Interview of Tetsuya Nomura for Famitsu in 2013.

 Interview of Tetsuya Nomura for Famitsu in 2013.

The circumstances behind the transition to “FFXV”

— First of all, could you tell us about the circumstances behind changing the title from Final Fantasy Versus XIII to Final Fantasy XV? Around when did such a plan begin?

Nomura: About one or two years after the announcement of “FF Versus XIII,” the company already suggested, as part of its policy, shifting it into “FFXV.”

— Really!? So discussions about changing the title had already begun around 2007–2008?

Nomura: At the time, quite a bit of time had already passed since the announcement, and the title “Versus XIII” had become well established. Also, it still hadn’t been definitively decided that it would become “XV,” and there was still a possibility that it would remain “Versus XIII.” Personally, the moment I accepted turning this title into “FFXV” was when “FF Agito XIII” changed its title to Final Fantasy Type-0. From that point onward, “Versus XIII” was developed as the numbered title “XV.”

— Was there any particular reason why the announcement of the change had been withheld until now?

Nomura: Regarding the timing of the announcement, there was also the matter of changing hardware platforms, so it was no longer something that could be decided solely at my discretion. After coordinating with the various parties involved, we decided to reveal it at this year’s E3.

— Around when was it decided to support the PS4 and Xbox One?

Nomura: That was also about two years ago, when the decision was made to transition to “FFXV.” At that time, I asked the programmers whether development could continue while also anticipating next-generation hardware support, and they replied, “We thought you’d say that, so we’ve already prepared for it,” and immediately showed me footage designed with next-generation hardware in mind. I felt confident after seeing that footage, so we decided to support both next-generation and current-generation consoles.

— So originally, it was also planned for PS3. Could you tell us why you ultimately decided to focus only on next-generation hardware?

Nomura: There were several reasons. Originally, we had intended to make this announcement last year, but for various reasons the reveal was delayed. As a result, the lifespan of the current-generation consoles became an issue. In other words, if things were delayed by another year, each company’s next-generation research would progress further, and releasing a current-generation title alongside next-generation-spec games at that point might have made it look inferior.

— So there were issues of both time and quality.

Nomura: Also, with the current-generation hardware, it became increasingly true that we could no longer fully express what we wanted to achieve with this title, and more and more parts would have needed to be altered in form. However, since we were still operating under the assumption that it would release on current-generation consoles, we repeatedly experimented and struggled to push things as far as possible. During that process, about a year ago we created a build, and at that stage the company told us, “If you remain constrained by current-generation hardware, won’t this fail to become what you originally envisioned?” They encouraged a complete shift to next-generation consoles, and that became the trigger for the transition.

— What exactly was this “what we wanted to achieve with this title” that became such a decisive factor?

Nomura: Mainly things related to rendering and display. With “FFXV,” we intended for things to unfold as seamlessly as possible, and to achieve that, every possible action that might be executed has to remain constantly loaded in memory. Above all, this is “FF,” so there are many different elements: a wide variety of weapons, each party member’s individual actions, magic, and so on. While keeping all of that enormous amount of RPG character data resident in memory, you also fight many different kinds of enemies across vast maps, which places a tremendous load on the system. On top of that, we also add lighting for visual presentation, physics calculations, filters, and more. But because there are limits to what can be displayed all at once, it inevitably becomes necessary to make compromises and select what to prioritize.

— For example, if you had gone in a different direction, such as making it an FPS (first-person action game), there wouldn’t have been a need for such a large number of actions for the playable character, right? Did you never consider steering the game in that kind of direction?

Nomura: Since the game concept was “an action game that is still ‘FF,’” we never considered going in that direction. Certainly, there were opinions such as wanting to remove the UI (user interface), wanting to remove damage numbers appearing when attacks hit, or limiting the playable character to only Noctis. But if we did that, it would simply become a conventional action game. I tell the development team: “Before it is an action game, we must not forget that it is ‘FF.’”

— And what does “being ‘FF’” mean?

Nomura: As far as battles are concerned, I think it means “fighting as a party while considering numerical values.” Unlike standard action games or FPS titles, “FF” displays things like HP, damage values, and recovery amounts as numbers. Managing those values while fighting is what I mean by “thinking about the numbers.” Also, “FFXV” is a game where you “fight as a party” while freely switching between three playable characters. In addition to having many cooperative actions, the game is also designed so that players remain aware of the movements of characters outside the party.

— So by switching from current-generation hardware to next-generation hardware, you no longer had to give up on those elements.

