Square Enix has once again been heard to explain why it is it thinks Americans will only accept muscle-bound old men as heroes.
The speech given by Square Enix developers with US-Japan joint development experience at CEDEC 2010 is summarised by an attendee as follows:
The importance of “believability” is strongly emphasised in the North American market.
Why are American characters always older guys? This can be explained with reference to “believability.”
For a protagonist who triumphs against adversity to be believable in the eyes of players, they want him to be tough and highly experienced.
This isn’t limited to characters – in “Fallout 3” you see the example of Nuka Cola, which gives health when drunk but also poisons the body with radiation. At first this doesn’t seem realistic at all, but when you consider the setting is post-apocalyptic it becomes “believable.”
This was one of the major points they were keen to emphasise – in fact they reiterated it repeatedly throughout the presentation.
In other remarks, they were heard to tell the audience that any joint development with foreign developers “is best avoided” because of the potential for communication problems – it appears Square Enix did not have a happy time attempting to work with non-Japanese developers.
RPG fans hoping for a letup in the comically clichéd efforts of Japanese developers to succeed in the west, almost invariably by providing muscle-bound old men as heroes, seem set to be disappointed – Square Enix and company already have their minds made up as to what a title needs to be a success in the west, in spite of their repeated failures to actually deliver any successful titles based on these perceptions.
iono about you guys but I like being told what I’m supposed to like from a company that doesn’t have their finger on the pulse of their own industry.
Someone show me where the hell Shephard, Altair, Alex Mercer are overly muscular or old!
Someone point me to the wrinkles on Kratos face (the only wrinkles he has are from his constant rage-mode).
I don’t think you ever had a “old” protagonist in GTA (which couldn’t improve the game either but then again I would know no way it could be improven for me at all).
Someone may get the sales for FFX/FFXII and show the to SE. Granted Auron probably is the FFX take on a “muscular, experienced” man but he’s as unbelievable as the rest of the scantly clad crew (at least he has half of a fashion sense, even though no one knows what that bullshit with the arms supposed to be) – the most believable still being Kimahri who doesn’t even TRY to be real. If I’d want to be blasted by believable and real things I could just go outside of my friggin door (sadly though the way people act outside of the glowing screen is just as stupid as inside….)
>they were heard to tell the audience that any joint development with foreign developers “is best avoided” because of the potential for communication problems – it appears Square Enix did not have a happy time attempting to work with non-Japanese developers.
Or: “if at first you don’t succeed, pretend you were never a team to begin with and blame them completely”.
SE should be making mistakes. Repeatedly. And should be learning from them patiently. They could have a huge advantage over other J developers looking to get a piece of the Western market by being first, but all they do is quit like a stubborn brat child as soon as his falls, scuffs his knee, throws a tantrum, insults the other kids and goes home to mummy.
Pathetic.
If I Must!
Believability is the correct keyword, however, Square isn’t digging deep enough. The real problem is that Square is still trapped in the moe illusion, thinking that they can just keep pulling their character personas out of old eroges, make it “T-rated” and get away with it.
We unfortunately do not live in a world where people casually spout long monologues about their personal problems, while stoically looking over a balcony toward the horizon, and follow up by having personal growth in that moment and making a resolute decision about how to live their lives. these characters might become more “believable” if we saw a scene of them rehearsing that bullshit.