Worlds Apart: The Importance of the Dream

by Kakarott 

What is it? Is it a traditional RPG? Is it a sci-fi RPG? Is it an action/RPG? If it's an action/RPG, what about the RPG part? Is it traditional or sci-fi? Can it be both?

I've heard these questions and have had to live with these ramifications for a long time. Maybe it's time for developers to start realizing the importance of creating a fantastic world, not labeling it "traditional" or "sci-fi."

A lot of people complained that Final Fantasy VII and VIII were too cybernetic, which has undoubtedly taken its toll on Square in "reverting" back to fantasy worlds of FFs gone by. Gamers shouldn't have been asking themselves if the games were too cyberbetic - they should have been more concerned with how fantastic and far-reaching the worlds were. Final Fantasy is truthfully the only series or RPG in general that has been the focus of such an argument. In that same breath, FF has been the series to spawn some of the most incredible universes in the history of entertainment. Tolkien's Middle Earth couldn't do what FF has done, nor has any other novel because of the level of interactivity involved in videogames.

While being concerned with a certain image, the developers should be asking themselves, "What is Final Fantasy?" The gamers have their own views. Whether it be I, II, II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, or IX, each game has presented a unique world, which really began to take an identity of its own when FFIV rolled around, combining technologies with fantastic mythologies. The game should be a fantasy, a world filled with fascinating and unique attributes - airships, space stations, ancient gods and monsters, powerful weapons, menacing castles and twisted, breath-taking landscapes. Who cares if it has a few cybernetic aspects? It's fantastic, far-reaching, it's not normal, and it doesn't exist here. When was the last time you slammed an airship called Ragnarok into the Lunatic Pandora to stop an evil Sorceress from collapsing time on itself? Why should you be concerned if it's traditional or sci-fi? You're having fun, aren't you?

Final Fantasy isn't alone, although, as I said, it is perhaps the only series or RPG to ever come under such speculation. Games like Grandia and Lunar have managed to successfully combine mehanical and magical aspects in a world that is not our own and have it be a wonderful experience.

When creating a world, developers need to ask themselves how it's going to be: why do people know the difference between night and day? How do they know what North, South, East and West are? How do they know what currency is? Where are certain monument to this universe located? Why are they where they are? What is their significance? Do the inhabitants of this world have gods? What are they? Who are they? How do they feel about them? Does this world have a history? Is the land torn by war and strife? Do the people of this use guns or swords? Why? How do they dress? How are the communities connected, if at all? Why would someone not from this world want to venture here?

You get the point.

The designs can range from victorian to anime in influence, using different cultural colors and styles to map out the interesting places and people. Worrying about whether this universe is traditional or sci-fi will only slow the creative process down. The only concern should be, is this place awesome or what? You create a skyway that uses biomechanical-driven engines to propel the rider into the sky. Does that sound to sci-fi? So what? Does it work in conjunction with the world? Does it make sense?

And that is the only thing that should matter. DOES IT MAKE SENSE?

In the end, only the experience matters. If you loved it, it won't make any difference whether or not the sky was blue or green, whether the ground was purple or red, but if it all held together and the experience was great.