Takashi Tokita, lead designer of 1991's Final Fantasy IV, and also lead designer of recent sequel The After Years, explains to Gamasutra in a new feature interview what's wrong with current creative process.
"Right now, we're thinking about it in a way-too complex way. It used to be that our creativity could run free because we didn't worry about the end result. We could just be original and creative, and whatever came of it was original and creative," Tokita explains.
"Now, we're becoming too concerned about marketing and all these other aspects, and that's limiting us right now. There's this saying that essentially means that 'you're crossing the bridge and checking every stone while you're crossing it' -- that's how I feel development is right now."
In Japan, as in the U.S., marketing plays a very strong role in game development. But in that country, the need to sell character goods makes it a particularly complicated process, with the makeup of the party in an RPG designed to maximize return on investment and merchandisability.
"Right now, we're so influenced by everyone's opinions, and the internet, and everything you hear, and what everyone else is making. I actually think it would be better if we would shut all of that out and just made what we want to make. That would create something that would be more original," Tokita says. "I feel like creating things without getting too hung up on little details, and paying more attention to the importance to the concept itself, is the way to move forward."
The full interview, which goes into great depth on the creative process of Final Fantasy in the past and how it might improve in the future, as well as other topics, is live now on Gamasutra.
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Not to pass judgment too early, but it doesn't look like it's even attempting to go in that direction. Just looks like another zombie-action game where its "hook" is derived mostly from its mechanics. That's just one example. So often the marketing teasers and trailers are far and away more brilliant than the end product but, if that's the case, why aren't we pulling from marketing firms for insight into artistic direction?
Developers are just as responsible for the industry teetering on the precipice of creative bankruptcy as anyone. Marketing teams just make for easy marks.
A W - I've just recently started working at an indie developer as a marketer. I understand your animosity towards marketers and that's fair enough. I tell people the reason I landed this role is that I was part of bad business practices failing a small indie developer and figured there had to be a better way(I was asked, I did not apply). That being said I work by the mantra of I'm working under the developers. I don't manage them as an overlord. My job exists because of them, so I make sure to facilitate their work, happiness and quality of life. Ultimately the ball is still in your court. You will think what you will of my work as a business person in the industry, but I'm doing all I can to prove that marketers and business folks can be a valued part of the team where I work. Here's to your company looking out for you too. I fully agree that creativity is king in our industry though, I'm really a developer at heart ;)
I would guess what Takashi Tokita is referring to it as not being allowed the gray area of creating to build the vision because you have to take into account many things in marketing the finished produce. In the past games had that gray area of creativity, they didn't have to be realistic to get the "core gamer" (I so hate this term but understand its use). Today creativity is stagnated into genre because its safer to market. "We have the most realistic FPS Army Game To Date" kind of stuff they do now a days to make multiple dollars. By the time the end product surfaces it's depreciated because the "Next realistic Army game to date" is on the way. I never feel this way about movies but always about games.
I would guess the statements made in the article to be just the ramblings of a game designer that sees that the old days are gone and may never come back. Loving the act of creating things myself I can kinda see his point of view.
Honestly at the moment, I haven't seen an rpg as good as what they were during the 16 bit era. All the recent FF games I've seen or played just seemed plastic and nothing really special in them. I miss the old days when you destroy a bit of wall in a game like zelda and reveal a secret filled with gold or secret entrance or area to explore.
Today, way too much time is spent on realism. FF 13 for instance is all sparkly and shiny 3d. How long did that all take to create? There's so much imagery now that technical creation is far overtaking concept creation and imagination. I think if I worked as a modeller, I'd probably cry if someone said, "hey for the boss of this area, we should have whatshisname in a giant steampunk mech suit that shows inner clockworks when armour is blown off bit by bit."
This is a pretty important question if you're about to invest $50 million in developing a AAA product. As budgets have skyrocketed, its not surprising that publishers are increasingly risk-averse, preferring instead to cash in on a "sure thing" like sequels.
Not to say that spending time on improving graphics and making it look pretty is bad- I love the graphics in the recent FF series and this is probably one of the main reason I got XIV in the first place but I have to admit I enjoyed playing the older final fantasys more than the recent ones. I think it really is better if they just run wild and get creative. (Besides, chances are the target market has at least heard of the FF series)