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This quote from Kazushige Nojima about the #FinalFantasyVII Remake is really interesting:
"In FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE, there will be much less room for player imagination. This fact will probably change the feel of the story considerably."
More here: https://square-enix-games.com/en_GB/news/final-fantasy-vii-remake-developers
"In FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE, there will be much less room for player imagination. This fact will probably change the feel of the story considerably."
More here: https://square-enix-games.com/en_GB/news/final-fantasy-vii-remake-developers
It reminds me a lot of the conversation I had with @MaxGladstone for my @Kotaku piece about the influence of Golden Age JRPGs from the Super Nintendo and PlayStation eras on SFF writers.
Read it here: https://kotaku.com/how-japanese-rpgs-inspired-a-new-generation-of-fantasy-1836426975
Read it here: https://kotaku.com/how-japanese-rpgs-inspired-a-new-generation-of-fantasy-1836426975
Max and I chatted about how graphical and technical constraints during that time required a creative balance between the player and the game developer/storyteller.
The graphics used abstract representations, even as things started to get a bit more realistic with #FFVII, that, like reading a book, required the reader to fill in the blanks and create a lot of the inertia and detail that the graphics couldn't portray.
The developers really had to trust the players. At the same time, it also left a lot of room for personal interpretation, which, in turn, created a unique experience from player to player. A game was slightly or broadly different from player to player.
Not only were they bringing their background and emotions to the game, but also their ability to visually interpret the creator's intent. There was a lot of flexibility and opportunity for the player to insert themselves into not only the narrative, but the action, too.
I'm replaying #FinalFantasyVII, and while the backgrounds are as wonderfully detailed and diverse as always (which I discuss a bit in the thread below), the poor localization and blocky characters still fall into the abstract realm. https://twitter.com/adribbleofink/status/1189613387136634880
To see Nojima bring this up is really compelling. He has an impossible job, because every player had a different experience with FFVII. He'll never be able to accurately replicate it for anyone, because there are a million opportunities to diverge from the player's head canon.
The simple act of properly localizing Johnny's background and relationship with Cloud and Tifa will fundamentally change his character for a lot of people. https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Johnny_(Final_Fantasy_VII)
It's encouraging that Nojima recognizes this challenge, and how the player experience was so intrinsically entwined with the technical and graphical limitations of the original.
Rather than making a game that tries to reach everyone but satisfies no one—embracing the original's spirit, & reaching for what they wanted to do but couldn't in '97 will allow for a game that feels like its own thing, even if it doesn't satisfy nostalgia we're all looking for.
Because the original PlayStation version of #FinalFantasyVII, flaws and all, is there for that, and available on many modern consoles. Nothing can make you feel the same way you did when you first played FFVII as a 12 year old. So now it's time for something new.
And so concludes my TEDx Springfield presentation about Final Fantasy VII. I'll be collecting tips in a hat from the alley behind the venue after the bar runs out of run-off whisky.
