The Last Story Iwata Asks details (part 3)
– Iwata first asked Sakaguchi about what it felt like working on a Wii game
– Sakaguchi said that when he was making games for HD consoles, he put a greater focus on workflow and pipeline (pipeline is placing graphics and motion data in a game)
– This was because a game with higher-quality visuals can be made if a solid work pipeline is in place
– “With the Wii, we took the approach of making a prototype first and investigating from there. So, compared to the hardware I’ve worked with until now, the creation process was completely different.”
– Iwata suggested that one could say that the Wii allowed them to use a creation process where they build up the game through experimentation
-“There is that side to it. To be honest, I personally feel that the HD visuals that are now the trend are still too much for a game world. You end up putting all your effort into preserving the quality of the visuals.”
-“I absolutely did not want the visual quality to drop just because it’s on the non-HD Wii. In the end, I truly believe we reached a point where it does not lose out to other hardware. The feel of the rocks, the feel of the water and so forth — we really went deep with the creation. Also, another important area is motion.”
– Sakaguchi emphasized putting much effort in the area of motion
– Balance is important when considering motion and visual fidelity according to Sakaguchi
– “I’m a designer, so to be honest I initially felt like I wanted a bit more resolution. However, as I worked on the project, I came to the unexpected conclusion that it was okay.”
“In the end, we were able to raise the quality more than we’d expected.”
– Sakaguchi compared the beauty of the graphics in The Last Story to a photograph
– Sakaugchi says that Wii provides visuals that allow for a perfect balance for a photograph-like taste
– Wii easy to program as well, so Sakaguchi noted that they were able to work details into the game
– Example of the above: Player switches from dark to light in the game, game’s lighting adjusts like a real person’s eyes would
– Sakaguchi: “Even if you compare the visuals to other hardware, there’s no disadvantage what-so-ever”
– Fujisaka felt a turning point when developing the title was when the game’s main city was finished (around early 2009 at the beginning of development), gameplay systems started to take shape then as well, so he thought the team was on the right path
– Sakaguchi doesn’t have a specific turning point, but he pointed out when Nintendo gave the game’s scenario a NG (no good), was the first “reset point” for the title
– Sakaguchi: “By simplifying the world view in the form of fantasy,” said Sakaguchi, “I believe the characters became deeper. It’s easier to show real human feelings in fantasy, after all.”
– Fujisaka joked that he was annoyed when Nintendo gave the game a NG since he had created a large number of images, but he thinks the decision was a good one in the end
– Fujisaka: “The world view we originally thought up was extremely dark. I’m glad that it ended up in its current form.”
– Sakaguchi: “For music and paintings, movies and books, there are some works that give you energy when you touch them. I’d like for Last Story to be that type of work. Nothing would make me happier than if you connected with the game and felt something from it.”
