The DioField Chronicle, a brand new IP developed by Lancarse and revealed by Sq. Enix, is the newest in a rising development of tactical RPG video games. Whereas loads of these sorts of video games have come out this 12 months already (together with Triangle Technique, Relayer, and Digimon Survive). The DioField Chronicle intends to place its personal spin on the style and stand out in a crowded subject.
To get a way of how The DioField Chronicle is setting itself aside, I spoke to Lancarse improvement director and battle designer Fukui Hirofumi, Sq. Enix producer Shigeyuki Hirata, and artwork director Kumagai Takahiro. The staff members mentioned The DioField Chronicle’s gameplay influences, artwork path, and the way they created a newcomer-friendly technique recreation in a frightening style.
However it was me, Dio(Subject)!
The DioField Chronicle was first revealed throughout PlayStation’s State of Play presentation in March. When the sport’s reveal trailer premiered, viewers thought it may very well be a brand new Remaining Fantasy Techniques recreation. Then, on the finish of the trailer, the sport’s title card appeared, displaying that it was as an alternative a brand new IP fully.
Hirata says it was a shock that the viewers perceived the sport as a possible new Remaining Fantasy Techniques recreation. The staff is conscious that the sport is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, and that The DioField Chronicle would inevitably be in comparison with a few of its predecessors within the technique RPG style. Nonetheless, Remaining Fantasy Techniques wasn’t really as large of an affect on The DioField Chronicle.
“We weren’t instantly aware of the title when creating the sport,” Hirata tells Digital Tendencies. The DioField Chronicle has shades of real-time technique (RTS) recreation influences, however its gameplay was really extra impressed by MOBA titles corresponding to League of Legends. MOBA video games (like Overwatch) sometimes supply a variety of various characters with their very own particular skills for gamers to manage and are extra team-based. This suits in with the truth that The DioField Chronicle has a restrict of 4 characters with the ability to be deployed throughout battle.
As compared, RTS video games like Starcraft and Halo Wars contain managing an financial system and sending waves of faceless items to their deaths. MOBA video games served as bigger inspirations for The DioField Chronicle as a result of the event staff was contemplating methods to include extra compact missions inside a technique RPG framework.
“Close to the top-down subject of view, maybe Diablo served as extra of an inspiration in that respect,” says Hirofumi. “As a result of we had been constructing out an SRPG with real-time components, these two served as extra inspiration.”
Approaching the technique style
Lancarse has created a number of different technique RPG video games up to now, corresponding to Monark and Misplaced Dimension, the latter of which Hirofumi labored on as a battle designer. He felt like there was an absence of approachability and replay worth in latest titles within the style and wished to handle that in The DioField Chronicle.
We hope that it’s going to turn into one of many requirements for SRPGs.
Have you ever ever performed a recreation the place you failed a mission, and thought to your self, “Wait, how did I lose?” Hirofumi says he believes that there’s a discrepancy between what the sport considers “recreation over” and what the participant believes as such.
“When factoring in real-time components with this recreation, I felt that when gamers make a mistake, there could also be a broad feeling in the direction of this,” he continues. “Taking that, in an effort to improve playability with this recreation, we inserted checkpoints in between missions the place there have been good breaks.”
This permits gamers to go again to checkpoints throughout gameplay after they encounter the sport over message in order that they’ll work out what precisely went fallacious of their method, what errors they made of their techniques, after which replay it once more to determine what works.
Hirofumi explains: “We tried to extend the replayability of the sport in such a approach in order that gamers can turn into higher on the recreation rapidly, or it’ll be simpler for gamers to search out their very personal tactical technique, and so forth.”
The DioField Chronicle has loads of visible aptitude relating to the characters’ particular attacking abilities. Nonetheless, it isn’t only for present. “We wished to make sure that what you had been doing was clearly communicated by the visible presentation,” explains Takahiro. “And so it wasn’t only for aptitude, per se, however guaranteeing that these strategic components and strategic actions that you just’re taking are clearly expressed by visible means as effectively.”
Setting a brand new normal
The DioField Chronicle’s improvement was dealt with principally by Lancarse. As for the artwork path, together with the 2D illustrations and cutscenes, Sq. Enix labored intently with Lancarse In addition they collaborated with different corporations for hefty property corresponding to 3D fashions and movement seize.
Since The DioField Chronicle is a brand new IP, Hirata hopes that he can proceed increasing on its world even additional and that it will likely be acquired effectively so the staff may have the chance to take action.
“We hope that it’s going to turn into one of many requirements for SRPGs. Since that is our first title, we imagine that there’s nonetheless room for deepening the mechanics and lore, so we want to proceed alongside this path,” he explains. “As for the viewers reactions, we’d in fact like for them to search out it enjoyable and attention-grabbing, however on the identical time, we want their trustworthy suggestions on modifications that they want to see since it’s our first title.”
The DioField Chronicle launches on September 22 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Swap, Xbox One, and Xbox Sequence X|S. A demo is on the market now on all platforms.
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