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Eorzeapedia: Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV, FF14) News, Wiki, Forums, Community and more » Eorzeapedia E3 Interview with Hiromichi Tanaka and Yasu Kurosawa
Eorzeapedia: Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV, FF14) News, Wiki, Forums, Community and more » Famitsu Interviews Tanaka and Kurosawa at E3
Eorzeapedia E3 Interview with Hiromichi Tanaka and Yasu Kurosawa
Posted By Ganiman on June 17, 2010
On Wednesday at E3, we were able to sit down with Hiromichi Tanaka and Yasu Kurosawa and ask them a few questions about FINAL FANTASY XIV. Things were crazy, and you could see the Square Enix PR people scrambling to try and keep interview appointments. It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of Tanaka, from Fox Business News, to the New York Times, to Eorzeapedia. Video camera crews were coming and going. We waited patiently in the Square Enix VIP area outside of the interview room for our chance to see what we could learn. Saori Hill did the translation work while sporting an Eorzeapedia tee shirt. A reporter from the New York Times joined us at the last minute as well.
Eorzeapedia: Will you be optimizing the FINAL FANTASY XIV client to take advantage of 4 or more cores for next generation processors with 64 bit architectures?
Tanaka: We will guarantee that it will work (in terms of the 64 bit technology). We don’t think it will have much benefit for the users, so we would like to stick to the 32 bit. It is compatible, but we will be using 32 bit. We are working very close with Intel for optimization.
New York Times: I have a broader question. In terms of your general approach to the project, how do you want this game to fit into the overall MMO landscape, what advances you are trying to bring with this game over FINAL FANTASY XI, and in general how you see this game fitting into the MMO market and how do you want this project to be special?
Square Enix: FINAL FANTASY XIV is going to support cross region and cross platform. We will have the translation functions in the game so people will be able to communicate with people in other regions.
New York Times: What weaknesses do you see in other MMOs that you want to solve in FINAL FANTASY XIV?
Square Enix: One thing we are making sure FINAL FANTASY XIV has is time efficiency so people will be able to play the game even if they only have a short play time. To allow them to do that, we are introducing the guildleve system, which players can play even if they are solo players or even if they only have a small group. It will be more flexible for the players. And also with have the armoury system, which will allow people to change classes anytime they like. And they will be able to combine abilities to customize their characters. This is going to be very unique for FINAL FANTASY XIV.
Yasu: More unique, more flexible. It’s not so much as what we saw as a weakness of other MMOs, we want to make sure we do the right thing instead of learning from negative feedback.
New York Times: Each class levels separately, is that right?
Yasu: We have the weapon skill, and also we have the physical level. It’s not like experience point levelling, but you will be growing. As you switch classes, you are not a totally new class. Even if you change your weapon or change your class to a totally different one, the abilities that you earned with your other classes can be utilized as well. You will be a unique character which can be different from everyone else.
Eorzeapedia: Will there be any kind of new tools available for linkshells such as a common storage area, ability to select a linkshell emblem/logo, member ranks or banks?
Tanaka: This time we have the company system which is like an advanced system of linkshell which you will be able to level up as a group. We will let you know more information shortly. We can’t disclose too much information at the moment. Also, as a community tool, we will have this community website, which you can check out company status and your own character status. You will be able to enjoy the game even if you are offline.
Eorzeapedia: Will surnames be optional? If not, how will you make it easier to send /tells to other players?
Tanaka: It’s going to be mandatory. You have to have a surname. The surname and the name will be unique. There will only be one person on the server who has that name. However, you will have a sort of short version – a nickname of the full name. So for example, Saori Hill will be my full name, but if you make it remember “Saoriâ€, then you only have to use “Saori†to /tell someone.
Eorzeapedia: Is that nickname chosen by the player during the character creation?
Tanaka: When you make a /tell for the first time, if you type in “Saoriâ€, you will have every Saori in every world appearing in the results. So you select which one is going to be Saori for yourself. The user will decide what the nickname is going to be for the other person.
