"FF14" "Eden of Hope: Rebirth" Developer Interview (Part 2). Dig deep into each layer of the rebirth, such as the battle concept and the secret story that gave birth to that impressive gimmick!

Ads

When interviewing for this article, we have taken thorough measures against infectious diseases, such as wearing masks and ensuring seat intervals, except when taking photos.

Masaki Nakagawa

Lead battle content designer. As the leader of the monster team that creates battle content, he is involved in the development of the Garden of Hope Eden series. Currently in the position of coordinator of the team, but there are times when I work directly on content, and I am in charge of the 2nd layer of Eden of Hope: Awakening and the 1st layer (planning) of Resonance. Nakagawa in the text.

Shiro Hata

Battle content designer. Garden of Hope Eden: Responsible for the 1st layer of Rebirth. Qin in the text.

Banri Takahashi

Battle content designer. Garden of Hope Eden: Responsible for the 1st layer (implementation and adjustment) of Resonance and the 2nd layer of Regeneration. Takahashi in the text.

Takashi Kawamoto

Battle system designer. Garden of Hope Eden: Responsible for the 1st layer of the awakening version and the 3rd layer of the rebirth version. Kawamoto in the text.

Kazuto Yoshihashi

Battle content designer. Garden of Hope Eden: Responsible for the 3rd layer of Resonance and the 4th layer of Regeneration. Yoshihashi in the text.

The initial concept of "Dark Sky" was a battle above the clouds!

──Now, I would like to dig deeper into each layer. First of all, it is the first layer of reproduction, but how did you proceed with the project?

HinFirst of all, when you asked me about the cloud of darkness, I thought I would definitely need something that reminded me of the clouds of darkness that appear in the Alliance Raid "World of Darkness". I thought. Also, as an element of the Garden of Hope Eden series as a whole, there is something that recreates enemies from the (very vague) memories of the warriors of light, so I mixed up those memories and combined various elements. I wanted to make it, so I started thinking about the plan.

──From there, how did you come up with the gimmick specifically?

HinSince the enemy's name includes "cloud", I started thinking about the project from the point of "something using clouds". That leads to the current “dark sky”.

──During the "dark sky", small clouds appear from all sides, is that what you mean?

QinNo, I'm not actually talking about the cloud. The field changes greatly in the dark sky. That field was a black cloud at the planning stage... The player rides on the cloud and fights, but if you keep riding on the same cloud or try to ride with multiple people, it will disappear. However, after discussing various things with the artist, I realized that making the field look like a cloud would require a considerable amount of drawing load, such as adding translucency to the character's hair and clouds, so I had no choice but to give up. became. However, I thought that the concept of the passage of time and the concept of weight losing footholds was new and interesting, so I left that alone and ended up with the current dark sky. The painting is no longer a cloud, but it was there that the inspiration came. The planning of the first layer of the reproduction edition starts from here.

── So, the first floor was created with the most impact on the first floor. How did you put together the overall image of the content?

HinThere are two concepts. In the first place, the cloud of darkness is at the top of the other world void, so if the cloud of darkness is summoned, the surrounding area will also be affected by the void, so I came up with the idea of ​​changing the field I mentioned earlier. I packed it. Also, there should be various environments in the Void, so we referred to the "World of Darkness" and "Magic Ship Void Ark", the Voids that players challenged in the past, and incorporated elements of the plant monsters that were there. , the Dark Forest was created. In addition, we created a total of 3 scenes, a temple-style field that fits perfectly with the image of the world of darkness, and the image is to battle while going around it.

──I see, that plant is the influence of the Void.

Qin Yes. And another concept is the part of "judging by looking at the boss, the cloud of darkness". In order to create a strong feeling of fighting against a cloud of darkness, we incorporated elements such as looking at the boss properly and judging and avoiding it. This is also entwined with the element of memory I talked about at the beginning, and the attacks that deal with the shadow that looks like a hand growing on the back of Scathach, who appeared in "Dan Scar, the Land of Shadows", are mixed in with the clouds of darkness. If you get into it... so I connected it to the part where you judge by looking at the boss. This has become the "Dark Combat Technique" and the "Jumping Wave Cannon".

