Shining Force EXA Wrap Report

Major Challenges Yoichi Shimosato: Difficulty in showing the game controls to the player. Since we were first trying to create the title in a set period of time, we had various control elements we thought we failed to communicate to the player. However, with opinions and helping hands from in-company volunteers, the tutorial portion of Shining Force EXA was enhanced, and we dramatically raised the degree of instruction for the player.

The title won high scores in reviews in magazines, and the sales improved compared with the previous title, so you can say it succeeded as a project.

We actually had to abort the anime movie development during development one time. The anime movie expressions we wanted to express were difficult to capture, so we had to return to the drawing board during development to find a new anime movie developer. Then, it turned out that Flight Unit, which created the in-game models, could also create anime movies that were close to our original image, so we asked them to develop the current anime movies that are in the game.

Best Decisions Shinya Togo: How to create a co-existence of hardcore gamers and casual gamers for EXA. As mentioned earlier, we do not adjust the game balance to suit either side, and we also did not compromise by going to the middle. Instead, we made the game fit the level of casual players, and sprinkled in areas for the hardcore gamers as locations you usually do not need to enter.

If the game had been poorly coordinated for the casual audience, heavy gamers would not have been satisfied, and in the reverse case, light users would not be able to follow it. If we had taken the middle road, the title would have resulted in the balance that would not fulfill either group.

We redesigned our Geo Fortress interface at one point of development; we decided along the way to restart from the beginning with a clean slate. The old menus were difficult to understand, and if we had finished them with a little modification, they could have been decent, but I don't think they would have become as easy to navigate as the new ones are, or looked as nice.

We redesigned the enemies and puzzles on more than half of the maps. We stuck to our changes even though it was difficult schedule-wise. Puzzles on individual maps are important to give accents in the game, and to create a sense of accomplishment in completing it, and I don't think we could change the feel of the puzzles with just small modifications. The reworking of the game with these new ideas reduced a lot of sleeping time for many people on the team until we completed development.

Key Strengths Shinya Togo: Map graphics and design. Compelling map design was a particularly critical design goal; as an example, for the Crimson Palace dungeon in this title, we hope it resulted in a high quality and a well designed map, despite the limits on the poly count and textures. We could design levels with a great degree of detail because we created them by minutely planning the design concepts from the onset, up to how to specifically execute on the plans.

Adjustment of gameplay balance. The adjustment of gameplay balance is very hard in a game loaded with elements where you can use two main characters and control either, then one character leaves in some locations, or on the way to an expedition, a defensive battle occurs, and you need to fight it with the character that has developed less, etc. After the release, we have not received voices of dissatisfaction concerning these points, and it seems the players are satisfied.

Actions of individual monsters. There are monsters that move in a strange and peculiar way in this title. We made unique moves possible that aren't seen anywhere else.

Areas for Improvement Shinya Togo: Content of defensive battles. The feeling of the enemies coming to attack the Geo Fortress hasn't been fully expressed in the defensive battles, and we would like to include exciting developments in them. We wish we had included more varied defensive battles that were rich in surprises. We actually had such visions.

It is necessary to improve the gameworld flow in writing the story scenarios. In this title, we had various troubles due to the delay on the scenario writer's side. Therefore, we ended up cutting many elements we could have implemented. We should improve the workflow here so that we can respond with more flexibility, and it will not be hampered due to a single person.

Lessons Learned Yoichi Shimosato: Developing a game with a large number of people is no easy task but by using professionals in specific fields on the "right person in the right place" basis, we realized that it is possible to upgrade product quality, shorten the development schedule, and reduce the development cost.

In the future, we will create titles with larger numbers of people. Unification of awareness toward what you are going to create, and various ways to raise the efficiency shorten the development time, and you will be able to use the extra time to improve the strength of the game.

Audience Response Yoichi Shimosato: Evaluations from the Japanese media and users were very high; affinity toward the characters was also high. The title won high scores in reviews in magazines, and the sales improved compared with the previous title, so you can say it succeeded as a project.

As to the game players, they were divided into two groups before the release. One is mainly the hardcore gamer audience who played the previous title, Neo, and the other is the audience close to the casual gamers who were attracted by the characters' in EXA.