Hiroyuki Ito - Game Design

Game Design

When working as the game designer of a Final Fantasy game, Hiroyuki Ito avoids making it story-driven; he instead balances the story and event scenes with the gameplay. He further clarified his philosophy in the Final Fantasy XII Scenario Ultimania:

"For me, the most important element of a RPG is the player feeling like they are taking the role of a character in a fully realised fantasy world. They can explore a vast world, visit various towns and dungeons, talk to numerous NPCs, customise the equipment and abilities of their character, collect a wide variety of items, battle many different types of monsters, and engage in optional side-quests and mini-games. The story and event scenes are also important, but they should be balanced with these aspects of RPG gameplay."

Hiroyuki Ito believes that the most important element of Final Fantasy is keeping the games fun to play, no matter how much the technology in the industry improves. He also believes the most notable aspect of the Final Fantasy series is the sense of accomplishment the player feels after finishing the game and seeing "The End" on the screen. He believes the level of accomplishment the player feels is directly proportional to how much fun they had while playing and how much gameplay and story content they went through in order to complete the game.