──Certainly, there are Void elements here and there. Although it is such a one-layer gimmick, I think Dark Sky is by far the most unique.

HinThrough trial and error, I managed to settle on the current shape, but in fact, Ankoku Tenku was even more difficult in the early stages of development (bitter smile).

──Please let us know (laughs).

Qin Midway through the Dark Sky phase, Dark Combat Techniques are unleashed.

──Since half of the field is cleared, everyone moves to the safe side while being careful of overlapping panels.

Qin Yes. During the second Dark Sky phase, the initial specs weren't just a dark combat move, but a dark combat move: Duplex. So, after avoiding attacks on half of the field, I was supposed to decide whether to spread out or form a pair after avoiding more, but the difficulty was quite high. As a result of repeated tests, we settled on the same content as the first dark sky, partly because it is the first floor.

──It's not really the first level of difficulty (laughs). It was a production secret story before, but it's more difficult to make it difficult later, so do you mean that the difficulty level is increased at the beginning?

NakagawaYes. As I've said before, it's quite difficult to adjust the difficulty level of content later to make it more difficult due to the cost of graphics resources and other factors. So, at the planning stage, we're making it with a certain amount of difficulty and content, and we're taking a method of stripping it down while doing test play. The dark sky phase is a phase in which success or failure depends on the actions of other players. All eight people know each other, so it's good to have a good time, but it's not going to be that easy.

──Even in the current Ankoku Tenkuu, if you use voice chat among your friends, the name of the person you want to move will be called repeatedly, and it's quite noisy (laughs).

KawamotoIt happened during test play, and I often shouted Nakagawa's name. But it's not Nakagawa who's at fault, it's the people behind him (laughs).

──It's not me, it's stuck in the back! It was a really unique gimmick and very fresh. In terms of the difficulty of the gimmick, the continuous attack of "Dark Combat Technique: Double" from the "activating bullet" in the second half is also quite difficult. Did you dare to leave it here as a texture?

QinThat's right. The concept of the Dark Forest phase is to use the tentacles that come out of the dark clouds and the plants that grow outside the stage to attack continuously at a good tempo. It's a jumping wave cannon: type 0, or a dark battle technique: double. I am conscious of the good tempo and continuous attack feeling. Activation Ammo and Dark Combat Art: The overlapping area is the final continuous attack gimmick in the Dark Forest phase, so I tried to make it a little less busy as a wall.

Brain training gimmicks have a longer grace period

──Next is the second layer. First of all, please start with the battle concept.

TakahashiThe concept of the 2nd floor is simple, and I planned it as a boss who uses various shadow abilities to deceive the warriors of light.

──When I fought for the first time, I was surprised to see an attack coming out of the shadows.

TakahashiFor example, in the case of Giga Slash, the motion of the black beast determines whether the attack will come from the left or right, but the attack is actually launched from the shadows. . At first glance, it is set up to deceive the warrior of light by pretending to be attacked by a black beast, but in reality, a shadow materializes and attacks from another direction.

──The shadow has various patterns.

TakahashiBecause my name is King of Shadows... (laughs). If it can manipulate people's shadows, it can slip into people's shadows, or hide into other shadows itself. As for the expression of shadows, the shadows that appear during Giga Slash, Implosion, and Shadow Servants are designed to impress the silhouette of the King of Shadows, “Sierra”, so that they are distinctive. Due to the graphics specifications, the overlap between the bosses and shadows makes it difficult to see. Even so, the fact that the "difficulty in seeing" remained is a matter of reflection, and I would like to further refine the specifications and make use of it in the future.

──With the giga slash I mentioned earlier, it's tricky to decide left and right on the fly, but some people don't like gimmicks that use left and right.

NakagawaThe grace period is longer for such a gimmick that clearly shows your strengths and weaknesses. Shadow servants take a certain amount of time to think compared to other gimmicks. Of course, it's a length that guarantees the difficulty level, but...

