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[Pooya]

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6351/years_after_the_final_fantasy_iv_.php

Takashi Tokita, lead designer of 1991's Final Fantasy IV, and also lead designer of recent sequel The After Years, explains to Gamasutra in a new feature interview what's wrong with current creative process.

This is a 4-page interview, there are many subjects covered, if you're interested in this subject, I suggest you to take your time and read the full interview


some parts I selected:

One of the things I really respect about Final Fantasy IV is that it seems like every dungeon has something different to do in it.

TT: Yeah.

Why did you feel the need to have multiple different worlds? At that time, that was pretty rare. Was that just another thing that you thought would improve the game and propel it to the kind of sales you were looking for?

TT: It wasn't just about the story. Each person who was handling the map design or the battles came to the table with their own ideas, and there was kind of a sense of a competitive spirit among us, of how we could make this more fun for the fans. Right now, a lot of games are more movie-like and more cinematic, and it doesn't offer the full, robust feel, when it's that kind of cinematic game

It's becoming increasingly important, especially in the age of social media, to engage with the fan base and be aware of what people want because there's so much discussion between people about what they feel. It's not just fans talking to fans anymore; it's fans talking to the world.

TT: Definitely. In terms of that, I think it would be very interesting if users and developers kind of come together and share the development, essentially, and create something together in the future.

When this game was originally released, you couldn't easily get feedback from fans, particulalry in the West. Nowadays, you'll find out many people's opinions very easily, even in America. So it does profoundly change your relationship with your audience, I think.

TT: When I was creating Parasite Eve, I was in LA and Honolulu for about a year and a half, working with the U.S. CG staff to finish up the game. Those people who were working on it were all fans of Final Fantasy IV and had grown up on that game. The fact that I have spent my career creating new things with this variety of people is really something that I hold a lot of pride in, and something that also has given me a lot of confidence.

I'm sure you have a lot of discussions about it internally, but there was a period where Square games were the most acclaimed, and it's not as consistent anymore. What might bring that time back, in your opinion? How could you approach that sort of period again?

TT: I don't think it's just about Square; it's Japan overall, where we put an over-importance on technology and really let slide some of the important use of story and concept and, really, the collaboration and coordination between the teams. I think, if we find a way again to have teams come together and motivate them and really share their energy and their knowledge, that will really bring that back.

[Tokita pulls out two smartphones -- a Japanese device and an iPhone.]

These two smartphones really exemplify what I mean in terms of an overreliance on technology. Whereas the iPhone is really well-balanced and easy to use overall, this Japanese phone has a lot of great tech features, like a 12 megapixel camera. You don't necessarily need something that high-end. And it's waterproof, and it has a TV antenna. But it's really hard to use. They focus so much on these tech aspects that they've forgotten to create something that's user-friendly.

I was at Tokyo Game Show, and this is a term that I heard a few times: Galapagos. I'm sure you've heard about, referring to Japanese technology evolving in its own way. It seems almost like that's how the game industry went, too, maybe.

TT: Right now, we're thinking about it in a way-too complex way. It used to be that our creativity could run free because we didn't worry about the end result. We could just be original and creative, and whatever came of it was original and creative. Now, we're becoming too concerned about marketing and all these other aspects, and that's limiting us right now. There's this saying that essentially means that "you're crossing the bridge and checking every stone while you're crossing it" -- that's how I feel development is right now.


I like to reflect on Final Fantasy IV and, at the time, how far ahead it was. It's not to say that Square Enix doesn't make games that are on par with what's being made contemporarily, but you don't push as hard anymore.

TT: Right now, we're so influenced by everyone's opinions, and the internet, and everything you hear, and what everyone else is making. I actually think it would be better if we would shut all of that out and just made what we want to make. That would create something that would be more original.

I feel like creating things without getting too hung up on little details, and paying more attention to the importance to the concept itself, is the way to move forward.

Or even the sense that I was 14 when Final Fantasy IV came out, and now I'm 33. My life is very different. Even though I still really like Final Fantasy, I had to put my life on hold to play Final Fantasy XIII. Basically, I had to not have a social life for a couple of weeks. That wasn't a big problem when I was in high school, but it's kind of a problem now.

