FFBE is a brand-new RPG mobile game in the IP series of Final Fantasy. This world view and plot are original. The brand-new "Crystal Myth" will gather classic popular characters of FF series, and bring a brand-new final fantasy experience with the unprecedented combination of 3D bold close-ups and 2D nostalgic picture elements.
During this trip to Xishanju, we asked several producers in China and Japan some questions about FFBE, and the bosses also gave their answers to see what they said.
Interview record:
Q: First of all, is Xishanju's mobile game strategy of high quality?
Zheng Ke: We only make one product a year, because our whole team is focused on doing one thing well. In fact, the whole team of Xishanju has spent nine years doing this, just like the three teams in Wang Jian.
We hope that this product can continue to operate, with a certain growth every year, and the reputation of players can form a certain positive reputation. It is not necessarily the most profitable game, but it is better from the perspective of user experience, including the benefits and fluency of the game. A key point is to solve the network congestion problem. If you do this, users will feel it.
The so-called boutique, every company says boutique. If you really do it, on the one hand, the game may have to resist the temptation, which can be short-term high-yield and high-flow. Second, when you choose one or two games, there is no way out. You can only do these two products well. We don't really talk about product cooperation with foreign countries every year, but once we decide, including FFBE cooperation, we are doing thinking, research and understanding, including all aspects of efforts. Once the decision was made, including before today's conference, we did a lot of player research three months in advance, including building a WeChat group. The so-called high-quality goods are to do one thing thoroughly and solidly, do less things, and look at the product life cycle more normally.
Q: In the previous game introduction, it was mentioned that the National Service will open a specific role, especially the famous hero in China, or the role linked with other games. Is there a choice at present? Will there be Xishanju's own game character among these characters?
Ho: First of all, there are two sources for the specific heroes of the national costume. One is traditional cultural and historical figures, such as fairy tales, four classic novels and even modern famous animations. Which one is it? I can't tell you now, because we still have confirmation and procedures with the Japanese side. In fact, this is a long-term process, and we will continue to introduce new roles. What I just said will be covered gradually. Everyone just needs to wait patiently, including voting, what heroes players like, and then decide to enter the game by voting.
Second, the game linkage you mentioned, we will definitely give priority to several good games of our company. In addition, many players mentioned that they like China's martial arts and Xian Xia games, not necessarily online games, but also stand-alone games. We are working hard because we still have to talk about it. If possible, we will add it to the game as soon as possible.
Q: I want to ask Mr Hirono, if you were a hero in China, which roles would you give priority to?
Hiroyuki: The choice of all roles is based on the arrangement of the world and people. No matter which role you choose as the object of linkage in the future, it will not be divorced from the setting of the world outlook, even if it is a brand-new role that everyone doesn't know, or a very famous role, such as the Water Margin in China and the famous role in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. No matter what level of characters are considered, because FFBE is aimed at global players, there is no standard, and everyone likes different things. Therefore, we will consider Xishanju's proposal to us according to the preferences of China players, and finally the two sides will choose the linked characters together. That's the concept.
Q: I believe the cooperation between Japan and Xishanju will be successful. Will there be deeper cooperation in the future? For example, agent Final Fantasy 15 Pocket Edition, will Xishanju try to cooperate as an agent?
Hiroyuki: FFBE is one of the many projects of SEQX, and it is also the key project of SEQX. Now we hope to make FFBE's national costume together with Xishanju's partners, and then talk about other projects. SE believes that Xishanju can cooperate well. After the running-in of FFBE, we feel that there are many opportunities in the future, but we can't say what the next cooperation is now, because we haven't cooperated with Xishanju in this respect. Now we want to focus on FFBE's national service.
Q: FFBE has a very large 2D pixel style. Have you considered that this picture may not be acceptable to domestic players at present?
