>Square Enix held a “Behind the Game Designs of Final Fantasy XV” panel featuring lead game designers Wan Hazmer and Prasert “Sun” Prasertvithyakarn at PAX East in Boston today.
>Sun and Hazmer are lead designers in different areas of the game. Here are brief outlines of what each designer does:
Prasert “Sun” Prasertvithyakarn - The lead gamer designer for the Buddy team, which is in charge of the AI characters and how they behave with the player—how they battle, how they walk, how they talk, etc. Sun says that many people take these AI characters for granted, because in most games they’re just there for the sake of the story, but in Final Fantasy XV, they play a significant role, and they’re trying to create a “revolution” in terms of what these AI characters can do.
Wan Hazmer - The lead game designer for the Culture team, which is in charge of creating cultures for the world of Final Fantasy XV. This includes building civilizations, food, and the stories behind the towns surrounding the game’s world map. Hazmer says that they don’t just want to make a town to be a rest stop, they want it to be rich with culture.
>Tabata wasn’t able to make the panel, unfortunately, as he’s in Japan attending his daughter’s graduation.
http://gematsu.com/2015/03/final-fantasy-xv-pax-east-new-episode-duscae-area-buddies-detailed
The Next Final Fantasy
The goal for the next Final Fantasy is always to “create the best Final Fantasy in the series,” as well as “retain the charm of [the series] and package it into a new experience. That charm is “fantasy with believably.”
Sun explains that there are lots of games where the hero travels alone, but not in the Final Fantasy series, and especially not in XV. The follow you, not behind you, but alongside.
“Final Fantasy XV is a game about a road trip with your best buddies in a fantastical yet believable world,” a slide proceeds to read.
Episode Duscae
The Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo included with early copies of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is named after the region Duscae, which features a lot of vast greenland and natural land formations. The part you’ll be able to explore in Episode Duscae is only part of the region, which itself is part of a bigger world more than 10 times bigger than the Duscae region itself.
There is a reason you’re stuck in the Duscae region in the demo. Your car is broken, because one certain blonde guy (ahem, Prompto) broke your car. So for the mechanic Cindy to fix your car, you’ll need to get money, which is the objective of the demo. You can figure out how to get the money yourself, but the demo’s main quest is to defeat the Behemoth, a creature wanted for a huge sum of money. If you take on the Behemoth quest, the first thing you’ll need to do is look for it by spotting footprints and such. But you’ll also get many other quests.
When it’s nighttime, many dangerous creatures will come out. So you can choose to camp (which auto-saves the game) in order to avoid them. When you camp, Ignis will cook for you and give you buffs. Buffs in Episode Duscae include:
Fresh – Slightly increases attack, defense, and EXP gained.
Prime – Greatly increases attack, defense, and EXP gained.
Sharp – Increases critical hit rate.
Immune – Negates status ailments.
>I have a lot of thoughts. The short version: Final Fantasy XV is full of smart ideas, and although the tropes are all there—phoenix downs, gysahl greens, peppy victory music—it feels totally different than any Final Fantasy before it, more akin to Skyrim or Far Cry than any JRPG we've seen to date. But can Square Enix's tech live up to their vision? The demo I played was janky, peppered with distracting jaggies, and full of framerate drops that made exploring FFXV's open world feel like more of a chore than it ever should have been. At least they have time to fix it.
you can stop your shilling nigger
>Here is the official fact sheet outline of Episode Duscae, via Square Enix:
Backstory
When you’ve spent your entire life looking out at the serrated city skyline, it’s easy to lose yourself in the sprawling Duscaen landscape. The prince and his retinue were halfway to Cauthess when their daydreams came to a sudden, screeching halt—the Regalia’s last gasp before giving out to the unpaved backroads.
Now they were truly lost in the landscape: broken down by the side of the road with the Disc well out of walking distance. The Archaean, Titan, would have to wait. He’d been dormant for ages anyway. The first order of business was getting back on four wheels.
Key Features
A New Generation of Final Fantasy: The latest platform technology brings Duscae to life, rendering fast-paced action against breathtaking backdrops under a sky that changes in real time.
Open World Exploration: Guide Noctis and his entourage over the plains, through the woods, into the dungeons and around the outposts of Duscae as players roam freely about the expansive region.
