Mr. Revolution
The One and Only
Just to throw my two cents in there: When Nomura pitched the idea for Versus to Yoichi Wada, then-CEO of SE, he was given full access to an almost unlimited reservoir of resources on the condition that Nomura treat Versus as a side-project while balancing it with numerous other obligations (the FFVII compilation, KH BBS, World Ends With You, etc). Yoichi Wada, when interviewed about the fan-speculated rumor that the project had been cancelled replied with something along the lines of desiring the "perfect game," which is how he justified the long gaps between disseminated information regarding the game's development.
There were two priorities during the Nomura development years: characterization and graphical design. Nomura wanted a strong group of tightly-knit characters and he wanted us to be able to see every strand of hair on their heads and every single thread in their clothes. What took the longest was to develop the graphics. Versus was announced during the PS2 era and was bumped up to PS3 then subsequently to PS4. The technology kept changing and Nomura's team had to keep adapting. Their goal was to produce the most graphically superior game on their console of release. To give you an idea of how graphically driven the game was during this stage, SE partnered with a high-end clothing design firm to physically create the cast's wardrobe that would then be replicated on computer.
It may seem like a surprise, but the actual story of the game wasn't a priority until much later in the development stage. The dev team at the time only had a rough idea of what they wanted to accomplish with regards to plot. They had several key ideas, of course; for example, they knew they wanted to incorporate the fal'Cie and they knew they wanted to have a road trip in an big, modernized overworld that would resemble the real world. The dev team even traveled to cities across Europe and Asia in order to get inspiration for their architectural design.
However, aside from these bullet point ideas, the story wouldn't be solidified until after they had a cast, graphics, locations, and a battle system in place. They would later wrap these around a more comprehensive, finalized story. This shouldn't be too much of shock, but in all the Final Fantasies, the final stories were always different, if not drastically so, from their prototypes.
My point here is: FFXV's story as presented to us during the Versus years was never set in stone and was always subject to change regardless of the lead developer.
For the record, like many fans, I loved the idea of Versus and was saddened when I saw that many of the advertised concepts from the prototype didn't carry over to XV. So Razberry Knight, you're not alone in feeling disappointed, hurt, and even betrayed. There are fans out there that feel the same way. But unfortunately, no matter how you slice it, XV isn't Versus, and Versus is essentially an abandoned project. The hard work that went into Versus was transplanted into XV for better or for worse. However, I personally refuse to judge XV until I've played the completed game.
As someone who has led several multimedia projects in the past, I know what it's like to craft something that morphs and evolves far from its starting point. The process can be long and arduous, and sometimes, I've wound up with an end product that was nowhere near what I had originally envisioned during the planning stage. But that's how organic projects pan out; they're subject to change for numerous reasons. What matters is how the end product is received. It's because I know this firsthand that I don't like to follow news reports, interviews, or press conferences. I don't want them to bias or otherwise taint my view of the finished product.
My friendly advice to you is that you do the same. Just shut out the media noise and wait for the final release before you pass judgement. If you don't go into the game expecting people, places, and interactions; if the story is foreign to you and you're forced to explore it with an untainted, unbiased view, I think you'll be able to enjoy yourself more than if you started playing it with an already apprehensive and antagonistic outlook.
There were two priorities during the Nomura development years: characterization and graphical design. Nomura wanted a strong group of tightly-knit characters and he wanted us to be able to see every strand of hair on their heads and every single thread in their clothes. What took the longest was to develop the graphics. Versus was announced during the PS2 era and was bumped up to PS3 then subsequently to PS4. The technology kept changing and Nomura's team had to keep adapting. Their goal was to produce the most graphically superior game on their console of release. To give you an idea of how graphically driven the game was during this stage, SE partnered with a high-end clothing design firm to physically create the cast's wardrobe that would then be replicated on computer.
It may seem like a surprise, but the actual story of the game wasn't a priority until much later in the development stage. The dev team at the time only had a rough idea of what they wanted to accomplish with regards to plot. They had several key ideas, of course; for example, they knew they wanted to incorporate the fal'Cie and they knew they wanted to have a road trip in an big, modernized overworld that would resemble the real world. The dev team even traveled to cities across Europe and Asia in order to get inspiration for their architectural design.
However, aside from these bullet point ideas, the story wouldn't be solidified until after they had a cast, graphics, locations, and a battle system in place. They would later wrap these around a more comprehensive, finalized story. This shouldn't be too much of shock, but in all the Final Fantasies, the final stories were always different, if not drastically so, from their prototypes.
My point here is: FFXV's story as presented to us during the Versus years was never set in stone and was always subject to change regardless of the lead developer.
For the record, like many fans, I loved the idea of Versus and was saddened when I saw that many of the advertised concepts from the prototype didn't carry over to XV. So Razberry Knight, you're not alone in feeling disappointed, hurt, and even betrayed. There are fans out there that feel the same way. But unfortunately, no matter how you slice it, XV isn't Versus, and Versus is essentially an abandoned project. The hard work that went into Versus was transplanted into XV for better or for worse. However, I personally refuse to judge XV until I've played the completed game.
As someone who has led several multimedia projects in the past, I know what it's like to craft something that morphs and evolves far from its starting point. The process can be long and arduous, and sometimes, I've wound up with an end product that was nowhere near what I had originally envisioned during the planning stage. But that's how organic projects pan out; they're subject to change for numerous reasons. What matters is how the end product is received. It's because I know this firsthand that I don't like to follow news reports, interviews, or press conferences. I don't want them to bias or otherwise taint my view of the finished product.
My friendly advice to you is that you do the same. Just shut out the media noise and wait for the final release before you pass judgement. If you don't go into the game expecting people, places, and interactions; if the story is foreign to you and you're forced to explore it with an untainted, unbiased view, I think you'll be able to enjoy yourself more than if you started playing it with an already apprehensive and antagonistic outlook.
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