You Are The New Director Of CBU5

The discussion in the Fujito thread, specifically around company direction and priorities, got me wondering about what I'd do, so I'm posing this question to the rest of you:

You are the director of a new division in SE, Creative Business Unit 5. You have a reasonable staff and budget, but they're not unlimited; you can take aim at one big project, or several smaller ones. You can use existing SE IP, or make a new one. You can't steal existing projects, but you can make sequels or remakes.

You can make things you like, or make things you think will sell well (so you can indulge in vanity projects later, with less oversight).

What do you do, and why?

(Also, I posted this as NotRooks because I want to save red thread titles for actual system announcements)

For my part, I had a couple ideas, but the one that felt like it'd be the most interesting was: FF8 Remake, using the FF7R engine.

Semi-actiony combat with a gunblade and junction? A chance to clean up the weirdo story? Great remixes of 8's OST?

I don't know if it would sell, but it would probably be super interesting, and I'd have fun with it even after I got fired.

Hell anything, colab with Nintendo on super Mario RPG 2, after that final fantasy tactics 2 for vanity.

I'd leave the classics alone and go with a brand new IP while borrowing a lot of the classic themes. Use the real time battle system and world exploring qualities from XI without being constrained to fit into the FF lore.

Emphasis on fun, not being Final Fantasy. Combat system first. World exploring second.

Single player exploration game with XI like combat system. Also companions/party members with branching story lines and adult themes.

MANA!

I think the first thing that I'd do as a SE director is to build a wall so that if I make a bad decision angry fans won't come and hunt me down D: D: D:



My preference is pretty similar to this, full 3D exploration/combat focused rpg with real time combat.

Except I prefer FF IP but not a new one so classic FF elements can be used as part of the exploration.

Breeding Chocobo and reach certain area? Check. Travel in a big world and hunt down different crystals for new jobs and powers? Check. Build an airship and fly everywhere? Check check. (I swear this isn't copying Legend of zelda!)

I also think a Stamina based action battle system would be great since FF13 LR already used ATB and it worked. So no more button mash and endless flashy attack spam, all the moves are controlled by ATB.

I would like to see more environment interaction with spells so spells aren't just something that does damage. So cast fire to burn the forest, ice to freeze the water, thunder to chain attack everything in water etc.

Okay I noticed I am basically talking Zelda with a FF theme now but mechanics like this just works with classic FF settings so I want to see it D:

back to hiding behind the walls D:

This is my dream. Modernize classic stories with modern game dev accoutrements so the next generation of zoomers can enjoy it all the same. I liken this to watching a movie based on your favorite book (assuming the transition doesn't butcher the source material).

For instance, I didn't care much for being forced to read Of Mice and Men in high school, but I really enjoyed watching the Gary Sinise movie version.

four words: Final Fantasy Tactics sequel.

Include War of the Lions edition of the original game as an unlockable, since that is tied strictly to Mobile/PSP, iirc.

Just like my current job, pretend like I know what I'm doing and hope for the best.

My top answer would be a new IP, maybe a Sci-fi turned based RPG, don't see too many of those, and space is cool. I also don't want to just infodump about wild idea in my insane head, so I'll expand on maybe a safer second pick:

(potentially very minor Final Fantasy VI spoilers ahead)
FFVI remake, split into two games. WoB doesn't really need a whole lot of changing, and the first game could end on the Floating Island as like a gut-punch cliffhanger for anybody who hasn't played VI before. Then the second game could give the WoR some much, much needed fleshing out. VI is my favorite FF, but WoR always felt so much worse. There were interesting plot threads, but they all felt like excuses to get your party members back. I would love to see this fully explored and taken seriously. All that said, I do not trust modern SE to handle this, and I certainly don't have the chops to lead this. For now, I hope this remains a dream in my head.

I'd make series of games that all take place in Vana'diel. Definitely one RTS in the mix, probably an action game, one party-based RPG like X or XII, another tactical RPG.

And then I'd do the same thing with Ivalice.

I don't have any interest in remaking or remastering the games I love, but I'd definitely like to introduce people to their world and stories. And if in doing so it convinces people to check out the games they spun from, all the better.

Vana'diel becoming the next Ivalice would be absolutely incredible.

It's more "sci-fi turn based tactical" but if you haven't played 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, I recommend it immensely. Just don't read ANYTHING about it ahead of time; go in as blind as you can.

WoB has the advantage of guiding you down a specific narrative; WoR is much more free-form once you get the airship, and the flow suffers for it.

Turn-based jrpg, they should take hints from Baldurs gate 3.

Easy:FFXI-2
Plot: Story takes place 300-500 years in the future, after RoV and TvR. That's all I got so far.

Right? I think Vana'diel is the perfect setting for it. They've written the history of basically every moment leading up to the game's events, a good chunk of time afterwards, and even alternate-reality timelines.

Imagine an RTS with episodic campaigns like StarCraft. Where at first you play as the Windurstians in the Age of Magic, then the San d'Orians in the Age of Power, then the Bastokers in the Age of Technology. Then - gear shift - you take control of the Beastmen Confederate and start taking over everything. In the final episode, you make your final stand controlling all three enlightened nations at once.

