fashion trends.

I never claimed it didn't fit her character, but was the only way to do that by choosing a style that doesn't seem to fit Spira all that well? I mean, there's standing out and there's being alien, right?

 

[Alvarez]

No one knows how much XIII cost to develop, as the figure was never released.

Correct. What I gave was an extremely (extremely) conservative estimate. In all likelihood, the total cost of FF13--Crystal Tools included--is 150 million dollars or more. The reason Square has not released the actual figure is, of course, because it's big enough to cause embarrassment.

Edit: And before people criticize my estimates, you can use these values for comparison. These values are from Square's Q1 2013 report:

FF15 cost - 600 million USD
FF14 cost - 400 million USD (DOES NOT INCLUDE ARR!)
Tomb Raider cost - 300 million USD

And don't forget that the majority of those costs are marketing, not actual development.

That's Square's problem, not ours. How many of us here bought 13 because of a television ad? 0. Do you know anyone who bought 13 because of a television add or a billboard? No. They made the decision to waste money. The end.

Like it or not, FF has fallen from grace so far that the title Amnesia is more well-known than Final Fantasy. There are multiple generations of new gamers about who don't know what Final Fantasy is because a significant FF has not been released within the last decade. One need only browse this thread to see many posts from people who don't know what FF is, or who have never played it because they're turned off by what they've seen or heard about the series. Knowing this, virtually all of the money spent on advertising has been wasted.

 

[Raging Spaniard]

I never claimed it didn't fit her character, but was the only way to do that by choosing a style that doesn't seem to fit Spira all that well? I mean, there's standing out and there's being alien, right?

Well thats the whole point, in real life people who dont follow the fashion rules might as well look like theyre from another planet. Lulu does the same thing. As a designer I wouldnt change a thing.

Regarding budgets. The anomaly, if anything, is that the Witcher cost so low to develop. My company makes F2P mobile games and after marketing we go over 1m easily ... and its not like with 6 more mil we could make The Witcher, lol

 

[Alvarez]

Well thats the whole point, in real life people who dont follow the fashion rules might as well look like theyre from another planet. Lulu does the same thing. As a designer I wouldnt change a thing.

Regarding budgets. The anomaly, if anything, is that the Witcher cost so low to develop. My company makes F2P mobile games and after marketing we go over 1m easily ... and its not like with 6 more mil we could make The Witcher, lol

I make comics, I'm a fiction author, and I've done some non-fiction writing as well. When I'm on a roll, I can put out a ridiculous amount of content really quick. When I'm uninspired, it takes me ages to put out quality content.

In Photoshop, some things can take minutes while others can take hours. I am constantly learning how to do new things in Photoshop (I'm an amateur compared to others) and that takes time...

So a lot of it comes down to the skill of the employees and how efficient they are with their time. Considering that Square is now resorting to begging the FF fanbase to tell them how to design their games, I think it's safe to say that Square is not bursting with talent right now.

I can tell you that Japanese studios fail at communication, and bad communication is just about the worst trait any company can have. Japanese companies are too entrenched in respect, tradition, and protocols. That is costing Japan's game industry a lot of money. Japan has a lot of talent, but its talented employees are being forced to do low-level programming while middle-aged, out-of-touch project directors at the top do the same thing over and over and over again--and no one is allowed to criticize them, because that would be disrespectful.

In the west, the communication is there, but we blow our budgets on awful and outdated advertising methods such as print and television. I think we can all agree that the word of mouth spread from a NeoGAF, Reddit, or 4chan thread will often have a bigger impact than a television spot.

 

[BlazingRain]

Correct. What I gave was an extremely (extremely) conservative estimate. In all likelihood, the total cost of FF13--Crystal Tools included--is 150 million dollars or more. The reason Square has not released the actual figure is, of course, because it's big enough to cause embarrassment.

Edit: And before people criticize my estimates, you can use these values for comparison. These values are from Square's Q1 2013 report:

FF15 cost - 600 million USD
FF14 cost - 400 million USD (DOES NOT INCLUDE ARR!)
Tomb Raider cost - 300 million USD



That's Square's problem, not ours. How many of us here bought 13 because of a television ad? 0. Do you know anyone who bought 13 because of a television add or a billboard? No. They made the decision to waste money. The end.

Like it or not, FF has fallen from grace so far that the title Amnesia is more well-known than Final Fantasy. There are multiple generations of new gamers about who don't know what Final Fantasy is because a significant FF has not been released within the last decade. One need only browse this thread to see many posts from people who don't know what FF is, or who have never played it because they're turned off by what they've seen or heard about the series. Knowing this, virtually all of the money spent on advertising has been wasted.

Why are you lying and making up numbers? Are you that desperate to prove your point? Do you seriously think anyone's going to believe that XV has already costed 600 million dollars?

SE has never released cost numbers for any of those games, and even Tomb Raider has only been estimated (keyword being "estimated") to have cost $100 million.

