Interview with Mistwalker's Sakaguchi
- May 16, 2005 13:50 PM PST
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Final Fantasy creator comments on his reasons for teaming with Microsoft, and offers insight into the upcoming two RPGs.
Xbox Japan recently interviewed Hironobu Sakaguchi, who discussed his decision to go with Mistwalker. The translated interview is as follows:Q: Breaking the long period of silence, you've finally decided on taking on a major RPG--what lead to this the decision?
A: The truth is that I wasn't involved in any content development directly for two and a half years, from last spring. Living a life of just watching movies and reading books, you get an impulse to make something.
Q: But you did establish your own company called Mistwalker?
A: Presently, developing games requires huge budgets and manpower. Develop software to earn money to provide wages for staff--it's become a very bad cycle. With that, you're forced to develop as a means to make up for costs. I think we need to escape from that, or else there's no point of making games. I wanted to create an environment where [a game] is worked on to full satisfaction--without compromising development--and so I established Mistwalker.
Q: Was it specifically because of the next-generation Xbox that you decided to work with Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) to make games?
A: In the big picture I would say that's certainly the case--to be more exact, I wanted to cram everything I wanted to do in a world without limitations. I think the next-generation consoles have entered that realm; to have what you want to express made manifest inside a box called a game console. And when I was mulling over creating a game, coincidentally an outside creator said, "let's do it." Not only that, but they thought that two good RPGs can probably be made. From there, I talked with Mr. Maruyama (Xbox Business Directory Yoshihiro Maruyama), whom I worked together with previously. And Mr. Kawai (Kawai Hiroshi, game development director), with whom I worked with before as well, was at MGS--we understood each other's abilities, and thought that this could happen. So rather than choosing because of the hardware, I felt it was the connections with the people that brought me to the next-generation Xbox.
Q: What's your position in these two new games? What kind of games will they likely turn out to be?
A: As for my position, I'm basically the producer, and will be writing a lot of the scenarios, including the mechanics. One goes along the line of realism--it's stylish, and it's a game that gives the feeling of walking inside an amazing visual experience. The story isn't the coming-of-age tale that's typical for RPGs, but rather the main character is one who's more on the side of being enlightened. However, even being such a transcendent character, I wanted to show how he/she laughs in trivial things, cries with the everyday occurrences. I want to express some deep psychological truths, and am planning to make it [an RPG] with depth.
The other RPG has deformed characters, and will be an energetic RPG. The main character is one who clenches his/her teeth and is forward-looking even in the midst of struggles and hardships, never giving up. I think It's going to be a very different game [from the other RPG].
Q: We're looking forward to it. You have a very strong image as a "storyteller"--are there any underlying common traits or philosophies that go into your RPGs?
A: Well, in the different generations that I've made video games, those traits or philosophies have changed... If I were to talk about myself now, I'd say that visuals that give the feeling of walking inside a real world have already been done. But, even if you have beautiful visuals, if you can't interact with it it just becomes mere decoration. With that, I want to have a world where you can seamlessly interact with everything in the world--that's what I'm aiming for. Also, I mentioned it before, but I want the story to depart from the plain coming-of-age stories, and create scenes which evoke emotions of laughter and tears that have been absent in games until now. I want to have a game that feels fresh and new after playing it, one that explores interactivity.
Q: Lastly, would you be able to say something for the game fans who are eagerly awaiting your works?
A: Users have taken in my wavelength of what I feel to be fun--and I am happy and grateful for that. Because of this, whenever I make games, I want to satisfy the users who spend money to buy my games--this is a bare minimum for games that I never forget to remember. I want to provide something that I believe to be entertaining, so please look forward to them.
