There is one special story in the development of FINAL FANTASY XVI that Naoki Yoshida acknowledges. It will never be forgotten. The producer describes a particular port town conceptualized by the studio. Its key feature is the enormous wall that separates the city from the surrounding sea along its entire length and has successfully protected the people behind it from invasion for over three centuries. It’s a visually striking spectacle that fits perfectly into Valistia’s larger fantasy world. There was one problem though.
“Overlooking these designs, there is a natural cliff on the sea side of the corner of the city. And this cliff is probably 15 meters high. And houses the leader of this city, the most important person. right there next to it. What stopped pirates from coming, destroying and taking over your home? It didn’t make sense. ”
As a result, I had to go back to the drawing board, proverbially and literally, to correct an oversight.
It is a flashback that clearly demonstrates the careful work that goes into making this fantastical world believable and practically alive. And that story is just one of many examples of the complexity that producers Arthis director Hiroshi Minagawa and localization director Michael Christopher Koji have navigated with Fox. We built Valistre and the player’s journey through it.
The design of the world of how Valistia rests at the crossroads between multiple teams in the studio, including environment artists, level designers, and combat teams, was an insight given by the trio during their two-day stay in London. It has become the focal point of rich conversations. This stay is just one phase of her multi-country tour for the games they love, with each stop allowing attendees to play a near-final version of her PS5 game for a few hours. can.
It’s a solid practice. First, sample the game start time. It’s a flashback to a key moment in Clive Rosfield’s youth and sets the stage for what’s to come. (This is the section that players will experience in the public demo prior to the full game launch.) Then play for 2 hours and change immediately after the demo ends. Finally, we have to wander for half an hour through one of his open areas of the game – a lush green valley. There are plenty of optional beasts to kill and side quests to undertake.
During that collective time, we wander through castle grounds and lairs, battle through more guided scenarios, and engage in epic cinematic Akon vs. Akon clashes. This will give you a deeper understanding of game structure and environmental design. I tried to answer questions that I hadn’t thought of. What version of Final Fantasy gardening tools?
Boss fights promise to be unique encounters, whether it’s Akon vs. Akon or Clive’s clash with a greater threat. FFXVI has a specific team, a small group of game designers, animators and programmers dedicated to creating these.
A chocobo stable, a ruined town in a murky swamp, and a mountainous landscape that has been repeatedly ravaged by Akon, all of which are lavish and meticulously rendered. At least in this first long run, you can see that everything placed throughout has a purpose and every area has a backstory. It clearly requires effort and cooperation. (“You reminded us of what we don’t want to do,” Yoshida-san jokingly concludes the interview after reflecting on the challenges that brought such great results. )
The first step was the story concept, a decision made when considering what worked and what didn’t in Final Fantasy XV. Most of Final Fantasy’s game stories are stand-alone adventures, but they’re not contained within a bubble. Adding to the larger tapestry naturally means looking back at what has come before. Yoshida points out that players are dissatisfied with FFXV’s story. “It was imperfect. There were promises made, but they didn’t live up to them. So that’s what we wanted to avoid in FFXVI.”
Then I had to imagine what drives the world and what drives the characters. The producers likened Final Fantasy game staple Valistia’s Mother He Crystals to an oil field, and Crystal’s aether production is similar to petroleum. Ether powers magic and powers the world. When that resource dwindles, conflict erupts. Certain regions felt like a natural fit for certain elements, which organically led to aligning them with Akon (his FFXVI version of the franchise’s colossal summoning), which has similar elemental powers. These are controlled by dominants. Dominants are unique individuals who can turn the tide of conflict as a result of their power and are therefore a valuable asset to the nation-state.
After these aspects are envisioned and in place, the art team and story writers get to work. The complexity of creating the world is anything but simple, as natural cliffs nearly lower the port town. Nor can the place make the backstory and lore of the area feel authentic.
The world’s dense backstory is easily digested by the active time lore system. At any time you click, you’ll see a candidate list of characters, factions, and nations with a short text that updates contextually based on what’s happening onscreen.
“This is not something that only designers can do. I mean, they put in the effort. Hiroshi Minagawa of , recalls the early days when there was an overabundance of general-purpose barrels around the world. “When you go to the desert, there are only barrels,” he laughed. “Some of the staff may think that ‘the more barrels, the better,'” Yoshida interjects. “It doesn’t feel like people live there.”
Solution: cross-pollination between teams. “We brought in members of the scenario and lore team to give us feedback on what this town is and what the lore of the town is,” explains Minagawa. “We asked him to provide us with photographs of what we were aiming for in the image and lore of each area, and with that information we worked with our designers to get the right feel. And once that guy on the lore team came in, you know, with the designers, things got a lot easier.” As was more wisely chosen, cities began to reflect the neighborhoods they were based in, suggesting the backstory of the places and people through visual cues alone.
By slicing the game vertically, the studio wanted to refine its vision, experiment with what could be achieved visually on the PS5, and use the design of that select area to define the feel of the wider game. is ready. Environment artists and level designers review and adapt each other’s suggestions, while the combat team tests whether the location is large enough for combat. This gameplay slice incorporates the Caer Norvent stage playable early in the story campaign.
After being mesmerized by composer Masayoshi Soken’s score for the section I played, I asked if music is the final bow that unites all realms. “There was literally no music until the very end,” admitted Yoshida, who said the game has more than 200 unique tracks. “Early on, we decided on themes for different countries and different characters, and then it was all about taking those core themes and using them in different situations.
“So it was quite a surprise for us as well, because we’ve been playing without sound all this time…we were also moved to hear the sound.” [that music] The first few times towards the end of development. “
The swells of the orchestra and choir are just one of many details aimed at making you feel completely immersed in Valistre, and all those rich details are immersive, no matter how trivial. Even if they are, they are created with careful decisions by the developers. Mr. Yoshida returns to the wall of that port town, how to sell the world he is used to living in.
“We have not been invaded, nor have we fallen. But certainly for over 300 years, people have I’ve tried. Therefore, in three centuries there will be no clean and unbroken walls. Some may have cracked or crumbled, but the walls are holding up. And just by being there visually, it tells its story. Yes, it hasn’t fallen yet, but people have tried. We also make sure that the history and lore that we build is communicated to the design team and reflected in the visuals. It’s very difficult, but that’s what makes the game better. “
Final Fantasy XVI launches on PS5 on June 22nd.
