On the third day of Tokyo Game Show 2021, two well-known game producers Hironobu Sakaguchi and Naoki Yoshida had a special talk. The topic of the talk was “The Charm and Possibilities of RPG”. The whole talk lasted for one hour at TGS The official channel will be broadcast live in 2021, and the following articles will extract abstract content.
Hironobu Sakaguchi’s experience is not a problem. The “Final Fantasy” series came from him, and the name “Father of FF” came from this; Naoki Yoshida is the current “Final Fantasy XIV” and “Final Fantasy XVI” Producers, the two talked about the charm and possibilities of RPG in this special meeting.
Hironobu Sakaguchi and Naoki Yoshida first met when the “Final Fantasy XIV” was updated in 2013. Naoki Yoshida officially became the game producer and director in October 2010, and has been working on rebuilding the entire game.
Sakaguchi Hironobu mentioned that he had been asked by Yoshida Naoki who had never met, “What should I do with “FF”?” So Sakaguchi Hironobu replied, “This is your game, so just do what you want to do. “
About Hironobu Sakaguchi’s new work “FANTASIAN”
Hironobu Sakaguchi, who has left Square Enix for many years, is currently the latest work “FANTASIAN”. Hironobu Sakaguchi mentioned that the reason why he would use a three-dimensional perspective model to make the venue is because he has always liked the technique of three-dimensional perspective models. Now that the image quality of the game has been greatly improved, Sakaguchi Hironobu believes that photos can be used as materials to develop games.
In the past, Hiroshin Sakaguchi shared the production process of “FANTASIAN” with the public. He once mentioned that he would use physical models as game scenes, and it is actually very difficult to make perspective scenes, because these three-dimensional perspective models will change due to the passage of time. Change, sometimes when you take a photo again, you will find that the originally built scene has become different.
When entrusting creators to make a three-dimensional perspective model, the development team usually only has a few concept maps and one map to use. If the actual three-dimensional perspective model used is different from the scene prepared in advance, the development team will change the script to achieve (or adapt) the difference.
If a game scene is full of dialogue, but when the three-dimensional perspective model has almost no walking distance, the lines have to be transferred to other scenes for use.
The unique image of “FANTASIAN” is mainly due to the effects and lighting used in the shooting process, as well as the built-in LED light source of the three-dimensional perspective model itself. This special LED light source is not included in the initial commissioned content, but by Produced independently by the producer.
The biggest feature of “FANTASIAN” is the Dimension system that can blow the enemy to another dimension. From the beginning of the script writing, the development time of the game is about 3 years. Sakaguchi Hironobu believes that this kind of production process still has some shortcomings, such as a heavy burden on engineers and so on.
Hironobu Sakaguchi 《FFXIV》 Japanese 《FFXVI》
Players who have been paying attention to “Final Fantasy XIV” recently may have noticed more or less. Sakaguchi Hironobu recently joined the ranks of “Final Fanatasy XIV” Warriors of Light. Sakaguchi Hironobu said that he didn’t know that “光战” (ヒカセン) was an abbreviation for “Warrior of Light” (光の戦士), which meant the meaning of the player.
At present, Hironobu Sakaguchi’s instructor in the game is Yasuki Matsuno (the producer of FFXII), who is also responsible for writing the game scripts. The two have been sharing the game screens of Hiroshin Sakaguchi through the Internet communication system, and Yasuki Matsuno is responsible for teaching him some Knowledge about the game.
Hironobu SakaguchiI was obsessed with “EverQuest” in the past,Mentioned that I have not played MMORPG for a long time, “I don’t think I can get out of it (game world). The game is easy to play, but the rules are very complicated. The more you collect, the craftsman can do it. There will be more and more things, and I think the depth of it is amazing.”
Hironobu Sakaguchi and Naoki Yoshida are both old rivers and lakes who have been in RPG-type games for many years. Both agree that the charm of RPG lies in the natural combination of their own stories and worldviews with games.
“Since I was a child, I have been a child who likes fantasy. I will try to imagine the fictional world, what rules that world should have, and what kind of characters there should be, so that the imagination becomes gradually concrete and very interesting.” Sakaguchi Hironobu said.
Naoki Yoshida said that he did not hate the chaos of “Ultima Online” and “EverQuest”, but now is not the age when anyone can spend time there (Yoshida may refer to the game). He wants to let players use the past to play ” To play in the same way as Final Fantasy, you just have to advance through the main line.
Hironobu Sakaguchi likes that “Final Fantasy XIV” will have other series as elements. Naoki Yoshida mentioned that another concept is “building a “Final Fantasy” theme park.”
Naoki Yoshida said: “This series has been launched for 35 years. Although every player has one of his favorite generations, there are also algebras that players don’t know. I want to create a place where people who like “Final Fantasy III” can be passionate. Talk about it so that even unfamiliar people can be interested.”