TakahashiThe brain-training gimmick was also present in the previous Resonance Chapter 3, but compared to the normal gimmick, there are individual differences in strengths and weaknesses. It will end up. Therefore, we have adjusted the grace time to suit those who are not good at such gimmicks. There was a development member who said he was not good at shadow servants, so we made adjustments based on that member.

──This is going to be a little superfluous, but the “Kage no Servant Quiz” was a hot topic among players.

TakahashiI was very surprised when Quiz Maker was created, but I was very happy (laughs). Shadow Servant is a gimmick that requires brain training, and I think some players would like to practice outside of the content... As a developer, I'm happy that a player created a quiz maker, and that communication such as "How many questions did you answer correctly in the shadow servant quiz?"

──In the 2nd floor, there are many gimmicks that use shadows, but the so-called ``tower gimmick'' in the second half, where the ``Void Gate'' and ``Amplifier'' are performed in succession, also left a strong impression. I'm here.

TakahashiWhat would that phase do if the cornered Shadow Lord defeated the Light Warriors?

──It's an interesting idea to let the shadow step on the tower.

TakahashiThere are many gimmicks called towers that simply enter the circle and deal with it, but instead of stepping on the damage floor that should not be stepped on, We have added an element that has never existed before, making the shadow appear and step on the tower. Gimmicks such as putting a shadow on the tower in charge with the party members and throwing away shadow erasures neatly are phases that require a sense of unity in party play. It's difficult to solve, but I'd be very happy if you could get a sense of accomplishment and a sense of accomplishment when you solve it beautifully.

──If you see the number of towers at first glance, you will be confused (laughs). More towers than the number of people in the party will appear at once.

TakahashiThat was one of my goals. The element of stepping on the damage floor that should not be stepped on and using your own shadow to solve it is made as a role of solving the mystery. Of course, it's not that there are no hints at all, but I'm planning to prepare situations where Shadow King's Orders and Knockbacks in the Shadow Cleave phase will step on Shadow Swamps, so that you can get hints from there.

<Throughout the second floor, there were places where I felt a sense of response, but on the other hand, the speed of judgment related to orb processing, and when processing failed, debuffs were given to members who did not make mistakes. Even though it was to adjust the balance, I still had some issues to address. We would like to reflect on the feedback we received from the players and apply it to our next project!

Constraints for straight and intuitive difficulty

──Next is the Fatebreaker tier 3. Please tell us about the concept first.

KawamotoThe setting concept was "to become the strongest gunbreaker". This was a topic of discussion when I first talked with Nakagawa, but if Thancred has a gunblade, let's take it seriously.

──It's an interesting concept to dare to have a straight match with three layers. What other constraints did you set?

KawamotoThe “Warrior of Light Battle” was released in patch 5.3. I was careful not to overlap the element of putting in. In addition, he refrains from using such gimmicks, such as not using attacks that judge left and right, and blocking techniques commonly called "dynamo" and "chariot" (*) among players. I thought about the plan after sorting it out.

* “Dynamo” and “Chariot” are derived from the “Luna Dynamo” and “Iron Chariot” techniques used by Neil Deus Darnas in Great Labyrinth Bahamut: Invasion 4. Luna Dynamo is located near the boss. A donut-shaped range attack that becomes a safe zone, and Iron Chariot is a circular range attack centered on the boss.Similar techniques are called "dynamo" or "chariot" between players, and are used as a common language. There is

NakagawaIn development, we use terms such as “doughnut range” and “PBAE”, but as an orthodox two-choice attack or as a versatility when layering with other attacks, the planning It tends to be incorporated into

KawamotoIt's the same with left and right attacks, but as a creator, it's convenient...

──It's a representative attack that players can easily get caught in (laughs). Certainly, I think that the 3rd floor had almost no part of "How do you solve this gimmick?" It was designed so that once you look at it, you can vaguely see the solution. However, I thought that the exquisite thing was the tempo of that attack.

