The hastiness of game development & the July update for FFX-3

"What the shoopuf?!" Is this the question your asking (or at least along those lines)? If you are a constant viewer or reader of the Final Fantasy X-3 concept blog then you must be scratching your head after reading the title of this post and seething at the latest of this post. For either circumstance I apoligise. I merely entitle this post differently from the rest of the posts because I've had multiple views and opinions as well as experiences occupy my mind.

I started have theses thoughts and opinions over the last month or so whilst playing some of the anticipated games of 2012 so far. I've been playing Silent Hill Downpour and have achieved "Ending A "Forgiveness"" and recently Dragon's Dogma and the exclusive Resident Evil 6 demo only for Xbox 360 owners who purchased Dragon's Dogma. I have to say that theses games all have one thing in common; the effects of hasty development. While the Resident Evil 6 demo can be excused because it is a demo and not the completed game, I find it hard to ignore my disappointment when I experience the roughness of these games, games that I must stress aren't from development companies and publishers that no one has heard of. Capcom and Konami are two of the most well known and respected game companies on the planet and yet it disapoints me when I play a game with rough edges and bugs. Konami in particular is accountable for the number of issues encountered in Silent Hill Downpour (and Silent Hill HD Collection for that matter). My main gripe is that popular titles like Silent Hill, Resident Evil and so on have a long and thorough development . Silent Hill Downpour for example was hinted (albeit not known as Downpour then) in the early days of April 2010 and took near enough two years to come out. Two years give or take and it has more holes than Swiss cheese! I won't go into detail with what these holes/glitches/bugs/freezes are but if your interested then search the internet or play Silent Hill Downpour and find out for yourself.

And yet despite these disappointments, I do enjoy playing Silent Hill Downpour and its the same story with Dragon's Dogma regardless of its flaws and the Resident Evil 6 demo despite the collision issues when striking an enemy, the camera which needs to be controlled to keep up with the character's movements and the uselessness of firing weapons when a character can easily defeat hordes of enemies with punches, kicks and grapples (didn't Chief Irons in Resident Evil 2 state to Claire Redfield that putting a bullet through a zombies' brain or dismembering the body completely were the only ways to stop the T-Virus infecting the host and turning it into a zombie?). Regardless this isn't a review on IGN.com or the point.

"What is the point then?" you might ask. The point is that gamers hunger for entertainment and "more" doesn't  subside with time. While there are those who boast they can play their favorite game or watch their favorite film back to back, again and again and so on, others will yearn for more and different experiences or even more of the same thing. Picture a Call of Duty fan if you will, he or she may have Modenr Warefare 1, 2 and 3 and the first Black Ops and after hearing the news about Call of Duty Black Ops II (2), he or she is eager to get his or her hands on a copy, play it, love it and then eagerly wait for DLC or the next Call of Duty to appear one year later. This applies to any fan of any game franchise; Hitman, Fifa, Final Fantasy, Oddworld, Pac Man, Mario, Dino Crisis etc. Heck this applies to a fan of anything; even fans of Kellog's cereals. The hunger for more or even just interest in the next installment of whatever grows and in order for game publishers like Konami, Capcom, Square Enix and so on, to keep and maintain their fan base, popularity and  ultimately their company going, they must oblige to demand and give the customers what they want or are seeking for.

This has multiple effects on the development of games, one of which I will explain. A popular franchise like Silent Hill must satisfy the existing fans and at the same time introduce new elements to invoke interest from new gamers and keep gameplay fresh and exiting, hence why Silent Hill Downpour has new elements like the Void and side quests while fitting around the familiar psychological horror of which the Silent Hill franchise is known for.If it didn't have these and stuck to the series traditions only, Downpour woundn't stand out from previous installments and be reviewed as uninteresting and unoriginal which in turn can put off fans and casual gamers which effects the companies expectations in terms of profitability and revenue (just look at the difference in reviews, sales and popularity between Resident Evil Outbreak File 2 and Resident Evil 4). While in many instances there is no serious problems fulfilling these requirements, the outlook is increased development which takes more time and time is money. Now if the eagerly awaited next installment is rushed in order to get the game finished and out to stores worldwide then it has the potential to come off buggy and flawed which can put of gamers and invoke disappointment and frustration. Silent Hill Downpour is a prime example of this dilemma, it feels rushed and far from being as great and exciting as it could have been. The solution would be have delayed the games release and gave more time to iron out the bugs and fix problems before releasing the game to the public. Though Konami are saying they will develop patches for both Silent Hill Downpour and Silent Hill HD Collection, its merely like adding a doubler plate over the crack of the fuselage of a 22 year old Boeing 747-209B (reference to China Airlines flight 611 of 25 May 2002), its an improper repair covering up the mistakes that shouldn't have been made in the first place. The patches may fix some of the problems or even all of them (although I'm not that optimistic), but it will come as little too late as the potential for those said titles has gone and passed and little will change the experiences that gamers have of the said titles.