Eorzeapedia: There is a growing group in the community who would like to see the implementation of Male Miqo’te and Female Roegadyn in FINAL FANTASY XIV. Are there plans to make these yet to be seen gender and race combination playable? If not, what made you decide not to work them into FINAL FANTASY XIV.
Tanaka: Actually all of the design is ready, so we were planning to implement them into the game, however during the development process we had to put priority with what to put into the game, and due to the man power issue we had to give up implementing them into the beginning of the game. You will see them as an NPC, but it is not a race that you can choose at the beginning. We’ll see how it goes in the future, it might be a possiblity. We are still looking into it.
Eorzeapedia: How many classes will be available at launch, and do you plan to add more post-launch?
Tanaka: We haven’t confirmed how many will be available at launch, but in the beta version you will see many of the classes which you can find in the launch version. Also, even after we release the game we will add more classes as version updates, so there will be tens-of classes which you can enjoy in the game.
New York Times: Do you have to do anything special in terms of game balance in order to make it inter-operable between PC and console users? There is often a presumption that PC users will have an advantage over console users. What did you have to do in terms of design of the game to make it equally enjoyable for PC and console users?
Tanaka: It’s fair for both sides regardless of the platform because everything is based on the server side and has nothing to do with the platform side. So what the player is experiencing on the platform has nothing to do with the platform, you are just seeing what is based on the server.
Eorzeapedia: Will there be a way to group up certain pieces of gear so that when you change disciplines you don’t have to re-equip all your gear?
Tanaka: That was the initial plan actually, but after trying it out we found there were quite a few demerits by doing so, so at the moment we decided not to implement that into the game, but if that’s what the players want then definitely there is something we can do.
Eorzeapedia: TP seems to be abundant while fighting monsters in FINAL FANTASY XIV, however MP seems to be lacking. Will there be alternative methods of MP regeneration to assist casting classes without having to rely on an Aetheryte or a 30 minute abilities to replenish it?
Yasu: Very specific questions!
Tanaka: That is the game design at the moment, so on purpose MP does not recover automatically so you have to do some sort of action to make it recover.
Eorzeapedia: And real quick, is that character designed after Yasu? (see below)
Yasu: I kind of made the same hair style (laughing)
Posted By Ganiman on June 17, 2010
On Wednesday at E3, we were able to sit down with Hiromichi Tanaka and Yasu Kurosawa and ask them a few questions about FINAL FANTASY XIV. Things were crazy, and you could see the Square Enix PR people scrambling to try and keep interview appointments. It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of Tanaka, from Fox Business News, to the New York Times, to Eorzeapedia. Video camera crews were coming and going. We waited patiently in the Square Enix VIP area outside of the interview room for our chance to see what we could learn. Saori Hill did the translation work while sporting an Eorzeapedia tee shirt. A reporter from the New York Times joined us at the last minute as well.Eorzeapedia: Will you be optimizing the FINAL FANTASY XIV client to take advantage of 4 or more cores for next generation processors with 64 bit architectures?
Tanaka: We will guarantee that it will work (in terms of the 64 bit technology). We don’t think it will have much benefit for the users, so we would like to stick to the 32 bit. It is compatible, but we will be using 32 bit. We are working very close with Intel for optimization.
New York Times: I have a broader question. In terms of your general approach to the project, how do you want this game to fit into the overall MMO landscape, what advances you are trying to bring with this game over FINAL FANTASY XI, and in general how you see this game fitting into the MMO market and how do you want this project to be special?
Square Enix: FINAL FANTASY XIV is going to support cross region and cross platform. We will have the translation functions in the game so people will be able to communicate with people in other regions.
New York Times: What weaknesses do you see in other MMOs that you want to solve in FINAL FANTASY XIV?
Square Enix: One thing we are making sure FINAL FANTASY XIV has is time efficiency so people will be able to play the game even if they only have a short play time. To allow them to do that, we are introducing the guildleve system, which players can play even if they are solo players or even if they only have a small group. It will be more flexible for the players. And also with have the armoury system, which will allow people to change classes anytime they like. And they will be able to combine abilities to customize their characters. This is going to be very unique for FINAL FANTASY XIV.