KawamotoFirst of all, we adjusted the delay time considering the reaction speed of the players and added difficulty. In addition to that, I was conscious of such "overlapping" that even if it's just one technique, it's easy, but it suddenly becomes difficult when the technique is repeated or another element overlaps. Each technique is simple, but it feels like we tried to add a gimmick-like degree of difficulty with the overlap and continuity of them.

──It's because the gimmick is so simple that it's possible to add that level of difficulty. Also, after all, the 3rd floor is the stopper, and I have an image that the actual production of Type 0 starts from here, but are you conscious of the capture situation until about the first week or the second week of release?

KawamotoThat's right. Since the equipment of the players is this much, I imagined that the numerical value should be about this, and the damage-related difficulty should be the last minute value that can be added in the 3rd layer.

──Especially in the early stages of the capture, the all-out attack with continuous damage, “Light Flame”, was raging, and I think that adjustment was exquisite. If you can't share the awareness of damage reduction within the party, your HP will decrease in a blink of an eye.

Kawamoto Regarding mitigation, we have prepared “Elemental Break” as a gimmick that is essential for mitigation in the initial capture, which requires damage sharing and spreading rather than light beams. I calculated the average value of the equipment and the HP value, and until about the second week after the implementation of Regeneration: Type 0, I set the damage to be done without adding reduction to the elemental break. It's easier to use lightning back, but it's implemented for the purpose of increasing the difficulty of the healer. Since HP will continue to decrease, the healer must be aware of not only the moment of being hit, but also the care after that.

──I'm sure I'm not the only caster who got scolded for forgetting Adol... (laughs).

KawamotoIf you try to add mitigation to all light beams, I think it will be more difficult. If you decide to put mitigation only in elemental break, even if the person in charge forgets to do it, someone else should be able to use mitigation instead, so you can prevent annihilation. Of course, it must have been difficult during the first week of implementation when the equipment wasn't in place, but as the equipment gradually gets stronger, the settings are set so that mistakes in mitigation are allowed.

──Come to think of it, in the last interview, Mr. Nakagawa jokingly said, “Are you going to do the flow of Pantocrator (*) in the rebirth arc?” Is it a version of Pantocrator?

*Pantocrator: A technique used by Omega in Alpha 3. Everyone gathers in one place and moves around the boss together to dodge ranged attacks.

KawamotoNo, I assure you that's not true! (bitter smile)

──So you were conscious of it from the beginning (laughs).

KawamotoActually, there is a "definition of pantokrator" in the development team. For example, Omega can fire missiles, Leviathan can fire beams, and Dark Idol can fire a tornado to unleash all-out attacks. It looks like it's there. On top of that, things like light warriors circling around a boss' target circle is the definition of pantocrator within the development team.

──I see. It's not "everyone moves in the same way = pantocrator" (laughs).

Kawamoto Yes (laughs). Dangoku Zetsuwa is akin to a gimmick called the so-called “Athletic Festival”. This "athletic gimmick" begins with Kikoujou Alexander's Rhythm Chapter 4, where everyone avoids difficult gimmicks in a state where they can't attack the boss, in other words, they can concentrate only on movement. For players, the Meteorite Phase on the 4th floor of the Invasion of the Great Labyrinth of Bahamut may feel like their first experience. I think it was from 4.

NakagawaThis phase called athletic meet is a technique often used in the Zetsu series. That's why when I first played it, I thought, ``This hellish technique is awesome,'' including the tempo. What I'm doing is simple, but the tempo is fast and everyone has to move. I felt that such a part was particularly close to Bahamut.

KawamotoAs for me, I had the image of a gentler version of Absolute Bahamut...

──It was a little derailed, but it was a very interesting story.

KawamotoI am very happy that I insisted on this. Thank you smile).

──Finally, changing the subject a little, the voices of Thancred and Rin during battle are Raid originals. Was this included from the planning stage?

KawamotoYes. When the project had progressed to a certain extent, I heard that the voices would be recorded. The finished voice was so cool that I wish I had made more...