Unfortunately its the "insatiableness" manner which means games have to come out in a hurry and at the same time fulfill the gamer's desires, otherwise the game will come off as a disappointment and not perform as well as predicted. Now I'm well aware that this topic has gone on way too long and that this doesn't necessarily threaten a gaming company like Square Enix, Square Enix has so many hands in different businesses besides games that it won't go down because of the hasty approach taken to games like Final Fantasy XIV or the Kane and Lynch series. That said its not like Square Enix is a selfish egotistic company interested in just money the fatest way, I think it goes to show how dedicated the company are as a whole to prolong the inevitable Final Fantasy VII remake, XIII Verses Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts 3 and so on presumably to properly develop these games so that these titles won't be disappointing and I for one would rather wait patiently for these games to be developed and completed to the finest and best qualities rather than rushed in order to meet the quarterly financial time span like the countless Need For Speed titles, WWE simulators, Call of Duty titles and so on. Then again even the long and methodical development cycle can go wrong, just look at Duke Nukem Forever (ouch!)

"What does this have to do with the concept of Final Fantasy X-3?" You must be asking anxiously. I know I'm taking my sweet time with "The Final Chapter" and "Lenne's and Shuyin's Story" and the whole documentation of this concept as a whole because I hate being rushed and this concept, even if it will only be a concept and my pipe-dream means more then words can describe so I don't want to mess it up. If and when the day comes when I submit this concept to Square Enix, I want to be able to show how much thought, care, love and respect I have for the concept and how their work with the Final Fantasy series and Final Fantasy X and X-2 in particular inspired me to create this concept. This entire project has a special and irremovable place in my heart just like the entirety of Final Fantasy X and X-2 that I will carry with me always.

The fear is however that should this concept be given the green light and the fantasy becomes a reality in the gaming world for all of the gaming world to experience and enjoy, I don't want the entire process rushed and executed with any performance and effort beneath the very best. Final Fantasy X-3 has a tremendous legacy to live up to after Final Fantasy X and X-2 and I wouldn't allow myself to degrade the legacy (that is if the concept becomes Final Fantasy X-3 and not a different game). I won't...I can't allow this Final Fantasy X-3 concept come off as a missed opportunity at creating the next greatest gaming moment in history and instead list among the worst games of the respected year. Ultimately I cannot fail Yuna, I can't!

If your thinking I'm a few spheres short of a Garment Grid or just completely and utterly obsessive then your probably right.

Anyway, to the update regarding the development of "The Final Chapter" during June (2012). To be honest; progress has been as slow as ever unfortunately but then as I've explained above I want to take my time and not mess up. Yuna and Tidus are still in the Hotspring in Mt. Gagazet taking a much needed break and coming to terms of what is alienating them both and what they can do to solve their problem, besides not wanting to step outside in the bitter cold instead of being in the Hotspring together (Would you leave a hotspring if you had the choice?) Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, Paine, Kimahri and Sparky have at long last reached Bikanel Desert after crashing the Fahrenheit airship with Brother, Buddy and Cid (I know its not that new but this time around the remaining Kinderguardians; Hana, Taro and Shinra are choosing to accompany the party and dub the new airship the Kinderguardian Headquarters). Lenne and Shuyin arrive on Spira's surface, albeit in the Bevelle Underground next to where Vegnagun was once stood. And the Fayth are suggesting to Tidus that his hopes for peace and unity with Yuna are doubtful.

Now that its July (2012), the focus shifts to "Lenne's and Shuyin's Story"; the objective is to resume from where I left off in May (2012) and allow Lenne and Shuyin their much sought for freedom from the inside of the yet unnamed Sin by using the Kelvin airship. Already I've expanded the scenes prior to Shuyin flying the Kelvin airship so that Lord Zaon continues to mistake Lenne for his wife; Lady Yunalesca until Lenne knocks some sense into Lord Zaon. Don't worry, Lenne doesn't hit Lord Zaon needlessly, its redemption for Lord Zaon leaving his wife in Zanarkand prior to its demise with a cut from an encounter with broken glass (some husband huh?) Development will continue until the first (1st) of August (2012) (01/08/2012) when the focus shifts back to "The Final Chapter".

"Phew!! That was a long read! Is it over?" Almost...I apoligise for the long winded and off topic discussion. Until the next post, see ya!