Creator's Salon: Graphics Team, Part 2
The beautiful background graphics are one of the selling points of Final Fantasy X. We asked 10 representative staff members involved in the design to share stories about the various setting drawings.
BA: All images included in this section can be found at the Final Fantasy X wiki.
Al Bhed Weapons
Honjo: We had many meetings about what kind of weapons the Al Bhed tribe would use. It's not a high-tech weapon at all; it's just rubbish that's been picked up and put together, then filled in with something like cement and tied up with cloth... it was quite difficult to settle on this shape.
Kusano: We were prohibited from using anything other than cloth and string.
Naora: And anything other than dried clay (laughs). That's why Kusano had a hard time when he designed the Vajra (the giant lightning cannon of the Al Bhed tribe used in Operation Mi’ihen). It's too big to be made of cloth and string.
Kusano: It's 200 meters long (laughs). At first, we covered the joints and rotating parts with wood so that the structure and materials would not be obvious. But then we thought it would be strange to have dug it up from an archaeological site, with too much wood remaining. We thought for a long time about what to do, but in the end we just drew it with materials that we didn't even know. The structure is also designed in such a way that even someone else wouldn't understand how it was put together (laughs).
Naora: There aren't many materials that we can clearly say are the right ones. That's why it was hard to explain to the people in charge of modeling and texture. The staff who worked on FFVII were kind of familiar with that sort of thing, so that helped, but I was unsure how to explain it to people who were working for the first time. When they asked me, "What is this made of?" I would answer, "It's Zanarkand alloy" (laughs).
Marks
Takahashi: At first, the only mark for the aeons was Ifrit's magic circle... it was made by the person in charge of magic effects, but he asked me to make the rest because he didn't have time. So I started making magic circles that looked like them by incorporating the attributes of the aeons. However, in the end, they ended up being more of a confusing pattern than a magic circle. Especially the Magus Sisters (laughs).
Tanabe: When I was first making the Shiva mark, I was worried about what to make, but once I finished one, it was just a pattern, so it became fun as I made more and more. I'd never done this kind of work before.
Naora: The blitzball-related marks were Sugawara's masterpiece.
Sugawara: I designed the marks for each team based on team marks from various sports. In particular, the NBA video I borrowed from Naora was helpful in getting an idea of what to make.
Competition (Demi-humans & Airships)
Naora: How many competitions did you hold?
Takahashi: In the end, we held two competitions, one for the airships and one for the demi-humans. We wanted the airships to have a different taste from the previous work, so we decided to settle it through a competition.
Naora: Also, I didn't want to be the only one to always get the best part (laughs), so we decided to leave it up to everyone.
Takahashi: For the time being, we gathered drawings from anyone, even from the planning team, and decided by anonymous voting. I drew the Hypello, but even though I drew them pretty randomly, the voice actor ad-libbed the way they spoke, and I was happy that they turned into memorable characters.
Animals
Naora: We drew a lot of animal-related designs while we had time. If there was a story for the project, we could use them, so we had everyone design a little bit at a time.
Takahashi: Honjo drew the Spira Seagull. As he mentioned earlier, at first, the face wasn’t very flashy, and the color was mainly on the wings. But Naora kept asking for more color (laughs), so eventually, we made the wings simple and white and added decorations to the face.
Naora: It’s hard to see because it’s only a few pixels on the screen (laughs).
Takahashi: Nakamura drew a lot of different animals, like the monkey at the Djose Temple.
Naora: Apparently, it was originally meant to be a bat with its wings torn off, but it ended up with a tail and turned into a monkey.
Takahashi: Nakamura also drew the Spiracaba, right? Apparently, everyone said it was "gross!" and it got scrapped. It’s memorable for various reasons (laughs).
Naora: Wasn’t there an illustration titled “Potato Digging”?
Takahashi: That’s also Nakamura’s masterpiece. At first glance, it looks like they’re digging for potatoes, but in reality, there are harmful creatures disguised as potatoes buried in the ground, and the girls are stabbing them to death with sticks... that’s the setting, I believe.
Concept Art
Naora: Basically, concept art is a drawing used to generate ideas. We created these by expressing our thoughts on things like "wouldn't it be better to have a place like this?" or "I want to try something like this." Some of the artwork ended up being quite different from the final product, while others were actually incorporated into the game.
