Is this game forgotten?
Last week, I opened my Ps2 "CD case" to choose a game I want to play noting that I did not play on my PlayStation from like a year or so. Anyways, I chose Final Fantasy XII(12) due to the fact that I enjoyed playing it A LOT as a kid so I wanted to play it again starting from the beginning, I actually sticked to it, I have been playing it everyday since the past week..... The graphics were O.K, the game was made in 2006 and its graphics used to be considered amazingly good when it was made so you cannot consider it the company's problem unless the game was made 1-3 years ago, Square-Enix started working on the game in 2001. I am not really that much of a programmer, I do know Java but as for making games, I do not really know when they start making the textures and designs though I do think they start with that or testing will pretty much be impossible? Anyways, I love the combat system, the treasures(Chests that contain stuff, found nearly everywhere) and the "bazaar" which usually contains the BEWST equipment, bazaar items can be revealed/unlocked by selling sets of loot though it is not as easy as you think! The mist powers..... the spells... everything in this game is superior except for the graphics and monster design(70% of monsters look the same but with different colors and different levels[You can find a level 13 werewolf and level 50+ chickens in the ends of the game]).
I have seen FF13 and I saw pretty much crappy, cannot be even compared to 12 thought the graphics is better, FF14 is like any other MMo game, does not even look from the Final Fantasy series, as for 15, it looks epic but I hope it will contain treasures, bazaar and similar things, FF12 has been horribly reviewed by so many people which makesme feel pretty sad for such an amazing game, people have been raging at the combat system though it is pretty good and what they hate the most is the "license board", instead of AP for Str, Dex for equipping armor, the license board needs LP so you can actually unlock the "equipability" of items though I find it something very unique and creative.
What do you think?
I have a question: Is this game popular and being played by people those days?
Note: If you want to play the game then this is the best wiki for it: ff12maps.com (No advertisement intended, just helping people find good guides for the game)[Contains chest places and bazaar loot combinations]
5 Comments • Newest first
Omegathorion, you are a rare gem in this sea of trolls we call "BasilMarket", you earned my respect for your knowledge and the small amount of your personality that I just saw, I would like to thank you a lot for the info but there is something..... indeed does the license board go directly to character developement, not to the player skills but isn't a player still able to advance his skills? Example:
A newby FF player does not know how to deal with most scenarios quickly, smoothly and easily like a an experienced player.... I am not going against your license board character devoloping point.
My point states: FF12 does depend on skill in most times(especially against bosses) do you have anything against that?
WHY DA HEWL DOES FRAN DRESS LIKE A *? No need to answer this XD
Note: Thanks for all your answers :-)
[quote=reaperofzz]Well.... the communities of most games are like that, example(In RuneScape):
We want more graphics!
After HD update: We want more "game"(By returning PvP in the wilderness)
After returning PvP: Hmm.... nothing to rant about no more! Combat is boring, make it better!
After EoC: We miss the old RuneScape.[/quote]
I like how you use Runescape for an example seeing as how the perfect example is right here on this site.
Okay... so you have a lot of questions and non-questions and ambiguous things, so I'm not sure if my reply (or anyone's) will satisfy you.
How do they make textures and designs: First, you'd want to nail down what exactly you want out of the design, which is another area that I won't get into. After that, you'll usually start with 2D concept art, which is a very rough mockup (like this: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NCBHmpazCr0/UdKLIuz6ABI/AAAAAAAAFR8/omM9VhC-Pjo/s1434/assassin_yi.jpg). After iterating on the concept a few times, you'll model it out in a 3D program like Maya or ZBrush (again, another area). To texture a 3D model, you need to go through a process called UV mapping, which is what applies an image onto a 3D modeled surface. Programs like UVLayout or Maya's built-in UV mapping can create a UV map, which is a 2D image that you would bring into a 2D image manipulator like Photoshop. When you're finished positioning and detailing all of the textures in 2D, you apply it to the model, and the UV mapping sets everything where you intend it to go. In this image (http://goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au/~gl/teaching/Interactive3D/2012/images/uv-unwrap.jpg), the model is on the left and its corresponding UV map is on the right.
EDIT: On this same topic, 3D painting is also becoming pretty popular, which is when you actually draw on a 3D surface in a 3D environment. The main program that does this is Mudbox, although I heard that even Photoshop can do it if you load in a 3D model. But whether you're painting directly on a model or laying out its textures in 2D, you would still need a UV map. For FF12 in particular, they probably did it with the 2D images because of its age. I'm actually not exactly sure when 3D painting became a big thing, but it was probably after FF12.
Testing without textures and designs: Playtesting is something that has to be iterated constantly, so you'll almost never have finished assets for testing. Rather, you'll almost never have anything that looks like an actual game for testing. A lot of playtesting starts out with analog versions of gameplay (analog meaning board games, card games, things that are physical and thus easier to create). If you think about it, all Final Fantasy games before 11 can be boiled down into a turn-based structure, which could be tested as a board game. This allows game developers to start testing before art assets or code is done, which is important because art assets and code take time to make, and the more time you have to test and iterate the better.
FF13 is crappy: I will direct you to my essay about why FF13's revamping of the mana system was a positive step for Japanese game design: http://omegathorion.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/game-design-the-mana-system-paradox/.
What do you think (regarding bad reviews): I will direct you to my essay about character-based versus player-based growth: http://omegathorion.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/game-design-the-nature-of-grinding/. The License Board and Gambit system purposefully take emphasis away from player growth and instead puts it into character growth. Which is a legitimate design decision, but not my cup of tea. Unique and creative? That's debatable. But in the end, it just means that you get better at the game by grinding, not by actually developing your own skills.
Is this game popular and being played by people those days: No.
Using wikis for games: Information gathering is an extremely important part of games, and we as game designers carefully calibrate how much information we give the player versus how much they gain themselves in order for them to experience the game to its fullest. Using a wiki destroys that information balance, just like using guides or FAQs. On one hand, it's fine because different people play games differently, but on the other hand most people aren't exactly aware of the repercussions of using a wiki while playing a game.
Well.... the communities of most games are like that, example(In RuneScape):
We want more graphics!
After HD update: We want more "game"(By returning PvP in the wilderness)
After returning PvP: Hmm.... nothing to rant about no more! Combat is boring, make it better!
After EoC: We miss the old RuneScape.
well the issue with 12 was that it was trying to do too many things different; the battle system was innovative but it was shot down because it was different, yet people complain about final fantasy being the same. The only thing i felt lackluster about the game was its storyline; though it was great that it was trying to tackle political issues, there was a lack of depth between the characters & getting me to like or relate with much of them. Unfortunately from what i've been reading about FF15 and mostly people praise it for having N'Sync as the main characters in the game everyone goes crazy purely for the aesthetics, I've really yet to hear anyone talk about gameplay with FF15 despite a few videos being out there containing it. Though i still think FF15 will do good in sales since it's been anticipated since..what? When the PS3 came out?
anyways I digress, i think FF12 is pretty underrated give a whole different aspect of job changing & such