──It's a luxury to have a new recording with a voice for a technique you came up with.

KawamotoI was so happy!

Make sure that FFVIII fans can enjoy the move names and motions

──Lastly, I would like to ask about the 4th floor. First of all, please tell us the reason why you divided the battle into the first half and the second half in Type-0.

NakagawaWhether or not to divide it into the first and second halves is something that has been debated as a major policy of the raid. I talked about the flow so far and what we think as a development side in detail in the second part of the resonance interview that was previously covered, so I would be happy if you could check it out. This time, in the second half of the game, Gaia as the shrine maiden of darkness will be introduced, and the content of the battle will be greatly differentiated from the first half. I thought of a plan. At a meeting where everyone from the battle system team and the monster team gathered to scrutinize the content of the plan, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of dividing it into the first and second halves and not dividing it, and after listening to everyone's opinions, Yoshihashi and Daisuke (Mr. Daisuke Nakagawa, battle content designer) took it back and made the final conclusion.

──Daisuke-san, are you involved in the production of the 4th layer of the regeneration edition?

Yoshihashi Yes. Thank you very much for your help as my mentor. I got support when I was in trouble, and I was able to do my best in a three-legged race.

──Oh, that's right. Please tell us about the four-layer concept.

YoshihashiThe concept of Promise of Eden was a battle between memory and imagination. Through the Awakening and Resonance arcs, based on the memories of the Warriors of Light, there is a history of summoning pseudo-primals through Eden and stimulating their attributes. The pseudo-primal gods summoned here capture the original characteristics, but are somewhat different. It wasn't completely reproduced, but there were elements such as being mixed with something, transforming, and transforming. This element is incorporated not only in the appearance of the boss, but also in the battle gimmick. After going through such a battle, the Promise of Eden, which you will face at the end, is planned to be a culmination of battles filled with elements that you have seen somewhere but are a little different, making use of your memory and imagination. I went forward.

──Did you develop Junction from that flow?

YoshihashiThat's right. In addition to the attacks that use memories to hit you, it comes from the idea of ​​wearing yourself and strengthening yourself. These gimmicks have a history of thinking about the concept first, and the names such as "Hanatsu" and "Junction" were added to the completed gimmicks later.

──It's a very distinctive battle where the pseudo primal power is junctioned from the crystals around it.

YoshihashiWhen I was drafting the 4th floor, I first thought about what would be the most exciting place on normal difficulty. From the plot stage of the scenario, it was roughly decided that Gaia's memories would be destroyed, and that Leanne would rescue Gaia, who had lost her memories, so I wanted to link this with the battle. I think it would be really exciting if we could experience the story of Leen and Gaia closer. In that plot, there was a passage in which Acien Mitron extracts Gaia's memories, materializes them, and destroys them. Memories and other things are embodied and turned into crystals that appear in the form of a battle gimmick.

──As for the techniques used by the 4th floor bosses, I think Shockwave Pulsar, Hell Judgment, Apocalypse, Double Triple, and Time Compression are from FFVIII. Were you conscious of Ultimecia?

YoshihashiAs Nakagawa mentioned in the first half of the interview, there was a time when we were considering making Ultimecia appear, so we decided to create her as the boss in the second half of the phase. I was planning Promise of Eden while vaguely thinking that it might be. As a result, it was decided that Ultimecia would not appear, but I was aware that there were voices in the community that wanted to fight Ultimecia, so there was a connection between the boss move names and gimmicks. I decided to leave things untouched.

── So it was introduced as an essence.

Yoshihashi Yes. From the stage of ordering, we asked for the effect when casting "Hanatsu" and "Junction" to reproduce the draw of the original "FFVIII".

──Apocalypse's effects are also quite similar to FFVIII.

YoshihashiThat's right. For things with FFVIII motifs, including those techniques, I consulted with the artists while watching videos, etc., and was conscious of respecting and recreating them while incorporating effects that were typical of FFXIV.

──Hell Judgment also has 1 HP like the original.