Imagine a stealth/action game where you're playing as the Kuluu during their uprising against the Zilart.

1st project- something safe to build me good will with the higher-ups. Likely a sequel or spinoff of a safe title that wasn't typical FF gameplay.

One thought was an in-depth chocobo breeding/racing game with large stables run by classic FF chars- I'd imagine Cid's training regimen is quite thorough, but Selphie likely overfeeds hers with junk food^^

After proving a margin of success, hopefully then will have the leeway to experiment. Could be something like a modern resources remake of a classic FF title to hopefully break the connection of old mechanics=assume shitty visuals. I like the comment of taking FF8, one I truly loved yet always felt like a stepchild, and give it a polishing.

Fantasy project would be an MMO in one of SE's existing worlds, but true balance between choosing to play on the Beastmen Side or the Humanoid Side. There's been moments or side-quests in previous games where you "fake" being the bad guy for either infiltration or theft....I'm talking about being able from day one commit to taking down humanity, and having the game resources for it to be an equal battle.

I will fist fight you if you dare.

I would develop an Open World RPG that uses Generative AI to create and develop storylines, missions, quests etc based on the player's action.

So there would be a world with lore, history, characters etc but then anything that happens will be based on the player's action.

Your character is not at the center of the story, NPCs will have their own objectives and will do whatever they wanna do, it's up to you to influence them in the way you prefer.

Think of it as something like BG3, Cyberpunk or The Elder Scrolls but with even more player agency. Everything you do actually have an impact and you won't be restricted to follow a certain number of pre-defined paths because the AI will create and modify those paths along the way.

I know right now the technology is not there yet but I think we are pretty close. While implementing a system like this on a single player game is quite feasible in principle, I'm not sure how it could work on a MMORPG. The main issue would be that there would be too many players impacting the game world and it could be really messy.

It's because in FFVI the hero's' lose and the Big Bad destroys the world. Instead of a Game Over screen, the player is introduced to the results of their complete failure. Not only did the Big Bad destroy the world, but they have since attained God Hood and are enjoying inflicting pain on the remaining survivors of the Apocalypse. The Apocalypse you failed to stop. You pick yourself back up, then explore the broken world. Even if you beat the Big Bad, you still lost, the world is destroyed and at best you can give civilization a chance to start over and rebuild.

That and Kefka is by far the most awesome video game villain IMHO.

I like this answer, it sounds SUPER realistic haha.

Being a director of CBU gonna be super hard and stressful with all the crazy expectations. We all love to see our own version of FF but play safe at first is pretty smart to do.

Well if that's your attitude, I'm gonna break it into several parts, take a decade to get it all out, and make sure it's spread across multiple console generations

Wait whoops that's already their plan

The whole FFVII remake fiasco was such an easy layup, all they had to do was remake the original game with any number of modern engines, Unity most likely, then release it with better assets and DX11/12/Vulkan support. Could of been done way cheaper and to massive success / profits instead of trying to transform it into a Trails game.

For the Horde!

Dissidia X Chocobo would be pretty cool though.


I would start with trying to get Yoko Taro to helm a Valkyrie Profile title focused on narrative and player choice rather than the directions some of the sequels have tried to go with.

Parasite Eve soft reboot to more of a 3D Metroidvania a la Control.

Maybe go back and take another stab at revitalizing the space sim/shooter with a Project Sylpheed sequel or something - maybe make it appealing with squadron multiplayer? Especially with a Switch version that folks could hang out together and play.

After a few projects like that, hopefully getting a reputation for reviving games, take on doing something like Future Vana'diel type thing for FFXI. Maybe not as an MMO necessarily, but something folks would recognize if coming from it.

Then the true masterpiece: Final Fantasy: Cid. Multiverses, so hot right now, and SE already has a character connecting most/all games in the series. He can team up with a chocobo and save all the worlds. ;D

Yeah, I really like 7R, and I think once it's done it'll be great, but it's dragging out a lot longer than anyone is happy with

DAY ONE PRE-ORDER

It feels like they are trying to use the Trails model, one giant story broken across 3~4 games and after each one the characters are "reset" to a predetermined level.

+1 for anything PE

I'd make every boss in ffxi enrage once you possess a stage 5 prime weapon. For example, gogmagog will remain in 2h hour mode for the duration of the fight. Kalunga will always inflict AoE weakness and matamatas will always full dispel the front line. Mboze will timber while you are still gearing up in lobby.

I have him in spot #2 noq, after decades of being in #1.
Emet Selch takes #1 for me now.

The split still sort of works for 7 just because Midgar/Not Midgar is such a clean break point, but I don't know what they're going to do after this installment. They can't possibly give us the rest of the story now, and there aren't any good break points remaining.

(Maybe "Cloud gets lost in his own mind", but that's not a long enough section to do that, except maybe as the capstone to an episode? Still a weird place to end it)

I'd make a new Star Ocean game that invests more into the story. Bring back Tri-Ace to handle the combat system, four person parties, a good crafting system with a 99% less annoying Welch, a battle arena, bonus dungeons, and a huge graphical upgrade that pushes the limits of a PS5.