Yasu: More unique, more flexible. It’s not so much as what we saw as a weakness of other MMOs, we want to make sure we do the right thing instead of learning from negative feedback.
New York Times: Each class levels separately, is that right?
Yasu: We have the weapon skill, and also we have the physical level. It’s not like experience point levelling, but you will be growing. As you switch classes, you are not a totally new class. Even if you change your weapon or change your class to a totally different one, the abilities that you earned with your other classes can be utilized as well. You will be a unique character which can be different from everyone else.
Eorzeapedia: Will there be any kind of new tools available for linkshells such as a common storage area, ability to select a linkshell emblem/logo, member ranks or banks?
Tanaka: This time we have the company system which is like an advanced system of linkshell which you will be able to level up as a group. We will let you know more information shortly. We can’t disclose too much information at the moment. Also, as a community tool, we will have this community website, which you can check out company status and your own character status. You will be able to enjoy the game even if you are offline.
Eorzeapedia: Will surnames be optional? If not, how will you make it easier to send /tells to other players?
Tanaka: It’s going to be mandatory. You have to have a surname. The surname and the name will be unique. There will only be one person on the server who has that name. However, you will have a sort of short version – a nickname of the full name. So for example, Saori Hill will be my full name, but if you make it remember “Saoriâ€, then you only have to use “Saori†to /tell someone.
Eorzeapedia: Is that nickname chosen by the player during the character creation?
Tanaka: When you make a /tell for the first time, if you type in “Saoriâ€, you will have every Saori in every world appearing in the results. So you select which one is going to be Saori for yourself. The user will decide what the nickname is going to be for the other person.
Eorzeapedia: There is a growing group in the community who would like to see the implementation of Male Miqo’te and Female Roegadyn in FINAL FANTASY XIV. Are there plans to make these yet to be seen gender and race combination playable? If not, what made you decide not to work them into FINAL FANTASY XIV.
Tanaka: Actually all of the design is ready, so we were planning to implement them into the game, however during the development process we had to put priority with what to put into the game, and due to the man power issue we had to give up implementing them into the beginning of the game. You will see them as an NPC, but it is not a race that you can choose at the beginning. We’ll see how it goes in the future, it might be a possiblity. We are still looking into it.
Eorzeapedia: How many classes will be available at launch, and do you plan to add more post-launch?
Tanaka: We haven’t confirmed how many will be available at launch, but in the beta version you will see many of the classes which you can find in the launch version. Also, even after we release the game we will add more classes as version updates, so there will be tens-of classes which you can enjoy in the game.
New York Times: Do you have to do anything special in terms of game balance in order to make it inter-operable between PC and console users? There is often a presumption that PC users will have an advantage over console users. What did you have to do in terms of design of the game to make it equally enjoyable for PC and console users?
Tanaka: It’s fair for both sides regardless of the platform because everything is based on the server side and has nothing to do with the platform side. So what the player is experiencing on the platform has nothing to do with the platform, you are just seeing what is based on the server.
Eorzeapedia: Will there be a way to group up certain pieces of gear so that when you change disciplines you don’t have to re-equip all your gear?
Tanaka: That was the initial plan actually, but after trying it out we found there were quite a few demerits by doing so, so at the moment we decided not to implement that into the game, but if that’s what the players want then definitely there is something we can do.
Eorzeapedia: TP seems to be abundant while fighting monsters in FINAL FANTASY XIV, however MP seems to be lacking. Will there be alternative methods of MP regeneration to assist casting classes without having to rely on an Aetheryte or a 30 minute abilities to replenish it?
Yasu: Very specific questions!
Tanaka: That is the game design at the moment, so on purpose MP does not recover automatically so you have to do some sort of action to make it recover.
Eorzeapedia: And real quick, is that character designed after Yasu? (see below)
Yasu: I kind of made the same hair style (laughing)
Given that the interview lasted only about 20 minutes, you have the back-and-forth translation time, and the NYT took time asking questions, the answers to which were known 9 months ago, a few nice tidbits were learned. Tanaka and Yasu each got their own Eorzeapedia t-shirts, and if history is any indication, they’ll be donning them in style. Hope you all enjoyed our E3 coverage. We’ll work on posting the video of the demo and interview soon, as well as a broader E3 FFXIV interview round-up, over the coming days.
