New interview with Tabata from VICE about the delay, the reaction to it, the level of reality and groundedness, whether there is too much cross-media etc. Thanks to @RedMakuzawa for tweeting it.
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/in-c...-hajime-tabata-square-enix-gamescom-interview
VICE:
Two months more to wait for Final Fantasy XV isn't a great length of time, given the game's been in development, on and off, for about a decade. But what areas for you were standing out as absolutely requiring the extra time?
Hajime Tabata:
How long did you play the game for, so far?
VICE:
About four hours, from very the beginning.
Hajime Tabata:
Okay, so that opening area is one that you'll be able to have a lot of fun in. But if you played the game for 40, maybe 50 hours, you'll have come across areas where the playability, as it stands, isn't quite where we want it to be. And there are still some bugs in the game's later areas, and other parts where the optimisation isn't quite at the standard we're aiming for.
The real issue is that if we tried to deal with the issues the game has with a patch, because we were thinking that way initially, there'd still be a lot of people around the world who would only be playing from the disc, without connecting to the internet for the update. They would see the game in what we consider an unfinished state, and that was a real problem for me.
[...]
VICE:
And what about the reaction to the delay? A small minority of internet dickheads aside, I think those who've been waiting years for this game aren't about to kick up a stink over two more months.
Hajime Tabata:
I know that people have different opinions on what we've done here, but I do try to avoid the forums where people say things without having to take any responsibility for doing so. I much prefer to listen to the opinions of journalists, and speaking to fans face to face about things. That's where I think the most valuable information comes from.
[...]
VICE:
This game's been a long time coming, of course. You took over as director, exclusively, in 2014. What has the process, the experience, taught you about making games, and what lessons are you taking forward into new projects?
Hajime Tabata:
I've learned a lot from making this game. And it's worth saying that through the process of making XV, we now have a solid production base, which represents groundwork for the future. I have so many expectations for what we can do now, with the experience we have; I think we can move forward as a team and make even better games.
What taught me a lot, though, was the global strategy for this game. This whole thing, like what we're doing now, with me going abroad before the game is finished, talking to people while the game is still in development, that's something that I never really did before. I don't think that we, as the Final Fantasy studio, ever really did this before.
I was in London, just the other day, after we'd had a meeting about the delay. I had a day off, and I walked around, and I was thinking about how much more we could do with this game, with future games. I was looking at all the European architecture, and thinking about how we could mix that into these games, to make these fantasies more realistic, but also more fantastical. It was really inspiring.
But this, all the making of XV, it's all been fun – a lot more fun than it has been stressful. Of course, it's not been without some stress. That will always be there, whatever you make, because of the fans' expectations. They're so high for this game, and that does weigh on us when it comes to working out the best ways forward. But also, that expectation is a joyous thing.
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/in-c...-hajime-tabata-square-enix-gamescom-interview
VICE:
Two months more to wait for Final Fantasy XV isn't a great length of time, given the game's been in development, on and off, for about a decade. But what areas for you were standing out as absolutely requiring the extra time?
Hajime Tabata:
How long did you play the game for, so far?
VICE:
About four hours, from very the beginning.
Hajime Tabata:
Okay, so that opening area is one that you'll be able to have a lot of fun in. But if you played the game for 40, maybe 50 hours, you'll have come across areas where the playability, as it stands, isn't quite where we want it to be. And there are still some bugs in the game's later areas, and other parts where the optimisation isn't quite at the standard we're aiming for.
The real issue is that if we tried to deal with the issues the game has with a patch, because we were thinking that way initially, there'd still be a lot of people around the world who would only be playing from the disc, without connecting to the internet for the update. They would see the game in what we consider an unfinished state, and that was a real problem for me.
[...]
VICE:
And what about the reaction to the delay? A small minority of internet dickheads aside, I think those who've been waiting years for this game aren't about to kick up a stink over two more months.
Hajime Tabata:
I know that people have different opinions on what we've done here, but I do try to avoid the forums where people say things without having to take any responsibility for doing so. I much prefer to listen to the opinions of journalists, and speaking to fans face to face about things. That's where I think the most valuable information comes from.
[...]
VICE:
This game's been a long time coming, of course. You took over as director, exclusively, in 2014. What has the process, the experience, taught you about making games, and what lessons are you taking forward into new projects?
Hajime Tabata:
I've learned a lot from making this game. And it's worth saying that through the process of making XV, we now have a solid production base, which represents groundwork for the future. I have so many expectations for what we can do now, with the experience we have; I think we can move forward as a team and make even better games.
What taught me a lot, though, was the global strategy for this game. This whole thing, like what we're doing now, with me going abroad before the game is finished, talking to people while the game is still in development, that's something that I never really did before. I don't think that we, as the Final Fantasy studio, ever really did this before.
I was in London, just the other day, after we'd had a meeting about the delay. I had a day off, and I walked around, and I was thinking about how much more we could do with this game, with future games. I was looking at all the European architecture, and thinking about how we could mix that into these games, to make these fantasies more realistic, but also more fantastical. It was really inspiring.
But this, all the making of XV, it's all been fun – a lot more fun than it has been stressful. Of course, it's not been without some stress. That will always be there, whatever you make, because of the fans' expectations. They're so high for this game, and that does weigh on us when it comes to working out the best ways forward. But also, that expectation is a joyous thing.
