He also talks about the state of crisis with Final Fantasy as an IP.
Read more at http://www.siliconera.com/2016/03/3...-hd-era-final-fantasy-xv/#rRxR10KHdtKduVRb.99
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Hajima Tabata Talks About Building His Final Fantasy XV Dev Team
- Thread starter benzy
- Start date
He also talks about the state of crisis with Final Fantasy as an IP.
Read more at http://www.siliconera.com/2016/03/3...-hd-era-final-fantasy-xv/#rRxR10KHdtKduVRb.99
DarkLordMalik
Member
The first step is always the hardest. Now that they have a tech in place, BD 2 can create more games. FFXV took around 4 years AFAIK (2012-2016) so it will be interesting to see when their next project releases.
The comment about the hierachy of the organization in SE is interesting. But it's not surprising since this is part of Japan's culture where roles are assumed depending how experience you are. It's good that they recognize it's becoming a problem in the game development environment.
King_Richard
Member
Sounds like a downright terrible work atmosphere.
You can say what you want about Tabata, but he's the guy that fixes things.
He may not be a visionary like Nomura, but he has been great at restructuring SE typical dev team organization, build a great philosophy, get a proprietary engine up and running in 3-4 years.
Mad respect for the guy, can't wait to see what he'll do when he'll have his team consolidated and not in charge of someone else's vision.
He may not be a visionary like Nomura, but he has been great at restructuring SE typical dev team organization, build a great philosophy, get a proprietary engine up and running in 3-4 years.
Mad respect for the guy, can't wait to see what he'll do when he'll have his team consolidated and not in charge of someone else's vision.
It sounds like a pretty traumatic change for the employees who have been working there for many years. Time will tell if the reforms paid off, and even then we won't know if the end justified the means from the perspective of the employees in the middle rung.
That being said, it's also easy to imagine a situation where this was an absolutely necessary maneuver. There seem to be so many companies in Japan that are completely bogged down by archaic escalator systems that make poor use of their employees abilities.
Newtype-001
Member
You have my 3 meter long sword Tabata.
TheJollyCorner
Member
Didn't Kagari comment on Kitase appearing tired and somewhat distant during interviews with him around XIII's release- or am I misremembering?
Based on Tabata's words, it wouldn't surprise me if Kitase was just trying to ice skate uphill with XIII's production & feeling the full weight of it. The man helped lead some of the biggest, most proficient FF productions in the series' history. A clusterfuck of a production like XIII's must have been pretty heavy for him.
I hope VII-R's production goes better for him, but based on fan expectations... Christ... I can't even imagine that pressure.
Yup, seems like he was the guy to get the job done. SE needed someone to 'upend the tea table,' so to speak.
Crimson_Justice
Member
That's a pretty impressive upheaval. Let's hope it pans out in the form of great Final Fantasies to come.
Also, this makes it seem like the Uncovered event was for the team as much as it was for video game fans. Which is awesome.
Also, this makes it seem like the Uncovered event was for the team as much as it was for video game fans. Which is awesome.
Aside from the whole Versus XIII being announced ten years ago, that...actually doesn't sound bad, like at all. 4 years for such a large game is pretty standard and maybe even on the fast side. That makes me very optimistic for the future.
I hadn't thought of that. It looks like SE as a whole has just come out of a dark age.
I'm happy for SE and Final Fantasy that it was such a success. After all they've been through, they needed a win.
Just releasing an actual game is a success to me.
Would love to here more about the state of their engine and if it's finally ready to be used for other titles than FFXV. I'm most curious about to see what their future efforts with UE4 will accomplish visually. It's hard for me to believe that UE4 isn't more advanced and in a much further along state than their in-house engine. I wouldn't be surprised if FFVII:R will end up looking better than FFXV.
No wonder most of the Versus team is gone. Not like this is a horrible thing since we know where the project was before this, but there was a lot of talent there.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
I'd like to hear more about the drama over nomura
I love that they are now openly dissing FFXIII sub series lolololol
love it love it love it
Sakaguchi indirectly dissed XIII on stage...
Gregg and Tim's script also had a little swipe at XIII.
Poor Toriyama. The guy must be feeling it.
they are right to diss that series killer, and xiv lol
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
XIV ARR turned a massive corner with Yoshida at the helm.
The same can't be said about the XIII sequels.
Toriyama should've stopped at XIII.
Primethius
Banned
I fully expect FFXV to have flaws indicative of its troubled cycle but it's still pretty impressive to me how Tabata turned it around.
SE needed someone like him to make the game and he seems to have gotten the job done.
SE needed someone like him to make the game and he seems to have gotten the job done.