Eorzeapedia: Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV, FF14) News, Wiki, Forums, Community and more » Famitsu Interviews Tanaka and Kurosawa at E3
Famitsu Interviews Tanaka and Kurosawa at E3
Posted By Corinth on June 17, 2010
Like many media outlets, Famitsu had their interview with Final Fantasy XIV Producer Tanaka Hiromichi (left) and North American Producer/Senior Manager of NA Operations Kurosawa Yasu (right) today. Topics included the upcoming start of beta testing, possible 3D effects, and community reactions about the ongoing alpha build testing.
You can find a copy of the original interview in Japanese on Famitsu’s website or our translated version below the break.
–Is the version people are trying out at E3 this week the actual beta build?
Tanaka: It’s very close to it. You could say it’s one step prior to the beta build. We are still working on balance issues and haven’t finished our final round of debugging.
–Why put out the beta now?
Tanaka: Awhile back we knew we had to start beta testing around this time of year. However, I do have to say that alpha build testing has taken more time than we originally thought it would.
–Has the character creation process changed a lot with this new version?
Tanaka: It’s close to how it will be in the final release. There are a few things planned that aren’t included though, like the ability to change the color of a Miqo’te’s tail or change the shape of an Elezen’s ears. Those things will be added in by the final release.
–There were also changes made to the battle system like how you got rid of “effect†gauges.
(Translation note: The interviewer referred to them as effect gauges.)
Tanaka: Even before alpha testing began, the developers already felt that the battle tempo was poor and had decided to start working on something new. However, just to make sure, we decided to ask players for their opinions on the system which is why we started alpha testing with that particular system in place. As expected, there were a lot of complaints from the alpha testers as well that the battle tempo should be quicker so we continued development on the new system with a faster battle pace.
The action gauge was also part of the problem. If you have to wait for the gauge to fill before you can attack, that ruins the tempo, so we switched to a system where you have an action gauge that is completely full when you start and it depletes while you attack. The developers really worked to the last minute to get us this in time to show off at E3 and they are still working on further debugging and balance issues back in Japan.
–Are there any other big changes?
Tanaka: We’ve increased the number of abilities you can set on your action bar to 30 from 20. We’ve made it so that players will have an even easier time placing their actions on the bar in the way they want. There are other changes as well. HP and MP will now grow as part of the system itself, elemental bonuses will be put into play, and the physical bonuses will be separate from that. I think it will be a much simpler system than what players saw in the alpha build.
–You have a 3D version on display at E3 as well.
Tanaka: We are still looking into using 3D. For E3, we cooperated with nVidia to make the demo display using their 3D Vision Surround Technology.
–The graphics have also greatly improved with the beta build. Will this have an effect on the required specs for the PC version?
Tanaka: You do need a bit more processing power to use ambient occlusion or see the shadings on the backgrounds, so we’ve made them optional. However, a lot of things now require less processing power than they did in the alpha version. We also used projection shadowing for the alpha build but have now switched to something called depth buffer shadows which creates a much more distinct shadowing effect.
–So is it safe to say that players will be able to start customizing the graphic settings to some extent when the beta is released?
Tanaka: That’s correct. There are settings you will be able to access and adjust from the main menu. For people on the PC version, there will also be a way to adjust your settings before you load the game. Players will be able to judge how their computer will be able to handle FFXIV by using the benchmark software that we recently released.
–At E3, you’ve been showing off the PC version. Any comments on the PlayStation 3 version?
Tanaka: We are still hard at work on it, continuing development in cooperation with Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). Also, while it’s true that individual users can’t make adjustments to their PS3s, we do plan on adding a lot of setting options within the game for players to adjust to their liking. As an example, you can see what we did with the PlayStation 2 version of FFXI. Players can expect something similar for the PlayStation 3 version of FFXIV.
–When will beta testing actually begin?
