Game Development Conversations
On Recycling
I have a couple updates to my recent posting, regarding Hallway Quest. That is to say, more evidence that Square-Enix is at the end of an era. More precisely, I would say a Golden Age has already passed us. What does this have to do with Recycling? I’m fairly certain the world has embraced the idea of reusing material to reduce our giant, industrial footprint on the world. Even in programming, reusable code is a fine thing. But in terms of game design, there is a line between building on established premises, and just recycling content…
Case Point: Final Fantasy XIV, or as I’ve begun to refer to it… Final Fantasy XI-2. I was suspicious when the races were exactly the same visually (and presumably functionally) and in their first online, massively-multiplayer title, just renamed. I have to ask… why rename them at all? If you’re trying to create a new world, and a new story… why recycle the content so obviously? The map for your world has been unveiled recently, and it looks like basically the same world, just refactored a bit and with new graphics and names. Not a huge deal. I’m sure the game is different. All signs point to a more interesting equipment system.
Next Point: Final Fantasy XII was set in Ivalice… a land originally created for Final Fantasy Tactics… a spin off game.
Conclusion: They’re willing to base a core title on a spin-off, they’re willing to create Hallway Quest, and they’re willing to recycle a whole game worth of content in order to re-work gameplay for their online title. Square-Enix is out of original ideas. It makes me sad. Sometimes it’s rough being a fan-boy. Though, my frustration is not without its balance. I still look forward to seeing what they produce. I may even spend money on their work at some point, but for now… the magic has gone out of it.
May 21st, 2010 at 1:12 pm
You know, I actually like the idea of sharing the world, except that they created Final Fantasy XII with it. =/
May 21st, 2010 at 1:22 pm
It’s a fine idea, in and of itself, if only because it was something they hadn’t really done before. The series was built upon re-inventing itself (or at least its world) with each release. But, since it hasn’t amounted to any major breakthroughs in for the company or the series, I’m going to chalk it up to lack-of-creativity, or at least heavy-handed risk aversion.