KeyChainDude
Member
I agree. I don't expect too much from FFXV, for me personally it's been a disappointment since the change from Versus XIII, but at least looks like the most significant benefits to come from this are in the backstage, and that is cool. Let's see how it works out in the long term.
Digital-Hero
Member
So fans will riot against that notion based on personal taste. There can be no denying this though. FF7 was unequivocally the best title Square has ever done, a great game that brought in new players. That is success.
YoshiP the bes.
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
XIII seen as a black mark is fantastic. Learn from your mistakes. Gives a good reference as to what a Final Fantasy shouldn't be.
Amazing to think we have a whole lost generation without a critically acclaimed FF.
Amazing to think we have a whole lost generation without a critically acclaimed FF.
It also seems to me that Tabata and perhaps the company overlooked some of the other criticisms of FFXIII besides it linear level design. The story and characters were atrocious and almost nauseous to listen to. It was so trash that it was frankly astounding to me that they managed to do worse with the subsequent releases in that series.
My 2 cents. I don't know if FFXV will be critically acclaimed or well it'll sell. I think it'll sell pretty well over it's lifetime though.
That said. Much respect to Tabata. He's recognized a change is needed. SE with this franchise just can't keep going with what's "known" if that makes sense. He's obviously a guy who was brought in to get results. To execute this game and get shit done. Will this game be what SE needs it to be? I don't know and I do doubt it BUT I do think the foundation is there.
I will say everything I've seen from this game is what I truly believe is what the evolution of Final Fantasy is. Almost complete freedom. With combat, exploration etc. I'm excited to be in this world.
That said. Much respect to Tabata. He's recognized a change is needed. SE with this franchise just can't keep going with what's "known" if that makes sense. He's obviously a guy who was brought in to get results. To execute this game and get shit done. Will this game be what SE needs it to be? I don't know and I do doubt it BUT I do think the foundation is there.
I will say everything I've seen from this game is what I truly believe is what the evolution of Final Fantasy is. Almost complete freedom. With combat, exploration etc. I'm excited to be in this world.
lucablight
Member
What did Sakaguchi say about FFXIII?
SolidSnakex
Member
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
Shows up a few secs in this vid.
https://youtu.be/4AptAyPIL88?t=3751
He basically just said how he felt the series lost its way. Not a direct reference.
DarkLordMalik
Member
He is still with XIV or working on his new project?
TheJollyCorner
Member
Well, he could also easily be referencing all the sequel business that started with X-2, carried on to After Years, the VII Compilation, etc.
Varying quality aside, FF has had an element of brand fatigue and over-saturation since the end of the '90s. In my opinion, the series lost that feeling of "every new game is a big deal" quite a long time ago.
I'm really happy to read that interview. I still think FFXV's gameplay is going to fall short of the expectations I had imagined during the first E3 reveal but they still managed to come up with some obviously great ideas in the first place such as the blink sword and model interactions.
Bartholomuse
Member
This probably isn't helped by the fact that Lost Odyssey seemed like the perfect blend of old school JRPG tropes mixed with up to date presentation, story, voice acting, likable characters and god like soundtrack. Basically everything that XIII was not.
It's funny to think that Lost Odyssey was considered "old fashioned" when it came out in 2007...if only people knew what the 7th gen had in store for JRPGS lol. Lost odyssey doesn't just feel like old Final Fantasy it feels like a continuation straight from FFIX.
MultiJhonny
Banned
Man I love Tabata. He really cares and has crazy high ambition. After this I would love to see him direct more mainlines. I have a ton of confidence moving forward for FFXV and SE in general.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
That's one way of looking at it. Another is a thin re-hash of FF8 with all that games interesting mechanics replaced by a one-note tedious battle-system that didn't even have any sort of desperation attack system allowing you to change the tide of battle. Thin and hackneyed plot and characters too, semi-salvaged by some nicely written visual novel bits that so tenuously connected to the main story, that they would have worked just as well in another game entirely.
FFXIII wasn't great, but it was a damn sight better than that threadbare knock-off.
Bartholomuse
Member
This is first time I've ever heard of LO being referred to as a thread bare knock off worse than XIII, so top marks for originality.
JRPG tastes are weird and wonderful things.
It was necessary move. They weren't getting anywhere with how they were doing things before.
http://www.siliconera.com/2015/04/0...l-fantasy-xv-development/#18XuM7JizZ8KZAFX.99
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=199835362&postcount=444
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=199762638&postcount=345
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=199772358&postcount=372
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=199763626&postcount=14
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=199764840&postcount=24
Vigilant Walrus
Member
I think people who haven't worked in corporate teams (in software) understand how easily you can get trapped.