Action-Packed Combat: Final Fantasy XV is the first Final Fantasy flagship title to give players direct control over combat in real-time, resulting in an exhilarating action RPG experience.
Summoning: Uncover the astral power that will enable Noctis to call larger-than-life vengeance down from the heavens.
Engaging Quests: Adventures great and small await in Duscae.
English and Japanese Voice-Over: Enjoy English or Japanese audio with English, French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish text.
>The Buddies
Sun and Hazmer note that while we’ve seen Noctis’ buddies in previous media, we’ve never been properly introduced to them. So the pair took to outlining the group.
Gladiolus Amicitia - He’s the eldest of the group, as well as the strongest and bravest. He’s been well trained since he was young, and always fights at the front of the battle, but is always laid back and relaxed. He cares a lot about his friends, so tends to shout advice and is kind of bossy. He has the highest HP of the group.
Ignis Scientia - He has known Noctis since he was a child an wants to be his counsel, so he has been studying a lot and knows a lot of things. He also likes to cook. In battles, he stays by Noctis’ side and always tries to protect him. He has the Cure technique in Episode Duscae, and is equipped with a weapon allowing him to use the poison-inducing “Venom Strike.”
Prompto Argentum - He is Noctis’ classmate. Unlike the other two, he has never trained how to fight, so he’s always anxious in battle and always runs around trying to be useful and show off. Sometime he’ll miss himself, but he never gives up and that’s his good point. In Episode Duscae, he has a special bind technique that puts the enemy in a weak status.
“You (the player) are the fifth buddy,” the designers explained. You can’t go on a road trip and not be friends with the people who are there with you. The pair noted that buddies need to be functional, believable, comfortable, and emotional.
>Buddy Navigation System
Some of the staff working on Final Fantasy XV went on a road trip, and during the trip, someone was always making a request and side-tracking the overall destination. So the goal of the roadtrip is always changing, and that’s been incorporated into the game. If you’re walking around and a buddy notices something, they’ll run off to it and call you over, for example. Sometimes this is served as a hint to clear a quest, or as a hint to start a new quest. But because these are “requests,” you can refuse, if that’s what choose want to do.
Relaxation and the Wiz Chocobo Outpost
“Relaxation ins a JRPG is about the towns,” Hazmer says. “We must make a memorable checkpoint for the towns.”
When you visit a new town, it has to have its own culture, the designer outlined on a slide. But at the same time, it has to be rooted culture. And you must be able to relax and get help, if needed.
In Episode Duscae, there are two outposts. One is the previously revealed gas station. The other is the “Wiz Chocobo Post,” which is was revealed for the first time today, as well as Yoko Shimomura’s new song for the area.
>>286037245
Already a thread
>>286032806
A man named Wiz owns the post. He is a very passionate chocobo rider, so he created the outpost, as well as chocobo merchandise sold at the post, like greens-flavored potato chips. It’s not a chocobo farm, but a place for chocobo riders to relax. In the final game, you’ll be able to ride chocobos, as well as rent them from this place. But in Episode Duscae, that functionality is, of course, limited.
There is also a caravan at the post, which you can choose to sleep in if you’d rather not camp. The negatives of this are that Ignis won’t be able to cook in the caravan. But the positive is that the caravan offers an experience multiplier, but it costs money.
>>286037452
>Suddenly /v/ is spamming Kotaku opinions as the most credible thing on the planet, albeit they are the only ones who said anything negative at all and are also fucking Kotaku
I love /v/. Next you'll start quoting Anita and purposefully not saying who you're quoting to prove your baseless opinions.
>>286037894
That thread is just shitposting, i am posting info about the game
>>286037452
>Kotaku
anyway, thanks for bumping my thread
Famitsu video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=udNa_qSH9TQ
Gamespot videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LnxP3IpTJc4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Iobn_d8ETrw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xO5Gf6nf_A0
IGN video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=krFBAqOxUrU
PlayStation Access video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=174DXJTt5pU
>>286037245
>walls of text
>no gifs or webms
show don't tell, get to the point in ten words or less
>>286037452
Ah, so Kotaku is a valid source now that it helps you shit on something you don't like?
If Kotaku was shitting on The Witcher 3 you'd throw a shitfit.
>>286038445
there are videos here>>286038441
>>286037452
Based kotaku fellow master race brother.
>>286037452
>visiting kotaku
>reading articles by the guy who shitted over Dragon's crown because big tits triggered him.
