• 18Nov 05

  For The Last Time, Her Name Is Not Aerith

  Her Japanese name is "Aerisu". There is no 'th' sound in Japanese. There is also no 'l' sound in Japanese, so just mentally substitute an 'l' for the 'r' there. "Aelisu".
  
  Calling her "Alice" is more accurate than "Aerith", and you actually have no basis for the "Aerith" name - not in either version of the FFs, not in any other game, not, in fact, anywhere other than your own heads.
  
  It just sort of bothers me.
  
  
  • Posted Nov 18, 2005 1:40 am PT
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• 27Sep 05

  Sequels

  Yeah, I don't think I hang out much on Gamespot any more. But I've still got this journal, and the whole reason I've got it was to put down thoughts on games. So here's one:
  
  I don't understand the knee-jerk reaction to sequels.
  
  There's many a game designer (the guy who did Katamari Damacy among them) who loathe sequels because they're just cookie-cutter reproductions of previous games with a couple of refinements. They don't have to be, though: sequels are possibly the best place to shake things up and try some really creative thinking; you have an interested audience, a proven track record and a brand. Part of the reason why the games industry tends not to reward innovation is because games are pretty expensive to produce and purchase, and fouling it up costs both companies and consumers money. With a sequel, designers have a track record of success, a brand they can use to market the game, and probably access to better talent as well. Square Enix in particular seems to be doing this with the Final Fantasy brand - as it's so strong, they can take really creative risks; the last three Final Fantasy games had an experimental, strongly interactive plot (X-2), switched genres (XI) and made substantial changes to the conventions of the series (XII).
  
  So long as one doesn't stray too far from the core of the franchise, a designer has a good deal of freedom to be innovative in a sequel.
  
  A caveat: one should keep in mind when starting a franchise that making changes is often crucial to its survival. Reality television is a good example here - shows that kept the same ruleset in the sequel and tried to make changes later met with much more criticism than shows that made changes for the second series. Similarly, established franchises that made substantial changes later in the franchise, such as Zelda: Majora's Mask and Metroid Prime 2, tend to meet with more resistance than if the franchise, once started, does something very different for the sequel, such as the Jak games.
  
  The criticism about sequels tends to apply only to 'mission-pack sequels' that only make minor changes to the rules of the game and mostly provide new content. It's a safe option, but one that causes problems in the long term once people tire of the game.
  
  • Posted Sep 27, 2005 1:41 pm PT
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• 22Apr 05

  Project Dreamers

  I like to talk big about how much I know about game design. But I know that however much I like to talk, there's definitely things I'll never know I don't know. I guess the only way you can really learn whether or not you know enough abou games to really make a good one is to make one yourself.
  
  So, that's what I'll do: I'll make a game, and utterly terrify myself with the amount of work that needs to be done before I'm happy with it. If I succeed, hopefully it'll be good. If not, well, I'll have to find out what I've done wrong.
  
  I've had ideas kicking around for a while now for various games, but the one I find is most within reach is an CRPG idea that I'm going to call for now "Project Dreamers". Project because that's what it is, and Dreamers because that's part of the plot. I hope to God I come with an actual name before I finish.
  
  I'll be developing this using the open-source Sphere engine. The advantage of this engine is that very little of the gameplay mechanics are defined by the engine, so an author gets infinite flexibility as to how they're going to implement battles, levels and suchlike, which I intend to take advantage of (in fact, that's the point) while handling more complicated things like scenes, animation and the like by default.
  
  As I go, I'll post my ideas on the plot (I'm essentially going to satirise the fall-of-the-gods parable so often seen in CRPGs, and I've been doing some research in that direction with regards to the Protestant movement and the rise of the philosophy of modernity), the gameplay (I'm stealing neat ideas from pretty much every Square game ever made) and working with Sphere (which hopefully will be pretty comprehensive once I'm done).
  
  It should be good. I hope you'll join me.
  
  • Posted Apr 22, 2005 3:35 pm PT
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