YoshihashiHell Judgment only appears once in a battle, so it's a pretty extravagant way to use it... However, in FFVIII, right after the start of a battle, my HP was reduced to 1, and I had a strong memory of being startled, so I definitely wanted to do it.

──Are Shell Crusher, Black Halo, and Spirit Taker from FFXI?

YoshihashiIt wasn't my idea, but Oda (Mr. Mari Oda, lead story designer) and another person in charge, so I listened to what they had to say. I was. “The hammer technique is a quote from FFXI. Not only for Gaia, some weapon actions and monster technique names are also quoted from FFXI. Speaking of hammers, FFXI has two-handed clubs and one-handed clubs, so I picked up the patterns that I thought would be suitable for the motions and effects, and named them accordingly.”

──Thank you for taking the time to listen to me!

YoshihashiI am aware that I made Diamond Dust quite aggressively, but it turned out to be more difficult than I expected. There are multiple points to be aware of, such as the side that receives the heel is also required to devise a position, and when the attack from the icicles is spread and scattered in various directions, whether to decide the spread rule or ad-lib. I think that is the reason.

──Certainly, if you look at it as a whole, there are a lot of general attacks. Even so, I felt a certain kind of warmth for diamond dust to come out in the opening stage. I shudder to think that it came after the lion (created lion) (laughs).

NakagawaEven in the 4th floor of the Resonance arc, the difficult point, “Light Runaway”, appears in the early stages. That's how it's positioned. By the way, Diamond Dust took a lot of time to test play. Heal at this timing, move like this here, test it many times with 8 people, and make adjustments while exchanging opinions.

──Even if the healer does well, the point is that the person receiving the heal must also be aware of it.

YoshihashiFirst of all, I avoided the safe zone, gathered, dispersed, and solidified from each movement and heel tempo. After that, I raised the damage value more and more, and the result of repeating one more time is the current value. I raised it too much and lowered it a little to see how it went.

──As for Daichi no Fury, which was mentioned earlier, the 3-color marker that appears here is a gimmick that will be familiar to those who have experienced the 4th floor of Type-0 Awakening. What was the reason for this selection?

YoshihashiWhen I was thinking about the gimmick, this is where the idea came to me. The 3-color markers that appear in the 4th floor battle of Type-0 Awakening were very impressive, so I tried to incorporate the element of the concept of this time, "I saw it somewhere but it's a little different."

──The 3-color marker is a gimmick made by Daisuke-san, the mentor for this 4-layer production. How did Daisuke react?

YoshihashiIt was a happy feeling (laughs). By the way, there are a total of 3 patterns of markers that are applied in order during the Earth's Wrath phase, but the order was random during the adjustment stage, making it even more complicated. There was a story that this was too difficult, and we settled on the current form. It's a bit overkill if Diamond Dust is priced aggressively and the follow-up Rage of the Earth is also difficult.

KawamotoDuring the test play, the members who participated in the adjustment lamented, "I can't remember!"

YoshihashiIn the early version of the implementation, it was necessary to look at the given marker and immediately determine which pattern it was, so it was said that it was impossible with this grace time. I was. Of course, I could have extended the grace period, but as a result of emphasizing the tempo of the gimmick, I settled on the current form.

──By the way, in the middle of Diamond Dust, an ability with a recast time of 2 minutes returns, and with Wrath of the Earth, an ability with a recast time of 3 minutes returns. Did you intentionally make that kind of timeline here?

YoshihashiWe have adjusted the waiting time between gimmicks, and we have adjusted the gimmicks so that they come at intervals of about 1 minute, such as by inserting an all-out attack. Here, Tamaki (Mr. Tamaki Tamaki, battle system designer) of the battle system team in charge of the 4th floor of the Resonance section took a lot of time and cooperated, and it was better to extend this part a little more, it was better to shorten it. He gave me advice, so I made adjustments based on that.

──Also, as a symbolic gimmick along with Diamond Dust, there is the lion gimmick. Various strategies were devised at an early stage, and now the strategy called “TT style” is mainstream. I think you checked the player's trends around here, how was it?

