1. Of the many teams within SE, which one was tasked with creating the first next-gen Final Fantasy? Why, the same folks who made the previous "new Final Fantasy title for the next generation of Playstation!" Namely, the team behind Final Fantasy X for the PS2.
2. Producer Yoshinori Kitase outlines FFXIII's basic concept as the "formal evolution of Final Fantasy. (In) FFX, we tried to conclude and wrap up the traditional RPG. In this game, we'd like to show the next form of RPGs. To be more specific, in the traditional RPG, the game flow is pretty much the same way. You go into a town, talk to people, go out of town, and enter battles. We want to start looking at that flow and revolutionize it in a way that it may surprise people to learn that this is a Final Fantasy game. I'm thinking it will be an extraordinary new form in RPGs"
3. Director Motomu Toriyama on his experience in creating FFX and applying that experience to FFXIII: "We learned how to exceed and evolve the portrayal of the dramatic essence by showing the small changes in expression and emotions from what we did on FFX. I would be lying if I said we would able to go back to the PS2 after creating the FFVII tech. demo for the PS3. "It's always exciting for a creator to be able to build something new on a new platform. We have spend an extraordinary amount of time for preproduction of this game. For example, we made it so that each tree and each sign would have a meaning to it. It's not that we just want to make the visuals realistic; we wanted to develop a fully realized futuristic setting. As it stands, it was inevitable [that we would] rebuild this project for the next-gen platform."
4. To that end, here's what we heard about the combat system: It's still good ol' Active-Time Battle (ATB), except it's been tweaked to be even faster and a bit more "actiony" (as indicated by the trailer). The development team also cryptically mentioned the use of an "added time axis," which could mean anything from timing button presses that pull off special attacks to abilities that alter time with battle.
5. Another big factor in the combat system is the use of the vertical axis. Notice that gray thing on the heroine's finger? That controls gravity. You (or she) snaps it on and off effortlessly. Combine her ability to control gravity with her acrobatics, and you can see how vertical position in combat is now more important than in previous FF titles.
6. Weapon design is being handled by Tetsu Tsukamoto, who worked on the costume design for FFX-2. His experience in creating multiple costume changes for the FFX-2 girl probably help in designing a gun that transforms in a sword.
7. Kitase on the game engine: "A team of experts was formed to develop a special engine with a vast array of elements capable of handling cinematics, advanced audio processing, graphics-engine physics calculation, and special effects rendering. This impressive development platform is called the White Engine."
8. Toriyama on the female character that was shown in the trailer: "I wouldn't say that she's the main character. It just happens to be that she was the character that we shose to feature in the trailer. However, it is true that we wanted to have a strong, independent woman as one of the main characters in the game. To accomplish this, we asked [character designer] Tetsuya Nomura to design a strong and independent female character, both mentally and physically. She was the end result." Nomura interjects," The order I got from Toriyama was to create a muscular and athletic girl. I had a lot of trouble trying to create her."
9. Toriyama on the setting of FFXIII: " The world of FFXIII depicts a level of civilization more advanced than ever seen [before] in the Final Fantasy series. The futurisic world exists in a time when tecnology and magic have combined and developed into a new form. We decided to go for a more futuristic, sci-fi look because we thought that it would fit the new world being portayed on the PS3 and serve as a indicator as to what the future of gaming might be."
10. Coproducer Shinji Hashimoto on the overall nature of the Fabula Nova Crystallis project and its effect of FFXIII: "Consider that development is simultaneously ongoing for three FFXIIIs- each not only on different platforms but [featuring] different worlds and stories that are bound by a common mythology [of the crystal]. By gaining inspiration from this mythology, these independent FFXIIIs evolve uniquely. The Fabula Nova Crystallis project is not a collection of sequels or ports but several original titles that exist alongside each other."
11. Why put such a big emphasis on a freakin' crystal? Kitase answer,"Because the crystal is the symbol of the FF series. The compliation of FFVII [game] has the central theme of [the original] FFVII, but this project is starting from zero. So that's why we thought it would be good to create a centerpiece for this project and freely evolve from there."
12. Chocobos, moogles, and traditional spell names will still be present.
13. FFXIII online? Kitase mentions," It's still to be determined; if anything, it will be an extra feature but it won't be one of the main features."
They have access to the game's final uber-weapons, but not basic magic and armor