H: Thank you for asking this question. Again, because we have done a lot of research before, according to the previous data feedback, everyone's feelings about this picture are quite recognized. There's an episode here. When we first talked to SEQX, we did consider making changes. The original proposal also has this consideration. We have also done a lot of pre-research and internal research. Later, we talked about the cooperation with SEQX, and we conducted a user survey simultaneously. According to the latest conclusion, we think the player's acceptance is quite good. Although the game is pixel style, it is very exquisite. We have all the things at the bottom, and they are very clear and high in technology, so they are more in line with our confidence in doing data research in the early stage. We hope to test it as soon as possible and then confirm what the real players feel and like.
Thirdly, in addition to the pixel style, this game has a large number of 3D designs, including many soldiers (3D) with excellent performance. We think that 2D production of very good pixels and 3D production of very good pixels are completely possible, and we are still quite confident at present. Of course, we need to pass the real test to gain the recognition of the players, because they have said it before, and then they will see what they do, which will determine our final effect.
Q: After all, it is FF. I believe that very old players will come back when they see the IP of this game. But for new players, such as female players or a new generation of secondary players, is there any special design to meet their needs?
We believe that exquisite and high-quality things will never go out of date, and the people's pursuit of excellent works is eternal. We patiently do this thing well, and then let the players find it. We have taken into account the secondary and female user groups you just mentioned, including my own interviews with players. I interviewed 10 players in July, and interviewed 6 players by telephone, and I also got some perceptual knowledge. We will focus on core users at first, but we are confident to promote it to the level of pan-users. According to our current data analysis and our own experience, including our perceptual knowledge, we think this piece has a good foundation. The uniqueness of this game is that its content is very grand, and it is huge and inclusive. In fact, different types of players may find their own fun in it. If you want to play strategic combat skills, you can have fun. Just now, Mr. Fujimoto said in the introduction stage that there will be some incredible methods that even the producers have never thought of, appearing on foreign websites or platforms.
If you are a casual player and want to watch the story easily, it is also very good. Now there are the first season and the second season, which is really huge. Personally, I think the content of this game is just to make a smart phone game. If you put it into PS4 or PS5 and make it into a console game, its magnitude is not inferior to many games now, even worse than FFBE itself. Because of the workload to be done on the mobile phone, we should express the same content. To tell the truth, if the host game is finished, the game will be 3A in 3A. I think this game, as long as you accept it slowly and attentively from the beginning, you will realize all the fun of it and it will last very long.
Q: What challenges did you encounter when you came into contact with FFBE national costume making, and how did you overcome them?
Ho: It is difficult for me to answer this question, mainly because I am embarrassed. You saw that my resume used to be a Q version, but you didn't see that I was a 3D game before I made the Q version. Earlier, I was a game related to 3D engine. Earlier, I was a PC stand-alone game. Now it makes me feel like I just joined the game industry. Personally, I like it very much. It seems a bit boastful to talk too much. I personally like this kind of thing very much. I will put more energy into what I love very much. Thank you.
Q: As can be seen from the player community, some players really want to ask Japanese producers questions about trust value. They think the interference is too strong to stand. Besides spending time eating dirt, they also spend a lot of money. Just now, Mr. He said that the national service will be optimized and adjusted, but I don't think it can fundamentally solve the problem of players. Will Japanese producers consider a brand-new system in the subsequent development of this game?
Hiroyuki: This game has been online for more than two years, and both Japanese clothes and national clothes are regularly updated, including minor adjustments and skill updates. The most important thing is to bring you the best game experience. In the future, we hope that the national service can do some new functions according to China's unique market, and we have no objection. In the future, Japanese clothes, national clothes and national clothes will be discussed together, and then each will maintain its own style.
Q: In the process of making FFBE, many classic characters of FF series were integrated, such as Claude, which is especially popular with domestic players. These classic characters are not only extractable characters or manipulative characters, but also have some exclusive plots?
Hiroyuki: The characters appearing in the newspaper on the reporter's right are the original characters of FFBE. These characters are the center and core of the story. We will not do special story promotion for a certain role of FFBE in past dynasties. It is out of the question. Just now the question was made clear, and I said I wouldn't do it. We regularly do some special activities at the FFBE Olympic Games. For example, it is possible that FF7 has a direct and limited special activity in FFBE. The core element is that FFBE has these original characters, so they are our protagonists.