YoshihashiIn the ``14-hour live broadcast'' the other day, Yoshida talked about the TT ceremony with the nuance that it was ``almost as expected'', but in reality it was with or without knockback disablement. There are two assumptions, the TT method is very different from the method without knockback immunity.

──What kind of strategy did you have in mind?

YoshihashiA total of 3 flamethrowers will come, but the first time, 4 people will line up vertically in the center of the stage and receive the flamethrower. The second time, knock back to the lion with each line and induce flame radiation outward. The third time is like going back to the center again. Diamond Dust is the same, but during the development adjustment, we intentionally prohibited knockback nullification techniques, so it is a method that does not assume knockback nullification.

──Nowadays, with Arms Length and Consistent Magic, any job can use knockback-nullifying techniques, but we have to stick with that.

YoshihashiThe consensus is to guarantee no knockback immunity as much as possible. So, I'm making a solution with the condition that the second flamethrower will be knocked back. Of course, there is also the possibility that players will come up with a solution that assumes the use of knockback-nullifying techniques, and in that case, it is likely that the solution will be similar to the TT method just mentioned. This is my second assumption. However, in that case, it was a frank impression that it was a delicate place whether it would become mainstream or not because it would have to be positioned at the very last minute. Yoshida gave everyone a comment saying, "I'm sorry for saying something with such a subtle nuance!" (laughs).

──If you make even a slight mistake in positioning, you will be incapacitated immediately, but you use field markers to deal with it well. Let's move on to the topic of the second half. In the latter half of the phase, the gimmick that uses the "delay spell" used by the Voidwalkers on the 2nd floor of the Awakening arc is the main focus. ?

YoshihashiThe concept of the dark shrine maiden was to "use a powerful hammer and great time magic". It's not an official setting, but my personal interpretation, but I think the delay spell is a kind of time magic... The fact that Gaia can use this magic means that the dark shrine maiden, who has regained her original form, will be able to use magic in a more frightening time. Of course, we can't ignore the delay spell, and we wanted to create something that was as memorable as that symbolic gimmick. A technique was born.

──You were the one who came up with the Delay Spell, right? In a previous interview, you mentioned that it's easy to adjust the difficulty of delay spells with or without randomness. That's why it's also used in the latter half of the 4th layer of Regeneration Edition Zero.

NakagawaSomebody please praise me.

Together

──Did you talk about using a delay spell in the early stages of development?

YoshihashiThe delay spell was an essential element.

NakagawaI was sure that he would use it without me saying anything.

──Did Nakagawa-san give you any advice regarding the delay spells?

NakagawaThis time, I left it to Daisuke and Yoshihashi. However, when I was planning the first half of the project, I was called to a meeting because I couldn't come up with a good idea at all. Both of them are worried that they don't know if this is the right thing to do. So I asked about the content of the project, but it wasn't as bad as the two of them were worried about, so I advised them that it would be fine to proceed as it is.

──When you're working on the roots, you don't know what's the right answer.

HinThis is the developer (laughs).

──By the way, just one more gimmick in the second half. There are four types of "time compression": introduction, break, sudden, and end.

YoshihashiDuring development, they were tentatively named A, B, and C. It was decided from the beginning that there would be 3 names, and I placed an order with Oda asking for 3 different names. I also got an answer from Oda here, and he said, ``Since there were three types, I thought that the beginning, breaking, and urgent were just right.'' Later, it was decided to add a fourth type of time compression. I am entrusted with

The difficulty of breathing life into a new character

──There are still many things I would like to ask you, but unfortunately the time available for interviews is limited. I would like to ask you to give a summary. Looking back on the entire Garden of Hope Eden series, how do you feel?