How much of this map is part of the demo? Is there more than just this section?
>>286037894
This is the fourth thread actually
>>286038567
Where are your webms, man?
What do we know about game:
>scripted cutscenes
>average graphics
>boysband
It might turn out to be good but for now every sane person should avoid it.
>>286037894
This thread has a bunch of actual info, the other one is
>WHY ARE THEY A BUNCHA FUCKIN GAY BOY BANDERS
>>286038775
Here's your reply
>>286038775
>cutscenes make games bad
Holy shit, guess everything outside of fucking Atari is a tragedy. Even Mario games have fucking scripted cutscenes.
>>286038775
Yeah you're definitely right anon, you're opinion is the best, and anyone who disagrees must be insane, this doesn't sound like something a tumblrite would say at all.
>>286038923
don't reply to shitposters
>>286038897
>>286038923
>>286038946
>>286039038
Those are objective facts you FUCKING retards. What the hell is wrong with you?
>>286038646
We don't know but it's gonna be 10 times bigger the full region
>>286038776
>info square enix sanctioned
>real info
lol no the only real info in this thread is a gamer's hands-on.
>>286039154
facts =/= shitposting
>>286038776
But those are valid points.
It is a bunch of fucking gay boysbanders. Characters are design around that idea.
Combat has QTEs, spamming one-two attacks and bad physics.
Square should drop that retarded archaic "action RPG" combat and put some proper combat mechanics there.
>>286039154
>These guys are a boyband
But you're wrong, they aren't a boyband, they're a group of adventurers in dorky clothes. None of them play an instrument.
Not a fact.
why are people saying this is new territory with JRPGS? Xenoblade Chronicles already covered the massive world/exploration aspect quite well..
>>286039154
>MY OPINIONS ARE OBJECTIVELY FACTS YOU FUCKING RETARDS
>>286039383
You aren't even trying
>>286039419
You don't need to play an instrument to be in a boy band, you don't even have to sing.
>>286038923
Sorry, I didn't mean story cutscenes, just scripted combat QTEs. They are bad.
>>286039432
>Xenoblade Chronicles already covered the massive world/exploration aspect quite well..
Babby's first JRPG.
Older JRPGs have done this.
And it isn't people saying that, it's PR and gaming journos saying that. Yes, they're less than people.
Holy shit, the shitposting is unbearable and i am used to it with Bloodborne thread
>>286039432
>Xenoblade Chronicles already covered the massive world/exploration aspect quite well..
I loved Xenoblade but what that game did wasn't anything new
>>286039686
12 unique ids and 38 posts.
>>286039730
For an RPG it was.
>>286037452
Wow, skyrim and farcry huh...
#4theplayers
Can someone post good videos of the new footage?
>>286038775
>boysband
>>286039383
>boysbanders
Why are you purposefully misspelling that? It seems you're baiting.
>>286039567
>scripted combat QTEs
You mean context sensitive actions? That's like saying the attack inputs in Paper Mario are QTEs. That's like saying pressing the dodge button is a QTE, it puts you in an animation to avoid damage, after all. That's like saying the reaction commands in KH2 are QTEs, you don't HAVE to do them, they're simply optional commands that make flashy animations happen, they aren't (most of the time) necessary.
>this thread
The samefag shilling is real.
I really do not like the free regen shit by teleporting to a post. Feels way too easy to abuse. The attack pauses got a lot less limited but they are still in places where they shouldn't be in the combat system and movement. Free revives also are really cheap.
There might be something there but the open world thing isn't interesting at all. The real test is going to come when Square Enix can't just show demo stuff anymore at E3 or TGS this year. I wonder if they will still be as open about the game as they have been or if they will go back to being reclusive.
>>286039828
No, Xenoblade did not do anything new that we haven't seen before in a JRPG. The world was well presented, there is no denying that, but new? Breaking new ground, new territory? No.
>>286039432
The massive world there was empty, boring, and full of filler sidequests.
...actually, that's exactly what FFXV is doing. So it IS a predecessor. Good call.
>>286039492
>believing devs before seeing actual game
>There will be sperated buttons for attacks and skills
In other words: you will spam one button for 90% of game.
>not all attacks can be evaded or guarded
Because game would be too easy if you let players use abilities.
>they will be extremely challenging to attract the hardcore gamers
It comes from Squeenix, the same people who have been advertising Hitman Absolution as a game for hardcore audience.