Tanaka: We’ve finished putting in almost all the necessary systems into the version here at E3 so it will probably take place soon. Right now we are still working on debugging and things. We’re going to stop the alpha test after this week. Once we return to Japan, we’ll immediately get to work on preparing for the start of beta testing. There will probably be a bit of a break before we start up testing again but I don’t think people will be waiting a whole month before beta testing will start.
–Mr. Kurosawa, you’re the North American Operations Manager and Producer. What have North American player reactions been like?
Kurosawa: We received quite a lot of feedback from players and we’ve been gathering up all the comments to send back to the Japanese developers on a regular basis. After they get it, they give us additional feedback to pass on to the players. Then we get more feedback from players and it just continues in a big circle. That has allowed us to improve game play.
Tanaka: Every week a report is made based on feedback from the three regions: Japan, North America, and Europe. We continue development while watching what kind of feedback is coming in.
–Do North American players give a lot more feedback than the Japanese ones?
Kurosawa: Well, the feedback just keeps rolling in and that really helps us out.
Tanaka: I’d say that the number of comments from North America and Europe is about 10 times that of Japan.
– What kind of community features are you planning for Japan, North America, and Europe?
Kurosawa: Following in the footsteps of FFXI, we will be using global servers so we’ll be building community tools that can be used by players all over the world.
Tanaka: At some point during beta testing we will start introducing some community tools that players can take advantage of. One of these is something you could call player sites. Each player will be able to have their own website. We also plan on adding a bulletin board function and other tools that any player can use.
–What other communication tools do you plan on adding?
Tanaka: We want to add a simple translate function like we have in FFXI. We will also have something like the linkshells in FFXI, but on an even larger scale, we are introducing an organizational concept called “Companiesâ€. That system is currently still in development so we’ll give out more details at a later date.
–Do you plan on adding voice chat?
Tanaka: That’s not something we are looking at right now. It is difficult to create something that works for both PC and PlayStation 3 players. It would also be incredibly difficult to add in something that would interpret for players in real time when playing with people from other countries. When you consider that, it is much easier to work with a text based system.
–Finally, can we get any parting comments for the players?
Tanaka: We’ll be starting the beta test soon so please look forward to it. I’d like to pass those sentiments on on behalf of the Development Team and director Komoto who wasn’t able to make it to E3 since he’s hard at work.
Kurosawa: We are passing all kinds of opinions on to the developers to make this game a fun one for players all over the world. Please look forward to it!
Like many media outlets, Famitsu had their interview with Final Fantasy XIV Producer Tanaka Hiromichi (left) and North American Producer/Senior Manager of NA Operations Kurosawa Yasu (right) today. Topics included the upcoming start of beta testing, possible 3D effects, and community reactions about the ongoing alpha build testing.
–Is the version people are trying out at E3 this week the actual beta build?
Tanaka: It’s very close to it. You could say it’s one step prior to the beta build. We are still working on balance issues and haven’t finished our final round of debugging.
–Why put out the beta now?
Tanaka: Awhile back we knew we had to start beta testing around this time of year. However, I do have to say that alpha build testing has taken more time than we originally thought it would.
–Has the character creation process changed a lot with this new version?
Tanaka: It’s close to how it will be in the final release. There are a few things planned that aren’t included though, like the ability to change the color of a Miqo’te’s tail or change the shape of an Elezen’s ears. Those things will be added in by the final release.
–There were also changes made to the battle system like how you got rid of “effect†gauges.
(Translation note: The interviewer referred to them as effect gauges.)
Tanaka: Even before alpha testing began, the developers already felt that the battle tempo was poor and had decided to start working on something new. However, just to make sure, we decided to ask players for their opinions on the system which is why we started alpha testing with that particular system in place. As expected, there were a lot of complaints from the alpha testers as well that the battle tempo should be quicker so we continued development on the new system with a faster battle pace.
The action gauge was also part of the problem. If you have to wait for the gauge to fill before you can attack, that ruins the tempo, so we switched to a system where you have an action gauge that is completely full when you start and it depletes while you attack. The developers really worked to the last minute to get us this in time to show off at E3 and they are still working on further debugging and balance issues back in Japan.
–Are there any other big changes?