Nakagawa Garden of Hope Eden is a story centered on Gaia and Lean, so from the beginning to the end, I was strongly aware of those two characters and the existence of Eden. I was. Looking back, I think that this core part was made well without blurring. In the 2nd floor of the awakening edition, we were confronted by Gaia, whose name was unknown at that point, and in the 4th floor of the resonance edition, Rin stood up as the boss, and in the final production of the normal difficulty level, Gaia helped Rin. And in the 4th layer of the regeneration edition, fight against Promise of Eden and the Dark Priestess. I think that those who have actually played the Garden of Hope Eden series will have a strong impression of these three layers and the three characters Eden, Gaia, and Lean.

──It's the same with battles, but it's a layer that shows a lot of excitement in terms of scenarios.

NakagawaIn terms of battle, the delay spells for the 2nd layer of the Awakening arc weren't created with all scenarios in mind, but at that time, the character Gaia's characteristics were firmly created. It was just one of the ideas to make the battle content of the awakening 2nd floor interesting. As a result, it was used to stop the rampage of light in the normal difficulty production of the 4th floor of the resonance chapter, and it was also used as a battle gimmick in the 4th floor of the regeneration chapter, and it connected really well and beautifully. .

──The delay spell, which wasn't intended that much at first, will lead to the subsequent scenarios and battles like a relay baton. It's kind of a moving story.

NakagawaIn the Dimensional Rift Omega series, there were many bosses from FFV and FFVI, and at the end, an original boss from FFXIV. This time, the Garden of Hope Eden series has elements of FFVIII, but the policy was to create content centered on the original characters of FFXIV, Gaia and Rin, so they appeared for the first time in the awakening stage. Looking back, I think it was really big that we were able to give Gaia such a characterization and breathe life into the character.

──Different from past boss characters who already have a background, there is also the difficulty of the original.

NakagawaIf you cut out just one patch of the raid content, the volume of the scenario isn't as big as the main scenario, so I hope that the characters that appear for the first time will be deeply engraved in everyone's memory. It is very difficult to make something. This time, including that point, I am relieved to have completed the implementation.

──I think that not only the scenario but also the battles were engraved in the memory of many players. The operation is about to enter its 9th year soon, but every time a new raid is implemented, there are fresh surprises, and it's easy to imagine that game balance with a great sense of accomplishment is not that easy. is attached.

NakagawaAfter the release of the Garden of Hope Eden Series Awakening and Resonance arcs, we received a lot of feedback from more players than ever before. We believe this is due to the fact that the number of players playing high-difficulty raids has increased significantly compared to the Dimension Rift Omega series. For the Rebirth version, we spent a considerable amount of time discussing this feedback within the development team, and reflected that in the planning and development of the game. I believe that the result of this has led to the quality of the replay version. And don't just be satisfied with the success of the rebirth version.

──Lastly, please tell us about your enthusiasm for creating future FFXIV content, and any messages for players!

HinI would like to create various battle contents in the future. As "FFXIV" continues, I want to continue to convey new experiences, emotions, and surprises. !

TakahashiI think the great thing about FFXIV is that we can listen to the opinions of the players and incorporate them as feedback. I would like to continue to listen to the opinions of the players, improve my plans, and deliver an experience that everyone can enjoy!

KawamotoI think that the young members of the monster team will continue to create new content, so as the battle system team, we will make adjustments so that it will be well-balanced. I want to do my best. I look forward to working with you.

YoshihashiWhile we are determined to make the battles more interesting, we will continue to think about gimmicks that leave a lasting impression, and things that make you feel good when you solve them. I would like to visit. Including the characters, scenarios, BGM, effects, etc. that appear there, I would like to continue to create memorable content that makes FF a lot of fun.

Nakagawa Right now, the development of "Akatsuki no Finale" is progressing steadily, so I'd like to talk a little bit about the new high-difficulty raid "Manmaden Pandemonium"...

──What!?

NakagawaWe're really busy with development... The development of Manmaden Pandemonium is also in a situation where it will be possible to test 8 people soon. Pandemonium Pandemonium is Hisabisa's original FFXIV raid. Bosses from the past "FF" series will not appear in the first boss. On top of that, all the people involved are working together to create an attractive raid unique to FFXIV. The bosses have also been designed by artists from the FFXIV team, so please look forward to them!