Should SE mix things up and allow a western developer make the next FF?

[Mirage]

Thinking that SE would put every in house development on hold while having a third party develop one single title is pretty... strange. How poor do you think SE is?

[Slothy]

I'm not so sure about this. Odds are as publisher Square would be paying the developer for the game development which would mean taking money away from another project. It might not take money away from a Japanese developed FF of course, but something else may get canned. Whether that turned out to be a good or bad thing though, who could say?

I was thinking more along the lines of a company would be asked if they wanted to do a FF title, and then they'd get a share of the earnings the game brought in, while the game itself was mostly financed by the third party developer. Even if SE did put a bit of money into it, money isn't really what's slowing down game releases from them.

The trouble I have with this is that when it comes to funding a triple-A title on the level of an FF title, there aren't many developers who could afford to finance it themselves even with the promise of profit sharing. Not many developers have the money to develop for 2-3 years without receiving funding from publishers in the form of milestone payments or whatever else. At least not many who could develop independently and be big enough to pull it off. In fact, the only company I think would have the financial independence to do it might be Valve. All the other big names are reliant on their publishers as far as I know. And even with a bankable name like FF, getting funding from places other than a publisher would be difficult.

All that said though, I think a big publisher like Square would prefer to be funding the development anyway because then they can exercise more control over development for better or worse.

[Mirage]

Maybe. However, I still think SE can afford to fund a game developed by a third party without having to cut down significantly on internal development teams.

[Roogle]

I certainly think that Square Enix should be trying to do more with what resources they have available to them. I think that I would be willing to give a Western Final Fantasy a try. This type of thing has done before with, in my opinion, fairly decent results: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and Secret of Evermore come to mind.

[black orb]

>>> Give FF to a western developer? No thanks, they just need a better writer..

[Mirage]

One FF, not all of them.

[black orb]

>>> If is just one FF then its ok I guess, I loved Mystic Quest..

[Slothy]

You guys know Mystic Quest was developed in Japan right?

[Mercen-X]

the major difference between JRPG and WRPG is that WRPG often combine three main components :

1- Morality system AKA role playing.
2- Quest/Mission structure AKA Non-linearity.
3- Avatar system

I see this. You know it's funny, I've been thinking about morality systems in games recently, surprisingly while I was playing Konquest mode in MK. While killing the five innocent monks who were only minding their own business (I wanted the Koins), the thought occurred to me that if I had done the same thing in Fable, people would hate me. Personally, I know that my girlfriend wouldn't have done it despite it not having any affect in-game. That's just the type of obsessive-compulsive saint idealism she's cursed with. "NPCs have feelings too."

But I really like games where actions have consequences beyond being able to acquire this item or missing that summon or viewing that extra hidden scene.
I really think that FF could do well by making OPTIONAL sidequests SEEM more relevant to the story too. Like when you decide to do it, you learn more about the world, or a character, or a system unique to the installment.
The avatar should change too. I can't help but ask myself why these characters go around in the same outfit everywhere. Don't they shower? Don't people question their style? Aren't they affected physically by anything that occurs in-game? I think characters should change their outfits now and then, change their hair, hell, maybe their hair gets messed up because of a battle. Scars, stress marks, grey hair, wrinkles... these things shouldn't be trivial accessories that belie a character's history, they should be trophies proclaiming your accomplishments over the course of your journey. Who's really going to hold onto "that bird's feathers" or "that rock from that time" or especially an actual trophy from a tournament when you've got a world to save?

[kotora]

the major difference between JRPG and WRPG is that WRPG often combine three main components :

1- Morality system AKA role playing.
2- Quest/Mission structure AKA Non-linearity.
3- Avatar system

I see this. You know it's funny, I've been thinking about morality systems in games recently, surprisingly while I was playing Konquest mode in MK. While killing the five innocent monks who were only minding their own business (I wanted the Koins), the thought occurred to me that if I had done the same thing in Fable, people would hate me. Personally, I know that my girlfriend wouldn't have done it despite it not having any affect in-game. That's just the type of obsessive-compulsive saint idealism she's cursed with. "NPCs have feelings too."

But I really like games where actions have consequences beyond being able to acquire this item or missing that summon or viewing that extra hidden scene.
I really think that FF could do well by making OPTIONAL sidequests SEEM more relevant to the story too. Like when you decide to do it, you learn more about the world, or a character, or a system unique to the installment.
The avatar should change too. I can't help but ask myself why these characters go around in the same outfit everywhere. Don't they shower? Don't people question their style? Aren't they affected physically by anything that occurs in-game? I think characters should change their outfits now and then, change their hair, hell, maybe their hair gets messed up because of a battle. Scars, stress marks, grey hair, wrinkles... these things shouldn't be trivial accessories that belie a character's history, they should be trophies proclaiming your accomplishments over the course of your journey. Who's really going to hold onto "that bird's feathers" or "that rock from that time" or especially an actual trophy from a tournament when you've got a world to save?

SE has the capabilities to implement all this stuff in their games. Now it's just up to them to do something fresh and new instead of sticking to the old worn-out formulas.

[Vyk]

Now that you mention it, I don't see the whole "changing avatar" thing as a WRPG-specific element. Its just an element that WRPGs use more than JRPGs. But there are JRPGs who use it, and it doesn't make them feel more western. Its just a nice change of pace. The characters in Resonance of Fate don't purposely change their outfits throughout the game. But you can buy and collect hundreds of items to customize their look with. Clothes, hair color, accessories, even eye-color. It was nice. And its always nice in a FF when characters get different weapons, you get to see how they look in battle. It wouldn't be too hard to do the same thing with their clothes. But that would require having actual armor instead of just an armband or whatever. But now that I think about it, Legend of Legaia changed the characters with their armor and that game's pretty ancient. So the idea isn't foreign to Japan. They just choose to ignore that idea for some reason

[Mirage]

Showers, toilet breaks and other personal hygiene things are rarely seen done in any work of fiction, though. Why should FF suddenly start with it? t's not really exciting, unless something really out of the ordinary happens while they do it,

[kotora]

are you saying you have a problem with steamy shower scenes?

[blackmage_nuke]

are you saying you have a problem with steamy shower scenes?

Yes

[Vyk]

Hygiene doesn't have the be the only excuse for changing their clothes. Its just a fun mechanic that's rarely implemented properly. Lots of JRPGs have armor, why shouldn't that armor change your look? :}

And any game with a shower/bath scene generally gets edited to high hell before being localized..