It seems to me that if a game wants (a) meaningful open world and (b) mind blowing cinematic narrative story telling, it's going to have to choose. We don't know for sure so I make these observations humbly, but it seems that FFXV, with its epic art direction and backdrop lore, took a hit in its presentation precisely because it tried to be open world when its devs weren't really ready. I'd say 90% of the cut-scenes in the game feel like they were 30 seconds too short. This isn't an issue exclusive to Squarenix. Even Horizon Zero Dawn and Assasins Creed: Origin, I think, are AAA games with a AA narrative and cinematography - meaning, I think it's hard for that open world dev cycle to do justice to storytelling and presentation - at least not at THIS level. Perhaps it's simply because there is so much work to do that something gets sacrificed, or perhaps there are other reasons.
That's where I look at God of War, which absolutely blew us away with its cinematic storytelling. I look at this game and think "this is what FFXV should have been like." I know the two games are apples & oranges, but at some level i feel like the lore & characters & for goodness sakes the music! of FFXV deserve this level of treatment. As a a member of the fan-base, we could have easily dealt with smaller "zones" that would compromise a linear structure, in order that the bulk of the effort be focused on the presentation. That is, after all, what Final Fantasy has always been primarily about. God of War actually may have been sorta open world, but it clearly wasn't to the extent that it would consume what was truly important to this game: its essential gameplay & the presentation of the story.
The open world of FFXV didn't even benefit us that much. Sure it was beautiful. But was it worth it? Was it littered with narrative-driven side-quests that help us experience the lore of this world better? Not really. Everyone agrees the sidequests were tragic in this game. The Open world was probably an immense amount of work which in the end was a little more than a gimmick.
You may say "Square-Enix cannot compete with the presentation skills of Sony devs right now." I really don't think so. There were some moments of sheer narrative & presentation brilliance in the base FFXV game that leads me to believe they could have polished the rest of the game in the same way. Plus, Episode Ignis makes further clear that the devs were capable of putting together an awesome, cohesive presentation as well. That's why I think they have the talent, the skill, and the imagination to do what God of War did.
Think about what could be accomplished by FF devs if they hand-craft each next scene, one after another. So long as they do it well, no one will accuse them of what happened with FFXIII and the so-called "Hallway Sim." FFXIII had this issue because they clearly weren't ready for HD development and so FFXIII actually is another piece of evidence for what I'm trying to say: when you do stuff that's too technical and overly difficult, the art, the spirit, and the aura of a Final Fantasy game gets lost in the mix.
Critiques I can imagine coming my way:
- "How else could they have given us the Bro-Trip, were it not for the Open world?" This is a hard-one. I don't know if they could meaningfully instill the sense of a road-trip without the open world. But with some creativity they could have, and without all the enormous effort of creating a huge world we could explore.
- "Now that Tabata and company know how to do open world games, the next game won't be as hard to make and they can do both: story & open world." Maybe so! If so, touche. But again, what do we gain from the open world, when the primary thrust of a Final Fantasy game is its narrative, driving us from point A to point Z? I'm here for the ride, Square, take me along! I don't need so much freedom.
- "What about the witcher 3, you dumb FF fanboy?!" I dunno about this one. The Witcher III's presentation, polish, and cinematography, just wasn't at the level I'd expect for a Final Fantasy game, and clearly doesn't hold a candle to what God of War accomplished.
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TL:DR - Square, please focus on the essential gameplay elements of your future FFs, and most of all, the presentation of the story! Don't worry so much about the open world and other aspects that make your dev-cycle insane. Sure, we all love open worlds but if it's going to impede on what makes FF an FF, then I'll gladly accept the sacrifice. God of War teaches us that we're fine with a smaller world (even if it's still technically an open world) so long as you blow us away with those elements that really matter.
Edit: ERA, the point of this thread isn't to say "copy God of War." It's to remind Square that there are certain core elements to FF games that should remain the heart & soul of the game. When you do it right, you get 10s across the board. The next FF could do the same since, as I argue, they have the talent. I assumed the hard-core gamers and fans of FF would understand this point.
That's where I look at God of War, which absolutely blew us away with its cinematic storytelling. I look at this game and think "this is what FFXV should have been like." I know the two games are apples & oranges, but at some level i feel like the lore & characters & for goodness sakes the music! of FFXV deserve this level of treatment. As a a member of the fan-base, we could have easily dealt with smaller "zones" that would compromise a linear structure, in order that the bulk of the effort be focused on the presentation. That is, after all, what Final Fantasy has always been primarily about. God of War actually may have been sorta open world, but it clearly wasn't to the extent that it would consume what was truly important to this game: its essential gameplay & the presentation of the story.
The open world of FFXV didn't even benefit us that much. Sure it was beautiful. But was it worth it? Was it littered with narrative-driven side-quests that help us experience the lore of this world better? Not really. Everyone agrees the sidequests were tragic in this game. The Open world was probably an immense amount of work which in the end was a little more than a gimmick.
You may say "Square-Enix cannot compete with the presentation skills of Sony devs right now." I really don't think so. There were some moments of sheer narrative & presentation brilliance in the base FFXV game that leads me to believe they could have polished the rest of the game in the same way. Plus, Episode Ignis makes further clear that the devs were capable of putting together an awesome, cohesive presentation as well. That's why I think they have the talent, the skill, and the imagination to do what God of War did.
Think about what could be accomplished by FF devs if they hand-craft each next scene, one after another. So long as they do it well, no one will accuse them of what happened with FFXIII and the so-called "Hallway Sim." FFXIII had this issue because they clearly weren't ready for HD development and so FFXIII actually is another piece of evidence for what I'm trying to say: when you do stuff that's too technical and overly difficult, the art, the spirit, and the aura of a Final Fantasy game gets lost in the mix.
Critiques I can imagine coming my way:
- "How else could they have given us the Bro-Trip, were it not for the Open world?" This is a hard-one. I don't know if they could meaningfully instill the sense of a road-trip without the open world. But with some creativity they could have, and without all the enormous effort of creating a huge world we could explore.
- "Now that Tabata and company know how to do open world games, the next game won't be as hard to make and they can do both: story & open world." Maybe so! If so, touche. But again, what do we gain from the open world, when the primary thrust of a Final Fantasy game is its narrative, driving us from point A to point Z? I'm here for the ride, Square, take me along! I don't need so much freedom.
- "What about the witcher 3, you dumb FF fanboy?!" I dunno about this one. The Witcher III's presentation, polish, and cinematography, just wasn't at the level I'd expect for a Final Fantasy game, and clearly doesn't hold a candle to what God of War accomplished.
- - - -
TL:DR - Square, please focus on the essential gameplay elements of your future FFs, and most of all, the presentation of the story! Don't worry so much about the open world and other aspects that make your dev-cycle insane. Sure, we all love open worlds but if it's going to impede on what makes FF an FF, then I'll gladly accept the sacrifice. God of War teaches us that we're fine with a smaller world (even if it's still technically an open world) so long as you blow us away with those elements that really matter.
Edit: ERA, the point of this thread isn't to say "copy God of War." It's to remind Square that there are certain core elements to FF games that should remain the heart & soul of the game. When you do it right, you get 10s across the board. The next FF could do the same since, as I argue, they have the talent. I assumed the hard-core gamers and fans of FF would understand this point.
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