Things That Don't Bother You About Gaming

[talonmalon333]

And I NEVER cared about the Final Fantasy series! So, I'd be completely indifferent to whether it stays around or goes for good.

What about IX?

[Grave]

I wouldn't miss FF either although I only enjoyed 4, 7, and 8 (still need to play 6), but it would suck for the series to fold because of incompetence.

[gunswordfist]

I lost interest after X but I see no reason for the series to die. There's so much the series could be with current gen technology.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I think Wired just did an article declaring its death, but it was written by Chris "any announced game that hasn't been released is vaporware" Kohler, I'm not sure if its worth clicking.

That said, I think abandoning their original audience with 8 and 10 (9 was a bone thrown to old school fans) is what did them in with the series. Narrowing exploration, shoehorning horrible fashion and art design (that's more aesthetic, though), writing stories that make no sense, hallways: the game, and focusing on anime-style cutscenes over gameplay scenarios didn't help much.

Oh yeah, and HD towns.

[Rynnec]

When your main character looks like this, there's only a certain number of people you can appeal to.

I think Wired just did an article declaring its death, but it was written by Chris "any announced game that hasn't been released is vaporware" Kohler, I'm not sure if its worth clicking.

That said, I think abandoning their original audience with 8 and 10 (9 was a bone thrown to old school fans) is what did them in with the series. Narrowing exploration, shoehorning horrible fashion and art design (that's more aesthetic, though), writing stories that make no sense, hallways: the game, and focusing on anime-style cutscenes over gameplay scenarios didn't help much.

Oh yeah, and HD towns.

Don't forget ruining FFVII with the Compliation stuff, and Nomura showing blatant disrespect for storytelling and character development.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Tidus really is an awful character design. I mean, really. The only worse main character design might be Vaan.

Their biggest problem is the guy writing their stories, though. Every bad modern anime cliche in every single plot.

[Rynnec]

It's like they made a concious effort to make all the characters look at least somewhat presentable except the main ones. Cloud, Squall, and KH2 Sora must've been fluke's or something, because they look just fine. Tidus and Vaan are also probably what started the trend of having whiny/boring-ass male leads in JRPG's (or at least Square RPG's) that are apparently popular in Japan for god knows what reason.

Their biggest problem is the guy writing their stories, though. Every bad modern anime cliche in every single plot.

It doesn't help that they seem to have no sense of self-awareness either.

[Spark Of Spirit]

If I'm not mistaken, Vaan was not in the original FFXII concept but was added because Square thought they didn't have a male character to appeal to their female fanbase which is why he has so little to do with the final plot since he was added later.

I think that probably says a lot when it comes to Square and Final Fantasy.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm reading the new Iwata Asks with Kamiya being interviewed and its quite interesting. One interesting section talked about how he really started to understand game design.

Iwata: So you've always had that knowledge at your disposal?
Kamiya: No, I'm not even sure I do now. For example, when making Viewtiful Joe, I made the map myself, and at first I couldn't make anything fun at all.
Iwata: Viewtiful Joe was a completely new kind of action game made for the Gamecube.
Kamiya: Yes, I began developing that title when my boss at Capcom, Shinji Mikami-san, said, "Try doing the design process by yourself." Before that, I had been involved with big teams making games like Resident Evil 2 and Devil May Cry, so it was my first time to come up with the project myself and see every last bit of it made.
Iwata: That was when you first experienced making something from scratch.
Kamiya: I had checked maps made by others, but it was my first time to make one myself.
Iwata: I would guess that a big reason for that was Mikami-san's desire to help you grow.
Kamiya: I suppose so. Mikami-san had also lived through the 8-bit NES era, so I think he wanted to give me the experience of starting up a project with relatively few people.

The whole interview has nuggets like that.

That probably helps understand why he's so good at directing games, since he adheres to an old school NES-style design philosophy. Also why Viewtiful Joe has so many explosive ideas, since it was his opportunity to really show what he could do without a team to carry aspects he couldn't figure out.

[Foggle]

While I'm usually more into fast-paced 3D games than classic stuff, I agree that the NES/SNES-era design philosophy easily produces the best games. That's why Platinum's work is so fantastic - it combines the best of both old and new - and why I love Grasshopper's stuff as well - because they're really just super quirky retro games in 3D.

[Spark Of Spirit]

While I'm usually more into fast-paced 3D games than classic stuff, I agree that the NES/SNES-era design philosophy easily produces the best games. That's why Platinum's work is so fantastic - it combines the best of both old and new - and why I love Grasshopper's stuff as well - because they're really just super quirky retro games in 3D.

Well, I don't mean the perspective, 2D or 3D, but more in how it gets laid out.

For instance he was thinking of reasons to get people to explore levels in Viewtiful Joe and came up with V-film, then later realized that it was a similar intent to Super Mario Bros. and the coins. He lays it out with a small team and sees what works, then the big team comes in and makes it, basically. That's why his games are always so focused despite usually having so many ideas.

[Foggle]

Well, I don't mean the perspective, 2D or 3D, but more in how it gets laid out.

For instance he was thinking of reasons to get people to explore levels in Viewtiful Joe and came up with V-film, then later realized that it was a similar intent to Super Mario Bros. and the coins. He lays it out with a small team and sees what works, then the big team comes in and makes it, basically. That's why his games are always so focused despite usually having so many ideas.

Yeah, exactly, I'm agreeing with you.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Also, I wasn't aware that Resident Evil 1 was the first game he ever worked on.

He really has a good pedigree.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

A great article on the struggles of the GameCube

I guess I'll put this here because its refreshing to see people in the middle shed light on just how to handle internal problems along with meeting expectations of hungry fans.

[gunswordfist]

A great article on the struggles of the GameCube

I guess I'll put this here because its refreshing to see people in the middle shed light on just how to handle internal problems along with meeting expectations of hungry fans.

All great from what I read (about a fifth. It's so long). It sound like Mercury knows his shit.