If you were in charge of Final Fantasy...

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Sep 29, 2013
39
18
34
#1
Who would you put in charge of the next few games?

The first thing i would do is put Ito in charge of FFXVI, i would give him most of the XIII team to make the game.

Then i would put Tabata in charge of FFXVII when he is done with XV.

I would let Nomura do whatever he wants.

Toriyama would work on 3DS/Vita games.

No more MMOs, i would support A Realm Reborn as long as their was demand for it.

No more 4 year droughts, 16 and 17 would be developed at the same time, releasing 1-2 years apart, with a handheld game thrown in there as well.

What would you guys do?
 

Caius

Yevonite
Sep 29, 2013
35
21
#7
Let's think for a second, what WOULD Caius do if she owned Final Fantasy and could do whatever she wanted? It depends on how rich I am because of owning/being in charge of it.

Either way I'd probably pump out another XIII game, but this time maybe a spin off? Or I don't know. But based in Cocoon/Gran Pulse, none of this Nova Chrysalia. (Although i don't like the art for this nearly as much as i did for cocoon/gran Pulse, I can't give a solid solid opinion on the matter.) or I suppose another option is a complete re-done version of XIII/XIII-2/LR but packed together? I don't know, that's what I would want if I could do anything, i suppose. There are thigns I'd fix, but I'd definitely add a lot of things, and I'd probably go through and make a much more through battle, mechanics, shopping, crafting, all that stuff system.

Or I might, I'm only thinking of what I would do right now.

Also get Mashashi Hamauzu back at all costs, along with the singer he used in XIII/LR. And if I'm in charge of FF, I'm going to push for Utada and offer her a lot of money for something (if I can, it'll be for KH3).

Although in all seriousness, HD, 3-d remakes of I-VI, for the PS3/PS4, and adjust them so they're more modern? (I don't know how to explain that, I don't know how I'd even go about it with retaining the original story/shine of it.)

Then have another team start on XVI.

Also, financing all of my game wants would be a tough decision, so most likely I'd trying to cut costs in either upper staff (ceos, etc etc.) including my own costs, as well as trying to make money elsewhere before I truly start on any of my projects that I'd probably do.

  • Game based around moogles (why not?)
  • One with Chocobos and farming, it'd be a bit inspired by Harvest Moon, but with a Final Fantasy Setting, and not sure beyond that. But farming and running things in a Final Fatnasy world would be hecka fun.
  • A new Dissidia PS3/PS4 Brawler game that's more expansive than the PSP ones. Could possibly include KH characters.
  • As Tsu said, Blitzball game!! And with not nearly as crappy controls as it's X counterpart.
I'd probably try to develop a few iOs/Andriod/3DS 'miniature' games, but with no micro transactions.

Of course, not all of this would happen at once, don't confuse that. I'd have to play my cards right, and judge when would be a good time to make each.

And oh, the XIII/XIII-2/LR thing would be for me and me alone. As in, I'm making it because I want to enjoy and play it myself. Sure it'll be for sale, but personally I want the XIII universe expanded more, so.

But otherwise I'd first be working on getting fan reception, and working out finances and work out what they (The fans wnant) want (and what would make us money, so I can in turn finance much more better games for them.) At the same time also looking to my own staff, and seeing where I can cut unnecessary costs. (As in, I really would rather not pay my CEOS 3k+ an hour.). Although I'm probably going to ignore VII for some time though, along with the rest of the PS1 titles (I'd come back to them later).

Yes, you can tlel by this post I have no solid plan, but I did think a lot about what I could do. Of course, it's not really solid but ye.

There ye be. For now.
 
Likes: ArkhamFantasy

Zack

Somniac
Moderator
UFFSite Veteran
Site Staff
Jul 29, 2013
160
55
36
#8
Survival Horror or Shmup.
You're speaking my language.

I'd say go back to having small teams with restrictive budgets. They already said that was when they performed their best. Put it into action.
 