Nomura: Exactly. In the trailer shown at E3 2013, there are battle scenes where Noctis warps to high places and moves across wide spaces. Freely flying around vast environments built with that level of density while unfolding battles that feel distinctly like “FF” , those are precisely the kinds of things that place a heavy burden on rendering. On current-generation hardware, with that kind of movement in large spaces like a world map, there were situations where the display of objects simply could not keep up. Also, the environmental changes and destruction shown in this footage were elements we absolutely wanted to achieve.

— “FF Versus XIII” was only planned for PS3, but “FFXV” is being developed for both PS4 and Xbox One. What was the reason for that?

Nomura: Previously, development was carried out with the performance of home consoles like the PS3 as the basis. But now, rather than using either the PS4 or Xbox One as the standard, we are developing on DirectX 11. By doing so, we can first develop the game at full specifications without worrying about hardware, and then optimize and port it for each platform afterward. Because of that, the original version of “FFXV” is currently running on PC in a very high-spec state, and how closely each hardware version can approach the original depends on the hardware’s specifications. This is a development method with future scalability: if hardware capable of reproducing the original version appears in the future, it could also support that. It is the exact opposite way of thinking compared to “multi-development” on current-generation consoles, where you adjust everything to match the weaker hardware specifications.

— At this point, are there any differences between the PS4 and Xbox One that stand out to you?

Nomura: With the PS3 and Xbox 360, there were major differences to begin with, Blu-ray versus DVD media, and the fact that hard drives were not standard on all systems. With the PS4 and Xbox One, there are no differences like that, and I’ve heard both are hardware well suited for porting. However, as I mentioned earlier, how closely they can reproduce the original “FFXV” still depends on hardware performance. In any case, we first create the game in an over-spec state and then optimize it for each platform afterward, so at this stage I still can’t really say what the final differences between them will be.

— Since development is being done on a PC basis, does that mean a PC version is also possible?

Nomura: We’re not particularly considering it right now, but it depends on demand. At the moment, it would require a fairly expensive PC, but if there are many requests in the future from people who want to experience the game at full specifications, then I think we could consider supporting it.

— It certainly makes one curious about just how impressive the full-spec version of “FFXV” is. Since you mentioned development on DirectX 11, are you using Luminous Studio, the game engine that supports DirectX 11?

Nomura: What we showed in this footage includes both Luminous technology and original systems created by the team, while also utilizing middleware. In the future, the plan is to integrate everything into Luminous. I think that as Luminous Studio continues to expand going forward, the game’s expressive capabilities will also improve alongside it.

— So the game and the game engine are essentially being built at the same time.

Nomura: I feel that if you wait until the game engine is finished before making the game, you end up falling behind. Even when creating a game engine, it’s difficult to complete it unless there’s a clear vision of what it’s supposed to run. Right now, the Luminous Studio development team is working together with the “FFXV” development team, building the engine while simultaneously making the game. I think that approach will also bring advantages in the future.

— Once all the functions of Luminous Studio are fully implemented, will the visual presentation and direction change significantly as well?

Nomura: Yes, they will. Right now, even the camera hasn’t been fully optimized yet. I want the camera to feel more “natural.” Rather than simply following the player, I want it to convey the nuance of being filmed by an actual person. But we can’t manually handle every single aspect of that, so we’re waiting for Luminous’s functions to gradually come together one by one in those areas too. The image we’re aiming for is essentially being able to directly control the kind of pre-rendered movies that Visual Works used to create.

— Even at this stage, the gap between pre-rendered visuals and real-time rendering already seems to have narrowed considerably.

Nomura: This time, there were also staff changes. Hajime Tabata joined the team as co-director, and Takeshi Nozue joined as total visual director. Although Nozue belongs to Visual Works, he’s currently working together with the “FFXV” team on the game’s development. Because Nozue oversees the visual creation side, the real-time scenes are getting closer to something that stands alongside pre-rendered movies without feeling inferior. Also, in “FFXV,” we’re using a method similar to Agni's Philosophy, where Visual Works first creates pre-rendered “Look Development” movies, which are then translated into real-time visuals using Luminous Studio.

— In the gameplay footage shown at E3, we saw flashy battles where Noctis used teleportation and a large variety of weapons. Around what level was Noctis in that footage?

Nomura: In the battle scene in front of the royal capital castle, Noctis is at quite a high level and is performing advanced actions using many different weapons and warp abilities. You can’t suddenly do all of that right from the beginning of the game (laughs).

— That makes sense (laughs). But with the large number of actions and coordinated attacks with allies, there are concerns that the controls might become overly complex…

Nomura: The starting point for the controls is the “simple and exhilarating action” feel of Kingdom Hearts, so it’s not difficult. Most things can be done intuitively, and we’re also considering control methods that take advantage of each hardware platform’s unique characteristics. As for allies, beyond cooperative attacks, they’ll also take actions depending on the situation, meaning they’ll be involved in battles in many different ways.

