Game News FF16: the excluded PS5 has chosen to abandon the idea of an open world for a good reason
Published on 07/15/2022 at 22:06
Right now, interviews around Final Fantasy XVI are raining! Each of them is then the perfect opportunity to pin down small details on the development of one of the biggest exclusives of the PS5. In addition to his ambitions for the world of this new numbered episode, the game producer Naoki Yoshida returned to the absence of an open world and what really makes the heart of a Final Fantasy game.
Summary
- Linear, yes, but packed with action!
- An open world that would have been too much
Linear, yes, but packed with action!
Lately whoever’s behind the next numbered episodenamely Naoki Yoshida, was able to be much more vocal about Final Fantasy XVI. The interviews, for a few weeks, this is not what is missing but the developer takes particular care not to repeat himself and distills small information drop by drop during these question and answer sessions. Recently interviewed by the Japanese magazine FamitsuNaoki Yoshida afor example, evoked this deliberate choice of a more action-oriented episodein the manner of Final Fantasy XV, and the invocations to which he has infused enough power so that they are able to destroy the game card !
No doubt about it, Final Fantasy XVI wants to hit hard! But, for all that, the development teams did not fall into the trap of one-upmanship and, from the start of the game’s production, the choice was made not to offer an open world. The idea was not to get locked into a chaotic development like the previous numbered part and to set up a more stable and better organized creative and production process.. This is one of the explanations behind this decision, but it is not the only one that convinced Yoshida and his teams not to give in to the sirens of the open-world.
An open world that would have been too much
The main constraint in this type of production is above all the time allocated to development and sometimes, as is the case for Final Fantasy and as Naoki Yoshida explains, it is not possible to have everything. According to him, it would have taken no less than 15 years to make this Final Fantasy XVI an open world game, while respecting what makes the salt of the license.
It is not possible to have everything. If we had had a development time of around 15 years, we might have had the opportunity to try the open world (…) It was necessary to understand the main lines of the game design taking into account the strengths of the team itself. Thinking about it, I thought to myself, “I don’t think an open world would suit what we’re planning. — Naoki Yoshida, producer of Final Fantasy XVI
Long before being propelled to the head of one of the episodes of the main license, Naoki Yoshida says that he first fell in love with the franchise and its codes. According to him, there are elements that are much more important to him for Final Fantasy than the prospect of an open world. At the turn of the interview, Yoshida willingly quotes what comes to mind when it comes to talking about Final Fantasy, and it is in particular these precise things that must be felt in Final Fantasy XVI.
(Speaking of the first Final Fantasy) It’s a movie-like gaming experience. The production, the synchronization of the dialogues, the dramaturgy, the sound, …: everything came together to create the best possible gaming experience. As soon as a Chocobo or a Moogle was included, I thought it was already a Final Fantasy experience. This gaming experience must also be felt in Final Fantasy XVI (…) Delivering what we believe to be the best story, in a video game experience with cinematic ambitions, does not require an open world. — Naoki Yoshida, producer of Final Fantasy XVI