TT: And also, back at that time, there was no internet. In Japan, there was definitely no 24-hour TV, either. So, when you had nothing to do at night, it was either comics, or rental videos, or games. There's definitely that emotional nostalgia going where young, single guys, playing games is what they did at night.

Whereas those young, single guys are probably fathers now, with full-time jobs. The thing is, in America, people still play games; I don't know if Japan is exactly the same. It seems like it might be a little bit different.

I always feel like, these days, a lot of RPGs in Japan seem to be made for teenagers. If you look at Cecil... I know that kids were playing this game, but the character was in his twenties. Usually, the character's like 15 years old in RPGs these days. I always feel like, "Who are these games for?" Because in America, I think the primary audience for games is a little bit older and probably want something a little bit more that they can relate to.

TT: In Japan, I think the core game users are from about middle school to their twenties, and early thirties at the most. I think the fact that they're the middle and high schoolers is because it's really linked to the anime fandom.

There's a word called "chuunibyou," which is literally "second year of middle school sickness", where it's like you're reaching that point where your body is becoming more of an adult, but you emotionally want to stay more as a kid. That emotional state is something that happens to a lot of anime characters, and that people can relate to, and so there's that link.

 

[RpgN]

That was a very well done interview with some good questions and answers back. He didn't try to get out of it and was more honest.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

Why are they so hard on themselves over there? It's like all these japanese devs need a fucking hug.

edit: also, wtf is the interviewer talking about? Western RPGs are time consuming as all hell.

 

[Sblargh]

Why are they so hard on themselves over there? It's like all these japanese devs need a fucking hug.

edit: also, wtf is the interviewer talking about? Western RPGs are time consuming as all hell.

It's different somehow. On Fallout 3 you can play one side-quest, leave the game on hold for a week, then come back and everything is the same. On FFXIII, if you play just a bit, you made no progress at all, if you take a week off, you forgot a bunch of plot points.

 

[subversus]

that was an interesting interview. I'm not in JRPGs though but these problems plague the industry worldwide.

 

[Kyoufu]

On FFXIII, if you play just a bit, you made no progress at all, if you take a week off, you forgot a bunch of plot points.

That's what in-game journals are for.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

It's different somehow. On Fallout 3 you can play one side-quest, leave the game on hold for a week, then come back and everything is the same. On FFXIII, if you play just a bit, you made no progress at all, if you take a week off, you forgot a bunch of plot points.

Probably because in Fallout 3 the plot exists as an excuse for you to explore the world and do shitloads of sidequests.

While in FFXIII the plot is the focus but also makes no sense.

 

[Yaweee]

One of the things I really respect about Final Fantasy IV is that it seems like every dungeon has something different to do in it.

TT: Yeah.

Good thing that across the complete collection you have to go through some of the dungeons ~5 times.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Excellent interview. It makes me nostalgic for when I was a kid and FFIV, VI, Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger were always in my SNES. But now I'm 31 with a fraction of the time in which to play games.

I think I'll pick up a copy of FFIV Complete to relive the awesomeness. At least with handhelds, I can play whenever, and wherever, I have the time to do so.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

great interview.

FFIV (FFII SNES ) was my first console RPG. Awesome memories.


Regarding the Complete Collection out today: does The After Years have new music or is it just rehashed FFIV OST?

 

[ferricide]

edit: also, wtf is the interviewer talking about? Western RPGs are time consuming as all hell.

there was nothing contrasting western and japanese RPGs in this interview whatsoever (says the interviewer, namely me)

also thanks everyone for the kind words. they should let tokita make a game, i think. IMO *NOT* FF cos they won't let him take the kind of chances he seems to want to.

 

[djtiesto]

Great interview, I think the part that I never really realized (even though it's one of my favorite games ever) is that FF4 was one of the first games with obvious character development tied to its story. Also, I totally agree with Tokita in that just once, the devs should be allowed to make what they want to make free of outside influence/marketplace demands/trends... the insistence on following trends is what's really hurting gaming lately IMO. Perhaps he'll get to do something with a bit more budget than a cellphone title, in this vein.