– Longtime game dev Hironobu Sakaguchi, in conversation with Glixel.
Veteran game developer Hironobu Sakaguchi is currently exploring free-to-play and mobile game design with Mistalkwer, the studio he founded in 2004.
But he’s best known in the game industry for being the creative force behind Final Fantasy, having helped create the original and guided the series on through his departure from Square (now Square Enix) in 2003. In a conversation with Glixel conducted over the summer and published today, Sakaguchi speaks frankly about his involvement with the influential game franchise over its lifespan — and admits that if he was just getting started in game development now, he’d probably be scared off by the power of today’s game dev tools.
“I might not even think about making games. It would look too intimidating,” Sakaguchi told Glixel. “It’s not something I could make on my own.”
He went on to remind readers that the development team for the original Final Fantasy was originally just four people, expanding to roughly twenty by the time the game shipped in 1987.
Of course, lots of modern games are being made with teams of four people or less — some are even solo projects (Stardew Valley springs to mind as a recent example.) However, Sakaguchi seems to believe that jumping into such an endeavor would be less enticing now than working at Square seemed in the ’80s.
However, one thing that hasn’t changed is his interest in making games with bright, happy endings.
“I don’t doubt that you could make a game with an open-ended, artistic ending, like in French films, but that’s not my style,” Sakaguchi said. “I like making game that makes you feel hopeful for the future, striving for a better tomorrow.”
You can find more of his thoughts on game design and the value of new games vs. remakes, as well as the story of how he recently appeared on stage with Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata despite being away from Square Enix for 10+ years, in the full Glixel interview.