FF12 Writer Mentions That Story is Important in RPGs

• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2010-05-27 23:54
  [Image: http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/05/500x_seiken05.jpg]

  
  
  Miwa Shoda, a game designer and scenario writer who for many years has worked for Square Enix, is best known for such RPGs as Final Fantasy XII and Legend of Mana. As a “scenario writer” she explains she is responsible for the design of the story and world, but also quests, tutorials and scripting.
  
  

  I’ve worked all over the place and gained a great deal of valuable experience from all sorts of people, and learnt approaches to writing games I would not have been able to do on my own, but the one approach I could never understand is the notion that “games don’t need storylines.”
  
  Now, I don’t think all games need storylines. But when I was told that RPGs don’t need storylines, I was really shocked. They said players weren’t after a storyline, so the bare minimum of events would suffice.
  
  I’ve enjoyed RPG stories ever since I was a child. A thrilling adventure in a new world, with interesting companions. Events are how you enjoy that, together with a storyline, or so I thought.
  
  So I can’t believe it when people say a storyline is unnecessary in an RPG.

  
  
  ???? (shodamiwa) on Twitter
  
  Thank you for telling us
  but what games don't need are bad storylines
  
  [video=youtube;RBp5OQ8NLgM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBp5OQ8NLgM[/video]
• Iyasenu wrote on 2010-05-27 23:59
  hey i liked FF12 D:
  
  the story was involved... it just didn't involve the main party that much~
  "let's go fight things while those guys advance the plot!"
  
  i really liked the gambit system though xD
  
  Also, SHE wrote FF12?
  I didn't know the writer was a woman :o
  
  i dunno why i thought all of the FF writers were male :S
  
  she's pretty though xD
• Cucurbita wrote on 2010-05-28 04:00
  Well asides from the "DUH" I have to say to what the writer said.
  
  I also see great irony in this as FF12 had one of the worst stories in all of FF.
• Taycat wrote on 2010-05-29 06:44
  It did.
  
  This is basically what happened.
  
  You start out playing the older brother of the main character. He dies. Soon, you start playing as the peasant main character with his equally peasant friend. He wants to be a sky pirate but is confined to living off the street, and stealing. Soon, he goes inside the palace after having enough of the crappy government. Soon, he's captured and meets the one dude who has the scantly clad woman. They help you escape. Soon, you find the princess and she joins. After that point, it's all about the princess and the main dude just got pushed away.
  
  I hated it.
• Tokiko wrote on 2010-05-29 07:59
  I didn't get far but I liked the story.
  Now That I think about it it reminds of me of a Tales Of game.
  I just hated the gameplay in Final Fantasy 12.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2010-05-29 17:11

  Quote from Mozendo;47581:

  I didn't get far but I liked the story.
  Now That I think about it it reminds of me of a Tales Of game.
  I just hated the gameplay in Final Fantasy 12.

  
  WHAT?
• Taycat wrote on 2010-05-29 20:46

  Quote from Mozendo;47581:

  I didn't get far but I liked the story.
  Now That I think about it it reminds of me of a Tales Of game.
  I just hated the gameplay in Final Fantasy 12.

  
  
  The gameplay hates you too.
• Tedio wrote on 2010-05-30 05:19
  Why is it that most of the governments in every final fantasy end up corrupted or something?
  The hell. Almost every game.
• Tokiko wrote on 2010-05-30 05:45

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;47746:

  WHAT?

  
  Well I got to the boss in the Desert Palace and whatever and it just kept killing and I was the right level with the right equipments with the right spells and died. ._.
  As I said before didn't get far in the game >.>
  
  

  Quote from Xiyamae;48028:

  The gameplay hates you too.

  
  Good. O:<
• Taycat wrote on 2010-05-30 06:43
  Oh the demon walls?
  
  You can run away from the first. It's harder than the second one.
  
  But I warn you, if you do run, you cannot get the Demonsbane sword.
  
  I suggest running out and leveling at the sandsea. That way, you can level as well as spam looting and sell it all for major GIL! :D
• NewbieNub wrote on 2010-05-30 07:04
  LOL, tell that to VALVE.
  
  
  Games don't need storylines AHAHAHAHAHAHHA.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2010-05-30 07:32
  this is specifically towards RPGs :X