Then back to the topic of “Final Fantasy XVI”, Naoki Yoshida said that the current game script has been completed. At the very beginning of the project, the team size was not large. After deciding to start production, it turned to large-scale development. The current 3D model of the game And some of the main scenes have almost been completed, just need to make some changes, the implication is that the progress of “Final Fantasy XVI” is quite optimistic.
Sakaguchi Hironobu said jokingly: “Mr. Yokoo Taro said before that he wanted to write a plot for the game. I also want to write a story for the game. It doesn’t matter if it is a small task.” He knew that Matsuno Yasuki also participated in the development at present, and felt that if he If you want to compete with Mr. Matsuno, you may not necessarily win. “If you want to compete with Matsuno, he can’t teach me how to play the game.” Sakaguchi Hironobu said.
In addition, Sakaguchi Hironobu also mentioned that he wanted to design costumes for “Final Fantasy XIV” or “Final Fantasy XVI”, emphasizing: “The script is the battle between Matsuno and Yokoo.”
The charm and possibility of RPG
The host asked the reasons why the two producers continued to make RPGs. Hironobu Sakaguchi said that he was a child who likes fantasy since he was a child. It is very happy to be able to turn his imagination into reality through games.
In addition, during the development process, when a staff member put forward an idea that Sakaguchi Hironobu himself did not imagine, Sakaguchi Hironobu would feel “Thank you for doing this for me.” Teamwork like this makes him want to continue production. The motivation and reason for RPG.
Naoki Yoshida revealed that there is a story circulating inside Square Enix, saying that when Hironobu Sakaguchi gave instructions to the team, his enthusiasm was completely different from other times.
Then Naoki Yoshida continued, the reason why he started making RPG games was mainly influenced by the “Dragon Quest” and “Final Fantasy” series. He started playing these games when he was a teenager, and he decided Next, I will be engaged in game development.
Naoki Yoshida said that he likes fantasy novels such as “The Lord of the Rings” very much. He thinks that such stories can also be shown in the game, so he determined to engage in game development. Especially the game can experience the charm that other entertainments such as movies don’t have by personally participating in it.
There are many different types of RPGs, such as action RPGs or turn-based RPGs, and it is difficult to put them in the same category. Hironobu Sakaguchi believes that the skill tree system that appears in many RPGs is characterized by gradually increasing the things players can do. Because such a system is consistent with the simulation part of the RPG game, such as the story, the world view and other elements, it has gradually developed into various Form of RPG.
Naoki Yoshida believes that the only common point in contemporary RPG works is the growth and development elements, and revealed that “Final Fantasy XVI” will have a similar skill tree system.
Then Hiroshin Sakaguchi continued to follow the topic just now, and took “Final Fantasy XIV” as an example. He said: “Because it is an MMORPG, I have the same foothold as other players, but as the story progresses, I think I’m a warrior of light. It’s natural to think about it when you incorporate the story into the game, which I think is great.”
Naoki Yoshida said: “This is what I learned from games done by Mr. Sakaguchi and his team. For example, in “Final Fantasy XIV”, there is a scene where players leave in an airship and everyone sees him off.”
As for the next possibilities of RPG, Hironobu Sakaguchi believes that it will be possible to link with AR. For example, “Final Fantasy XIV” players will be very happy if they can use AR to make pets walk around in the game. Naoki Yoshida said that AR-related research is currently underway, and there is also a demand for games to correspond to VR functions.
Naoki Yoshida believes that graphic objects are gradually becoming more refined, and the increase in development costs will become the main issue in the future. As the art becomes more realistic, it will become more difficult to “draw a lie” and create a big adventure to save the world. It will also become very difficult.
For example, some fans once said that they don’t want the game story to take place in a small town in a certain country. The development team needs to consider how to solve this problem in the future. As a way to solve the problem, there is now a way to use AI to build a huge open world. Sakaguchi Hironobu believes that although this technology can help a little bit, it cannot solve the fundamental problem.
Here again I mentioned the three-dimensional perspective model technique used in “FANTASIAN”. In an era of digital development of games, games that use real objects to build scenes like they should be done are quite rare, and it is precisely because of the focus on details. Make the story and worldview of the game stand out.
“I thought about retiring after “FANTASIAN”, but I am planning the next work so I hope to make something in the near future.” Sakaguchi Hironobu said at the end of the special conversation.
Hironobu Sakaguchi and Naoki Yoshida maintained the same position in the discussions of the day, insisting on their particular attention to game stories and worldviews in order to respond to changes and trends in the times. Their position on game development remains unchanged.
Perhaps the secret to the long-term success of the “Final Fantasy” series and other RPG masterpieces is that these developers continue to put their passion and enthusiasm into their work.
TGS 2021 Hiroshin Sakaguchi × Naoki Yoshida Special Interview Content Original Video
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