Objective: To modernise and update FINAL FANTASY I (1987) as if it were to be released in 2015. Bearing in mind:

• The contemporary gaming audience
• The tropes and trends introduced by the franchise
• The previously existing audience for the franchise
• Current RPG trends and developments

Why?

 I have chosen to redesign the first Final Fantasy for a number of reasons. Firstly, because of the incredible impact that the franchise has had on the role playing game genre. Square Enix has often launched reboots of older games, (such as FFI for IOS) however, the story, gameplay and mechanics remain unchanged and it is simply a graphics update - hence why I thought this would be an interesting project.

Where to begin?

 Whilst FF1 was monumental at its time of release, the critical and cult darling of the 90s player still remains Final Fantasy VII. I, as well as many critics and players alike, assert that this success and impact was due to the characters and story. Whilst the franchise had began to develop characters prior to this, FFVII introduced characters with tragic backstories, amnesia, and motivations that were revealed and changed following the plot, as well as one of the most shocking character deaths. This created an overarching story of epic proportions with a complex villain.

 

 We can look at FFI in comparison: you give your 4 chosen classes names and they are your 'character'. Their sole motivation is to fight the evil, and most of the bosses and obstacles are unrelated and are simply put there to hinder your progress in moving onto the next dungeon. This is an incredibly linear and reward-based-progression model with no character development and little emotional engagement on the audiences' behalf.

Characters

 Therefore, I will be developing the four heroes so they all have personalities, backstories and motivations, as well as elevating the boss to be an overarching villain who is the cause of all obstacles - causing more incentive for the player to defeat him. The characters will ideally be interesting and likable and engage the audience emotionally.

Story

 Changing the characters will naturally affect the story. Every plot point should either affect or be affected by a character which will cause a smoother flow and help to create an engaging story that the user will feel incensed to complete. Like the rest of the series, there will be a plethora to cutscenes to help move the story along and for dramatic effect.

Gameplay

 

 I will look the how the previous games have developed their (turn based) battle, class and level systems to track their changes and explore how they developed their improvements from one game to the next. I will use these to suggest my own reiterations and developments that I will feel come next in the series.

Aesthetics

 Lastly, all of the previous should give a good feel of how the game will look. However, I will aim to create several sketches showing the change from birds eye view sprite to third person. The genre and trend change from world maps to seamlessly blended environments will be the biggest change here and I will build on FFX-FFXIII's visuals to develop these further.