Likes: Light

yeah_93

Warrior of Light
Sep 27, 2013
1,512
570
Venezuela
#10
Let some new blood work on the series. Delegate Toriyama and Kitase to the depths of mobile game hell.
But... I still have respect for Kitase. Despite the XIII series (which I don't hate, but seriously needs to stop), his past record is quite impressive.
 

Squirrel Emperor

Nuts
Moderator
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#11
1) Out with the old guys, in with the new
2) Carpet bomb all spin-offs, sequels, movie ideas and other side-games
3) Go Hiroshima on all mobile efforts
4) Get as many numbered entries as possible in development
5) Get outside help to speed things up

I would also experiment with the PSX Final Fantasy blueprint (pre-rendered backgrounds) and see what sort of Final Fantasy game could be created on consoles with today's tech.
 
Likes: ArkhamFantasy

APZonerunner

Network Boss-man
Administrator
UFFSite Veteran
Site Staff
Jul 25, 2013
1,134
926
35
Solihull, UK
www.rpgsite.net
#14
1) Give gameplay systems control to Hiroyuki Ito
2) Have a Western studio (eg Eidos Montreal) assist with up to half of the tech side work - engine etc.
3) Have strictly set milestones and ship the game within 28 months of the project beginning full production; no excuses, no exceptions.
4) Shorten the core game somewhat; it doesn't need to be 40 hours for the core story any more, that's what stretched FF13 too thin. 25 would suffice, plus additional for sidequests.
5) If it has to be a 'series' for monetary reasons, plan it rather than split it as a last-minute decision.
 
#15
If I hold any major executive position at Square-Enix, the first thing I will probably find is someone breathing down my neck, telling me that I will have to get the finances on track. So something off the bat such as remaking Final Fantasy VII will be beyond my ability to even greenlight, if I'm even willing to in the first place. It would have to be a project for the next-gen consoles, with a total cost that I don't think anyone will be able to properly predict. The only thing we know is that it will likely be the most expensive project yet, and unless it's done properly, the most hardcore of fans would incessantly cry foul.

A future mainline game definitely needs fresh blood. Maybe a newer generation of ambitious leaders and designers able to inject something fresh into the franchise, and preferably in a way that it doesn't hark back to grander old days such as FFVII, or contemporary benchmark-setters of the day as a point of comparison or inspiration. So I will say to the teams that we must cease focusing on things like: "let's beat Skyrim" or "let's make this even more successful than FFVII!". No, no, no. Don't walk in there with an approach like that, because it's distorting and will more than likely to incite disappointment with a product than anything. I would prefer a future Final Fantasy game to be distinctly its own thing, as opposed to some reactionary response to something else in the market, or a callback to an earlier, successful game. It would do so much better for the franchise if we remember that Final Fantasy is at its best when it leads, not follows.

I would absolutely love to get the point across to the company that we should break out of old cliches and paradigms. Even something as superficial to begin with such as a non-human protagonist. Or a more rugged, battle-worn, elderly person as the hero instead of a teenager or someone in their early twenties. We allegedly almost got there with Basch for FFXII, but because the exec at the time decided to bow to his own interpretation of what the Japanese demographic wanted, we got Vaan. How about a Final Fantasy game with a narrative that is told through ways that isn't conventionally told? Final Fantasy XIII actually had an interesting idea of starting in media res, with a succession of disjointed flashbacks that come together like a puzzle. What about something interesting like seeing things happen through multiple, interactive perspectives? Character X witnesses an event and sees it in his or her way, and the player shifts to controlling Character Y who investigates the aftermath of the event, discovering his or her own interpretations of what has happened. Why not have a game where we see things through the eyes of both the protagonist and the villain?