And seriously, Amnesia is more well known that FF? Are you just trolling or seriously delusional?

 

[HeelPower]

In the west, the communication is there, but we blow our budgets on awful and outdated advertising methods such as print and television. I think we can all agree that the word of mouth spread from a NeoGAF, Reddit, or 4chan thread will often have a bigger impact than a television spot.

you can't.You'd be preaching to the choir.When you are trying to expand to the non gaming audience (which are way bigger than any number of visitors on GAF for example) , you need to gain access to them through their preferred means(TV, Other mainstream websites,Print)

 

[BlazingRain]

Well thats the whole point, in real life people who dont follow the fashion rules might as well look like theyre from another planet. Lulu does the same thing. As a designer I wouldnt change a thing.

Regarding budgets. The anomaly, if anything, is that the Witcher cost so low to develop. My company makes F2P mobile games and after marketing we go over 1m easily ... and its not like with 6 more mil we could make The Witcher, lol

Indeed, we had a former Rockstar developer give us a talk in one of my classes when I was still attending university, and he said that even a mid-range iOS game should be expected to cost at least $5 million nowadays.

 

[BlazingRain]

you can't.You'd be preaching to the choir.When you are trying to expand to the non gaming audience (which are way bigger than any number of visitors on GAF for example) , you need to gain access to them through their preferred means(TV, Other mainstream websites,Print)

This guy is straight lying at this point, no need to take him seriously.

 

[Frumix]

This is seriously one of the worst threads I've had the privilege to read on NeoGAF.
So much that one person literally claims that some type of games should not be made because he does not approve of it.
Well not one guy, multiple guys really.

 

[MagnaderAlpha]

Castlevania SOTN's artwork is slightly feminine and is actually drawn by Kojima's wife, I believe, but nobody would complain about designs like this:

Ayami Kojima's not Hideo's wife. Also, she can draw badass when she wants to:

In an interview, she once said she loves drawing older men.

 

[cafemomo]

n to waste money. The end.

Like it or not, FF has fallen from grace so far that the title [I]Amnesia[/I] is more well-known than Final Fantasy. There are multiple generations of new gamers about who don't know what Final Fantasy is because a significant FF has not been released within the last decade.

My God, now I know you are talking out of your ass. When someone in the west thinks of a RPG, Final Fantasy or Pokemon instantly comes to mind. Hell, the common person may only know of FFVII, but it's FF.

And some two bit PC game Amnesia is more well known than Final Fantasy?

AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

LET ME LAUGH AGAIN

AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[gatti-man]

I make comics, I'm a fiction author, and I've done some non-fiction writing as well. When I'm on a roll, I can put out a ridiculous amount of content really quick. When I'm uninspired, it takes me ages to put out quality content.

In Photoshop, some things can take minutes while others can take hours. I am constantly learning how to do new things in Photoshop (I'm an amateur compared to others) and that takes time...

So a lot of it comes down to the skill of the employees and how efficient they are with their time. Considering that Square is now resorting to begging the FF fanbase to tell them how to design their games, I think it's safe to say that Square is not bursting with talent right now.

I can tell you that Japanese studios fail at communication, and bad communication is just about the worst trait any company can have. Japanese companies are too entrenched in respect, tradition, and protocols. That is costing Japan's game industry a lot of money. Japan has a lot of talent, but its talented employees are being forced to do low-level programming while middle-aged, out-of-touch project directors at the top do the same thing over and over and over again--and no one is allowed to criticize them, because that would be disrespectful.

In the west, the communication is there, but we blow our budgets on awful and outdated advertising methods such as print and television. I think we can all agree that the word of mouth spread from a NeoGAF, Reddit, or 4chan thread will often have a bigger impact than a television spot.

This might blow your mind but TV>>>>>>gaf/reddit/and lol4chan as far as the number of people it reaches.

 

[Alvarez]

you can't.You'd be preaching to the choir.When you are trying to expand to the non gaming audience (which are way bigger than any number of visitors on GAF for example) , you need to gain access to them through their preferred means(TV, Other mainstream websites,Print)

This strategy hasn't worked for Activision-Blizzard, who has experienced massive losses after attempting to appeal to non-gamers. What makes you think it will work for Square?

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Well thats the whole point, in real life people who dont follow the fashion rules might as well look like theyre from another planet. Lulu does the same thing. As a designer I wouldnt change a thing.

But people who buck fashion trends, unless they make their own clothes, still have to use pre-existing stuff as a basis for their clothing, yes?

I can't really imagine purple lipstick existing on spira, period. The same for the embroidery on her dress and her corset.

 

[kevm3]

Hmm for some reason I thought that was Kojima's wife, but regardless, she is an excellent artist.

Square needs to let the artist from the Saga series do the art for one of the next FF's. They already got Hamauzu for the music.