Takahashi: Sugawara’s masterpiece, the Gagazet Temple, was included in the game up until halfway through development, but it was ultimately scrapped.
Naora: It was an interesting design that incorporated Bahamut’s silhouette into the exterior of the temple, but it was scrapped due to story reasons. It was a bit of a waste.
Takahashi: Since it was a temple on Mount Gagazet, the building was designed to fit the physique of the Ronso tribe. Each step of the stairs was about twice the height of a normal step, so we had discussions about adding a motion where Tidus and the others would struggle to climb the stairs... but in the end, it was all removed.
SPECIAL 1
Graphics Team Q&A
In addition to art director Yusuke Naora and chief designer Tetsuya Takahashi, we also received comments from the location leaders who oversaw the modeling work for each area, responding to our questions.
Q1. What do you always keep in mind when designing maps for the FF series?
Takahashi: Basically, you should be able to move smoothly from one map to the next without getting lost (though sometimes we deliberately make it easier to get lost at the request of the event team). Additionally, there should be at least one moving element on the screen. The sense of immersion is significantly different depending on whether this is included.
Naora: To entertain the player, both in terms of gameplay and appearance. Also, we incorporate at least one eye-catching feature and carefully design the rest of the map.
Q2. What did you pay attention to when integrating the setting drawings created by each person this time?
Takahashi: Relying on concepts like "Spira-style" or "Yevon-style," we translated them into visuals that matched these themes.
Naora: Props, symbols, architectural styles, lighting colors, etc. We used everything available to create a sense of unity throughout. Conversely, we did not force uniformity in other aspects to preserve the individuality of each designer.
Q3. With the introduction of real-time polygons for active fields this time, did you design any locations with camera work in mind from the beginning? Also, if you have any episodes related to camera work, please share.
Takahashi: This time, when working on the map concept, we used a camera test model to outline movement routes before starting the modeling process. In that sense, all maps were created with camera work considered from the beginning. However, in many cases, event planners were inspired by the completed map and incorporated more dramatic camera work than originally envisioned. This often required modifications to the map model and involved various negotiations. For example, in the scene where Tidus looks up in admiration at the first appearance of the shoopuf at the Moonflow, the area around the shoopuf dock was originally planned to be created with real-time polygons. However, it was changed to a pre-rendered map midway, making it impossible to achieve the intended camera work to convey the size of the shoopuf. Therefore, I gave instructions to the rough model and explained it to the event team, leading to the addition of that scene.
Q4. Were there real locations that served as models for the design of each area? Also, did you conduct any on-site research to solidify the imagery?
Takahashi: One of the keywords for the world of Spira was "Asian taste," so we gathered quite a bit of material from Asian countries like India and Thailand. I would have liked to do some location scouting abroad (laughs).
Naora: Same here (laughs). A few of us did some personal travel, but we could only visit in our minds.
Q5. The maps in FFX are notable for their “color” and “light.” Could you share your thoughts on your focus in these areas?
Naora: Even before my involvement, I believe the FF series has always paid attention to these aspects. However, this was my third time as art director, so I had a strong personal desire to push the limits of expression regarding "light" and "color" more than ever before. In that sense, the Asian taste motif, which allows for a wide range of colors, was a good fit.
Q6. Are there any specific details you paid particular attention to in backgrounds or distant views, such as where things move or where the wind blows?
Kubo: On Besaid Island, we planted thousands of polygons by hand in each map to create dense vegetation. At one point, I felt like a gardener. It was great to be able to make these elements sway programmatically, so that even when characters were standing still, there was always some movement on the screen.
Takahashi: Pre-rendered maps had to be painted to match the real-time polygon maps, so I worked hard to retouch maps that looked nothing alike to maintain a sense of unity in the area (laughs). When animating parts of the Zanarkand crowd in the background, it was definitely hard on the eyes.
Q7. Compared to past series entries, how satisfied are you with this one?
Takahashi: Each time, I’m 120 percent satisfied. I feel like “satisfaction” is almost like “fullness” (laughs).
Naora: Similarly. With VII being steampunk, VIII being retro-future, and X being Asian taste, I’m fully satisfied. The younger team did a great job.
BA: In the SPECIAL Q&A, someone named (窪) answers Q6. Every online translator gives me “Kubo” or “hollow.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ If anyone has any idea who this is, or what to do with this kanji, let me know.
