FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD: The Visual Evolution of FINAL FANTASY Recap

By Square Enix Team

Hello, this is Yusuke Naora, Art Director for FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD and FINAL FANTASY XV, among others.

This is slightly delayed, but as promised, I have finished my homework, the work in progress illustration from the SMU lecture I gave in February.

The theme of the piece is "EAST meets WEST". The Texas Longhorn is the motif for the helmet, just for fun.

At SMU, the staff and I were really surprised by the incredible environment, the high level of the students, and the teachers who are dedicated to the challenging mix of gaming and education. Even after returning to Japan, I continue to share my experiences with our staff as I reflect back on my time there.

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In my lecture, I spoke about my involvement in the art of FINAL FANTASY over the years, but it was also a great opportunity for me to reflect on the 20-some odd years of my career, and I'm truly grateful for that.  

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Check out the recap video here: http://bit.ly/smurecap

In drawing this piece, I wanted students to see firsthand the somewhat unsightly struggles that I face when searching for what lies beyond. I hoped that the students would feel or take something back from that sight.

…And, as I thought, in a rather uncool fashion, I was unable to finish the piece during the time that was given to me, LOL.

I took the idea back with me and continued the cycle of adding to the piece and redrawing it in between my day to day tasks.  And now, I have finally been able to avenge myself by finishing it.

I'd like to once again take this opportunity to provide my utmost gratitude to everyone, from everyone at SMU to the four amazing art directors from the "WEST" who took the time to meet with me at this gathering – Scott Kester from Gearbox, Peter Ellis from Epic Games, Hugo Martin from iD Software, and Jeff Simpson from Playful. I had a great time and it was all very stimulating.

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This post has gotten a bit long… But, we'd love for you to keep an eye on the new fantasies to come, starting with our latest title, FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD, and our upcoming title that we have begun to unveil, FINAL FANTASY XV.

The development team will continue to create the game in full force… as we struggle in an unsightly fashion, LOL.

Yusuke Naora

 

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