final fantasy 16 Producer Naoki Yoshida Addressed Fan Criticism About The Lack Of Diversity In The Upcoming Game In A New Interview IGNwhere he argued that it was the historical setting of the title that prevented the inclusion of people of color.
When asked directly by IGN about including non-white characters in upcoming games, Yoshida described the question as “difficult” and his answer was “disappointing” for those with higher expectations. there is a possibility.
“From the early stages of development, our design concepts have always been heavily influenced by medieval Europe, incorporating the historical, cultural, political and anthropological criteria that were prevalent at the time,” says Yoshida. said.
“When deciding on the setting that best fits the story we want to tell, the story of the land plagued by Bright, we need to limit the scope to a single one rather than creating something global. It felt like a continent — one that was geographically and culturally isolated from the rest of the world in an era without planes, televisions, or telephones.
‘Due to the geographical, technical and geopolitical constraints underlying this setting, Valisthea [the setting of Final Fantasy 16] It has never been more realistically diverse than modern Earth… final fantasy 14 An entire planet (and moon) worth of countries, races and cultures at your disposal.
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“Ultimately, while incorporating ethnic diversity into Valisea is important, incorporating it too much into this corner of the much larger world violates the narrative boundaries we initially set. The story we are telling is fantasy, but it is also grounded in reality.
The long-winded justification caused an uproar online, with many believing that a magic-based franchise and housing creatures like Fran alive would make itself “real” in its portrayal of diversity. The imagination can extend to the dazzling crystals that rule the fate of the world, but not to the inclusion of non-white characters in European stories. Visibility is the main issue.
“What’s really frustrating about all this is that blacks and browns have always existed in medieval Europe.” Kotaku Writer Sisi Jiang wrote about the comments.
“If creative leaders had done more research or had their prejudices checked, they might have found that black people have lived in Britain for 2000 years. Or that Iberia has been under Islamic rule for about 500 years.
“I think there are too many games out there that have monster-sized summons named Ifrit, Bahamut, and Baruda, and some characters aren’t white.” Written by a Twitter user.
“I’m a huge Final Fantasy fan and I’m still looking forward to 16, but Yoshi P said about the lack of variety in FF16’s trailers, if he didn’t give the ‘deliberately worst possible answer’, it would be better.” I couldn’t have given you a bad answer. ,’ another person said.
As many have pointed out, Yoshida’s answer dances around the topic of diversity, offering an excuse that makes little sense in a real-world context. Also fantasy. As Square Enix prepares for its final launch, final fantasy 16 .