There is so much bureaucracy and time waste. You have no fucking idea. Milestone after milestone, everything has to be measured, weighed and accounted for, and so development slows down, and the more things that changes hands also drags it down.
When you have Ubisoft and EA titles and you see games with 200+ million dollar budget and 500+ staff teams, you wonder how on earth they hired such incompetent useless idiots. How can 500 people spend 3 years to make garbage, when other teams make great game with less than 100 people and 20x less money?
Well, theres your answer.
What Tabata is doing here, is something that will incite mutiny in many work cultures. If you've worked your way up for 15 years in a company, and someone comes in on a project and suddenly demotes you, it feels like an assault on your career. How is your fault that some other lead fuck their shit up? Who is this young pup coming telling you shit. fuck this. toxicity inbound.
Tabata sounds like what a lot of teams really need. A ballbuster. a show runner. a 1 AD. These guys come into production and levitates the heat in the director. They take the fault, the upsets, the anger and hate from teammembers.
In film it is universally understood that then 1. AD is the worst position by far. The director has to get the best performance out of his actor, he needs to talk to his AD, and he needs to make sure the shot will go as planned. But as far as solving everyone else. Extras being treated like shit, angry crewmembers- all of the things that every hour is causing major problems on set, is the responsibility of the 1 AD.
Nobody wants that job. Nobody wants to be the guy who had to say bad shit to team members to get shit rolling.
It sounds like MGS5 could have benefited from a Tabata for example. Sometimes it's good for a visionary to have a guy like that, because if you are a creative auteur, you might even be in danger to your own vision because your head is in the cloud and you lose perspective.
Like Lime, linear level design is not the offensive part of FFXIII. It's the story. It is the abysmal and painful characters. They are garbage.
Management is a science. It's something that determines if your employees can reach their potential or not. Those Ubisoft and EA games that end up like 100+ million disasters are made by great developers. The people who worked on Watchdog were great at what they did. They don't hire talentless assholes at Ubisoft. The problem with these projects is that they are being led poorly. So many people are advocating QA earlier in the process, but often thats now what happens. What happens is that you as a developer gotta keep the train running. you have some dates that you need to follow, and if you do not, the publisher might pull the plug. sometimes this causes a project to work against itself. sometimes problems are discovered that will take too long to fix, but will be impossible to to correct with the current resources. And so your hands are tied and you watch your game not living up to its potential. So much of it is management.
There is so much bureaucracy and time waste. You have no fucking idea. Milestone after milestone, everything has to be measured, weighed and accounted for, and so development slows down, and the more things that changes hands also drags it down.
When you have Ubisoft and EA titles and you see games with 200+ million dollar budget and 500+ staff teams, you wonder how on earth they hired such incompetent useless idiots. How can 500 people spend 3 years to make garbage, when other teams make great game with less than 100 people and 20x less money?
Well, theres your answer.
What Tabata is doing here, is something that will incite mutiny in many work cultures. If you've worked your way up for 15 years in a company, and someone comes in on a project and suddenly demotes you, it feels like an assault on your career. How is your fault that some other lead fuck their shit up? Who is this young pup coming telling you shit. fuck this. toxicity inbound.
Tabata sounds like what a lot of teams really need. A ballbuster. a show runner. a 1 AD. These guys come into production and levitates the heat in the director. They take the fault, the upsets, the anger and hate from teammembers.
In film it is universally understood that then 1. AD is the worst position by far. The director has to get the best performance out of his actor, he needs to talk to his AD, and he needs to make sure the shot will go as planned. But as far as solving everyone else. Extras being treated like shit, angry crewmembers- all of the things that every hour is causing major problems on set, is the responsibility of the 1 AD.
Nobody wants that job. Nobody wants to be the guy who had to say bad shit to team members to get shit rolling.
It sounds like MGS5 could have benefited from a Tabata for example. Sometimes it's good for a visionary to have a guy like that, because if you are a creative auteur, you might even be in danger to your own vision because your head is in the cloud and you lose perspective.
Like Lime, linear level design is not the offensive part of FFXIII. It's the story. It is the abysmal and painful characters. They are garbage.
Management is a science. It's something that determines if your employees can reach their potential or not. Those Ubisoft and EA games that end up like 100+ million disasters are made by great developers. The people who worked on Watchdog were great at what they did. They don't hire talentless assholes at Ubisoft. The problem with these projects is that they are being led poorly. So many people are advocating QA earlier in the process, but often thats now what happens. What happens is that you as a developer gotta keep the train running. you have some dates that you need to follow, and if you do not, the publisher might pull the plug. sometimes this causes a project to work against itself. sometimes problems are discovered that will take too long to fix, but will be impossible to to correct with the current resources. And so your hands are tied and you watch your game not living up to its potential. So much of it is management.