>>286040021
>good videos
>FFXV
All of them only have the player run around in fields and mash X in combat.
>>286040176
The world in Xenoblade was massive, open, and you could jump around. No other JRPG did those things.
>>286040067
>they aren't (most of the time) necessary.
But they are bad and the game suffers from featuring them.
>>286040313
>The world in Xenoblade was massive, open, and you could jump around. No other JRPG did those things.
Are you retarded?
>>286040313
>The world in Xenoblade was massive, open, and you could jump around. No other JRPG did those things.
Rogue Galaxy.
Steambot.
Wild Arms 5.
This is why japan is hardly relevant anymore, now that graphics have advanced they can't fool us into liking their horribly designed characters.
>>286038441
>The combat tutorial video
But muh /v/ industry insiders told me you had to hold one button to SSS combat & dodging was this invincibility button that never drained mana.
>>286040454
Those games weren't massive or open.
>>286040629
They gave an illusion of open, which is what Xenoblade also does.
Gamespot literally did an editorial by a gay man about how great the male intimacy in Final Fantasy 15 is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lHI3k-2NVw
>>286038592
>big tits triggered him.
Dude, big tits triggers anyone anymore. Look at that craze of famous character redesigns. They're so proud of them because they 'reduce the bust to make things more realistic'. Aside the fact that women can have naturally large breasts, the fact that people say it's better to make fantasy characters in video games more realistic is something I can't fucking comprehend for the life of me.
>>286040763
Except there's no illusion, Xenoblade is fucking massive and open. You can even travel vertically which most JRPGs ignore.
>>286040912
It is an illusion of open world when you've played open world games before. I can't jump start from Colony 9 all the way to the Bionis Head, for example. You're fed new areas along a linear story progression. That is not open world.
>>286037245
post the awoo one
>>286040906
There's a huge difference between making game look more realistic and being offended by a pair of big tits.
>xenodrones already shitposting
>>286041069
Now you're just changing your goal posts, and for what? Stop being autistic you faggot the game is something that's done what no other JRPG has done.
>>286040912
now with even more boring combat.
>>286041224
>What is Ni no kuni? What is DQ VIII?
>>286041224
The only thing it's done that's new is the setting. That's it. Everything else has been done before. You clearly haven't played those games I mentioned.
>>286041224
Okay, so can I face the final boss at the beginning of the game? No? Then it's not open world.
Open world means nothing is stopping me from jumping right to the end of he game.
>>286041125
But that's all they care about. People couldn't give two shits about whatever the setting for a given world, just that they can relate to a character's appearance, and the fact that it's being force fed into everyone's mind as something that video games have to have/be is disgusting. When was it that video games went from finding something you found interesting and buying it to something where you have to inject your opinion and have certain aspect change to meet your criteria for it? Jesus christ, most of these people don't even bother playing the damn games in the first place.
>>286041413
Can't jump in those.
>>286041463
But I have, there nowhere near as large.
>>286041581
>Can't jump in those.
But they are open world, you retard.
>>286037407
>The goal for the next Final Fantasy is always to “create the best Final Fantasy in the series,” as well as “retain the charm of [the series] and package it into a new experience. That charm is “fantasy with believably.”
What happened to that mindset when they made Final Fantasy XIII or Final Fantasy XIV 1.0?
>>286037245>
>Tabata wasn’t able to make the panel, unfortunately, as he’s in Japan attending his daughter’s graduation.
Is she cute?
>>286041212
>>286041404
>>286041475
All this deflection, nowhere have I said I even liked the game or that it's open world.
>>286041475
That's retarded.
>>286040313
>what is Rogue Galaxy
>what is Dragon Quest 8
>>286041673
>XIII
directed by an idiot and a total mess in the development
>XIV
same as above
>>286041581
They are just as large a setting, for example Wild Arms 5, it's only because it uses an overworld so it doesn't feel that big.
>>286041673
XIV 1.0 was outsourced to china, and XIII was Toriyama's waifu fantasy
>>286041697
>>286041698
Chrono Trigger did it to an extent. After a set point of events, you could face Lavos at any time. And new game plus let you do it right from the start.
>>286041581
You can in Ni no Kuni. But it's so useless even the game acknowledges it.
>>286041859
>outsourced to china
I'm still mad.