Tanaka: We’ve increased the number of abilities you can set on your action bar to 30 from 20. We’ve made it so that players will have an even easier time placing their actions on the bar in the way they want. There are other changes as well. HP and MP will now grow as part of the system itself, elemental bonuses will be put into play, and the physical bonuses will be separate from that. I think it will be a much simpler system than what players saw in the alpha build.
–You have a 3D version on display at E3 as well.
Tanaka: We are still looking into using 3D. For E3, we cooperated with nVidia to make the demo display using their 3D Vision Surround Technology.
–The graphics have also greatly improved with the beta build. Will this have an effect on the required specs for the PC version?
Tanaka: You do need a bit more processing power to use ambient occlusion or see the shadings on the backgrounds, so we’ve made them optional. However, a lot of things now require less processing power than they did in the alpha version. We also used projection shadowing for the alpha build but have now switched to something called depth buffer shadows which creates a much more distinct shadowing effect.
–So is it safe to say that players will be able to start customizing the graphic settings to some extent when the beta is released?
Tanaka: That’s correct. There are settings you will be able to access and adjust from the main menu. For people on the PC version, there will also be a way to adjust your settings before you load the game. Players will be able to judge how their computer will be able to handle FFXIV by using the benchmark software that we recently released.
–At E3, you’ve been showing off the PC version. Any comments on the PlayStation 3 version?
Tanaka: We are still hard at work on it, continuing development in cooperation with Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). Also, while it’s true that individual users can’t make adjustments to their PS3s, we do plan on adding a lot of setting options within the game for players to adjust to their liking. As an example, you can see what we did with the PlayStation 2 version of FFXI. Players can expect something similar for the PlayStation 3 version of FFXIV.
–When will beta testing actually begin?
Tanaka: We’ve finished putting in almost all the necessary systems into the version here at E3 so it will probably take place soon. Right now we are still working on debugging and things. We’re going to stop the alpha test after this week. Once we return to Japan, we’ll immediately get to work on preparing for the start of beta testing. There will probably be a bit of a break before we start up testing again but I don’t think people will be waiting a whole month before beta testing will start.
–Mr. Kurosawa, you’re the North American Operations Manager and Producer. What have North American player reactions been like?
Kurosawa: We received quite a lot of feedback from players and we’ve been gathering up all the comments to send back to the Japanese developers on a regular basis. After they get it, they give us additional feedback to pass on to the players. Then we get more feedback from players and it just continues in a big circle. That has allowed us to improve game play.
Tanaka: Every week a report is made based on feedback from the three regions: Japan, North America, and Europe. We continue development while watching what kind of feedback is coming in.
–Do North American players give a lot more feedback than the Japanese ones?
Kurosawa: Well, the feedback just keeps rolling in and that really helps us out.
Tanaka: I’d say that the number of comments from North America and Europe is about 10 times that of Japan.
– What kind of community features are you planning for Japan, North America, and Europe?
Kurosawa: Following in the footsteps of FFXI, we will be using global servers so we’ll be building community tools that can be used by players all over the world.
Tanaka: At some point during beta testing we will start introducing some community tools that players can take advantage of. One of these is something you could call player sites. Each player will be able to have their own website. We also plan on adding a bulletin board function and other tools that any player can use.
–What other communication tools do you plan on adding?
Tanaka: We want to add a simple translate function like we have in FFXI. We will also have something like the linkshells in FFXI, but on an even larger scale, we are introducing an organizational concept called “Companiesâ€. That system is currently still in development so we’ll give out more details at a later date.
–Do you plan on adding voice chat?
Tanaka: That’s not something we are looking at right now. It is difficult to create something that works for both PC and PlayStation 3 players. It would also be incredibly difficult to add in something that would interpret for players in real time when playing with people from other countries. When you consider that, it is much easier to work with a text based system.
–Finally, can we get any parting comments for the players?
Tanaka: We’ll be starting the beta test soon so please look forward to it. I’d like to pass those sentiments on on behalf of the Development Team and director Komoto who wasn’t able to make it to E3 since he’s hard at work.
Kurosawa: We are passing all kinds of opinions on to the developers to make this game a fun one for players all over the world. Please look forward to it!
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