— It’s exciting to see that there also seem to be many actions directed toward enemies themselves, such as riding a Behemoth.

Nomura: In “FFXV,” you can free-run not only across the map, but also on monsters themselves. You can climb onto monsters and target specific body parts.

— So that’s how players will aim for part destruction. Regarding the map as well, we were able to see the kind of dynamic destruction and environmental changes that you said you “absolutely wanted to achieve.”

Nomura: In the battle where Leviathan creates a massive water tornado, the fight takes place inside the tornado itself, jumping between collapsing buildings as they crumble apart. I think boss battles in particular will feature these kinds of especially spectacular situations.

— What aspect of the battle system are you placing the greatest emphasis on overall this time?

Nomura: There are many things, but speed is especially important. The player understands what the character is doing, but someone merely watching might not understand what’s happening at all. That applies not only to “FFXV,” but also to “Kingdom Hearts.”

— Despite the speed, the animations don’t feel too weightless, and there’s also a sense of realism.

Nomura: That’s something we’ve struggled with a lot. In a sense, simply making things realistic would actually be easier, but then various problems arise. For example, if you launch an enemy into the air, in reality there would barely be any hang time. But if there’s no hang time, then you lose gameplay elements like following up with additional attacks and chaining combos together. Finding the balance where it both looks realistic and still retains enjoyable game mechanics can only be achieved through repeated fine adjustments and careful tuning.

— In the trailer, there was a line mentioning “the fifteenth,” almost as if it had been written specifically to match “XV.” Did switching from current-generation to next-generation hardware lead to changes in the story?

Nomura: That line doesn’t exist in the main game; it was prepared specifically for this announcement (laughs). The story and characters have not changed from the original plan.

— Oh, really? Previously, you mentioned that the story was only possible because it wasn’t a numbered title. So the overall direction hasn’t changed?

Nomura: Including the fact that it uses action-based combat instead of command battles, we were trying to do things that normally wouldn’t be possible in a numbered title. So when the discussion about shifting to “FFXV” came up, I asked the company whether that was really acceptable. Since they said there was no problem with it, we didn’t change our direction at all. However, as suggested by the phrase at the very end of the trailer — A World of the VERSUS Epic — “FFXV” will reach one major climax, but the story itself is planned to continue afterward.

— Does that mean there’s a possibility it could become a multi-part series?

Nomura: At the level of density we’re creating it, the project becomes unbelievably massive. There were also proposals to reduce the volume and density, but then it would no longer become what people are expecting. Because of that, we are thinking about completing “FFXV” with sequels in mind.

— As fans, the idea of sequels is exciting because it means we can enjoy the world of “FFXV” even more. But in that case, users would probably hope for each installment to release within a relatively short timeframe.

Nomura: We’ll announce later exactly what form that will take, but we certainly don’t want to keep people waiting too long for the next entry… In fact, this was also decided when we shifted hardware platforms: we are considering online support as well.

— That sounds like it could reduce the feeling of waiting. What kinds of online elements are you considering?

Nomura: There are many possibilities. Creating large-scale titles for next-generation consoles requires enormous development costs and time, and the scale becomes extremely large. With standalone games, even titles developed over many years can end up being finished by players in a short amount of time. I think online elements are necessary if we want players to continue enjoying the game over a long period. And if the story itself continues, then even more so, we should include systems that help players maintain their excitement while waiting for the next installment. That’s what we’re currently considering.

— Speaking of expandability, are you considering connectivity with other hardware, such as the PlayStation Vita?

Nomura: Not just the PlayStation Vita, we’re also considering support for smartphones and tablets, and thinking about entirely new developments unlike anything previous “FF” titles have done. I think that kind of scalability is also one of the advantages of shifting development to a PC-based environment.

— It really feels like both the development methods and the project’s expansion plans are full of new challenges. What can you say about the current state of completion and the release timing?

Nomura: At the moment, there’s nothing concrete I can say yet, so please wait for future information.

— Finally, a message for the fans?

Nomura: We truly apologize for making everyone wait so long. I hope this announcement has become something that lives up to the expectations of all those who have waited for us. From here onward, the quality of the project will continue to improve even further. With this announcement as a starting point, I’d like to continue sharing information during major events such as the Tokyo Game Show, so please keep an eye on the continuing evolution of Final Fantasy XV. With the current generation of consoles, there were times when people said Japanese game development had fallen behind overseas developers. With the next generation, I want this title to prove that this is absolutely not the case.