It is a shame that everyone is shifting to the action-RPG front nowadays. I myself adore action-RPGs, so this isn't a huge shame for me, but I realise that not everyone is wired the same way, and many would prefer at least one high-profile turn-based game on consoles. Final Fantasy XV, coupled with Kingdom Hearts 3, is just not offering that glimmer of optimism for them. And why not have a turn-based Final Fantasy on a console? Is the market at the moment so fixated on cinematic "Press A to awesome!" game design at the moment that no one will ever bat an eyelid at a turn-based RPG? I don't believe that, and I do hope FFX HD will trigger back the realisation that "hey, turn-based is quite cool!". I also hope that the XCOM games (not the shooter) continue to garner more and more success for the turn-based front. I would absolutely not be opposed to greenlighting a future Final Fantasy game with turn-based combat, or at least, a form of satisfactory hybrid.

In terms of recouping costs: okay, let's admit it. It has been a very difficult - at some points, calamitous - generation for the company. I can't see next-gen (or this gen? Do we count PS4/Xbone as current gen now?) being that much easier for them. I am accepting the reality that more direct sequels will become the norm, unless miraculously the costs of developing the original game is dwarfed enough by commercial success that it doesn't need to spawn a "saga" or "epic" of its own. But if we're going to create sagas/epics again, let's do it properly. Let's make them coherently managed this time, and not unlike the transition from FFXIII to FFXIII-2, start veering off to inexplicably do some time travelling. I think the best thing we can do with sagas, is to limit settings and scopes of conflicts to something more...local and smaller-scale? Something I like about FFXII is that the Ivalice they talk about, and the Ivalice we see, is only a part of the world. We don't see Rozarria, much less the whole world, and something like that produces enough room for a decent sequel set in this same grounded world without having to constantly open up portals to weird voids, or through time.

Something will have to be done about the time it takes to produce one game, and the inevitable chaos and office politics that goes on in the development background. It's something we can learn from western developers. How do we go about creating a large, ambitious and expensive project without having to write off 6-7 years from the eager fans? How do we improve communications across the team(s), and how can the leadership best be placed so that someone like Nomura is not so completely swamped that it can destroy a man like Matsuno? Maybe it is for the best that we do a bit more outsourcing now and then, and contracting another studio in to give a hand? I would talk further about finding ways to cut costs and boost efficiency, but I don't know what the current state of Square-Enix actually looks like, and nor am I an expert.

Toriyama does not get to hold significant power over a Final Fantasy game until he has taken an intensive training course in writing. Watanabe can go with him, along with whoever penned the scripts of the FFXIII games so far. Kitase can stay, so long as someone else can rein in his excesses. If Tabata feels ready to head a mainline project of his own, I would give him all the support he needs. I would even reach out to Matsuno and ask him whether he would like to collaborate with Square-Enix again, but this time for a smaller-scale project in the veins of Final Fantasy Tactics (ignoring the fact that the man is already doing Unsung Story for mobile platforms).

Speaking of mobile, I'll have to confess and say that with the market as it currently is, it does not make sense for a company to go around nuking their support for iOS and Android. Final Fantasy: All The Bravest however, would never have happened on my watch. I would put actual effort into iOS FF offers without churning out a consumer-hating product that exists only to vacuum-suck a poor, hapless fan of their wallet. An original little Final Fantasy game that has had some love and effort put into it, with a fun use of the touch interface without the compromises would be something nice to see, but done sporadically enough that it doesn't look like we're "whoring" out the franchise as much as possible. I wouldn't slap an action-RPG for mobile platforms though. That's a case of disregarding the touch interface instead of being more creative about it. Microtransactions are fine, so long as a player isn't stronghanded into spending money just to progress.

When announcing a new game, I would make sure that it's far enough in development to be announced first, otherwise we'll end up pissing more people off with Versus XIII revisits. I'm looking at you, Kingdom Hearts III.

Finally, let's give FFV and FFVI the proper treatment and remake them in 3D. For handhelds, and down the line, for mobile. I can't fathom why they've re-released FFV for mobile like that, but are remaking The After Years, a game that...no one asked for?