• Hello everybody! We have tons of new awards for the new year that can be requested through our Awards System thanks to Antifa Lockhart! Some are limited-time awards so go claim them before they are gone forever...

    CLICK HERE FOR AWARDS

KH III will use Luminous Engine



REGISTER TO REMOVE ADS
Status
Not open for further replies.

CaptainMarvelQ8

Bronze Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
1,334
Awards
4
French interview translated by Sol (Ehres).

---x---​

After the Agni's Philosophy presentation given by Julien Merceron (world tech director at Square Enix) – which gathered a huge crowd at Japan Expo – we were able to ask Merceron about his important responsibilities at the Japanese company. We talked mainly about the technology of future titles in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.

FINAL FANTASY DREAM: Hello, Julien. We have the pleasure of asking you some questions for our exclusive interview by JeuxCapt.com and Final Fantasy Dream.

Julien: It's a pleasure to be here.

FFDream: We're interviewing you now right after the Agni's Philosophy – Final Fantasy demonstration, where we saw an absolutely stunning world. What can you tell us about the public reaction?

Julien: The reaction was phenomenal. The demonstration was put up online just after E3 in June. So we have a website where we've had an enormous amount of visitors and the success has been incredible, it's beyond what we expected. Initially we made [Agni's Philosophy] just for ourselves to better understand the direction we wanted to go in for the future of video games, and then it became a public video and it exceeded our expectations. It's amazing.

FFDream: It's true that everyone was very impressed at E3 because we hadn't expected much from Square Enix on the Japanese side of things, and then you surprised us all with the presentation at your E3 booth. Would it not have been easier to show the technical demo in a Sony or Microsoft conference? Didn't you want more exposure?

Julien: No, we really wanted it to be our own work! We're not looking to try and sell a Microsoft or Sony version [of Agni's Philosophy] and besides, we didn't know them [that well]. We knew our work well enough. When the video was put online we really wanted it to be a message from Square Enix more than a message from Sony or Microsoft. Saying this, Sony and Microsoft know what we were working on and we were obviously in close collaboration with both them and Nintendo.

FFDream: Julien Merceron, you are of course French, I think that you know that the majority of Final Fantasy fans started with Final Fantasy VII. It's been 15 years [since the game was released] and there's going to be a version for the PC... are we maybe talking about a [future] remake of Final Fantasy VII?

Julien: (Laughs) It's a game which is very dear to me, too. You can find interviews on the Internet that I've done in the past. For me Final Fantasy VII was one of the best experiences. That said, there have been other past Final Fantasys which were excellent and will continue to be excellent. As for me, I'd really like to play [a remake]. Having said that, there are people in the company who are deciding what they're going to do with the company and what they're going to do with the Final Fantasy franchise which may or may not be a good thing. Personally I'm happy to play around with the new technology and let them make their own decisions but speaking as a fan I'd really like a remake... but that's just me.

FFDream: We can assume that this technology will be used for future Square Enix titles. Do you think that Tetsuya Nomura will be able to use it in Kingdom Hearts III?

Julien: Well, obviously we'll use Luminous Engine in more series than just Final Fantasy. Besides, Crystal Tools, which I was just talking about, is used in only Final Fantasy so far. Because the next Dragon Quest X uses Crystal Tools so do other in-house projects: there's Kingdom Hearts which uses Crystal Tools too so it's clear that Luminous Engine will cover a whole spectrum of series and will be used, I hope, by a lot of teams but there's still a lot of work to be done.

FFDream: When you're the world tech director at Square Enix, what language do you use to communicate? Because I think they have French interpreters in Québec, and obviously Japanese and English interpreters. How does it work?

Julien: I'd say it's mainly English. After all, it helps enormously to speak French, especially in Québec. Now we have two studios in Montreal: Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal where they worked on Deus Ex [Human Revolution], Thief and Hitman, so speaking French is an advantage. It's also an advantage to speak Japanese! The workplace language is English, right up to the level of documentation because there's a lot of departments between the two studios, so we have to choose a common language and nowadays that language is English.

FFDream: Julien Merceron, a final question. At the end of August, the Final Fantasy series will celebrate its 25th birthday. Do you think that we'll see a bit more of Luminous Engine or something like that?

Julien: Oh, yes! There will be more future presentations so keep your eyes peeled!

FFDream: Thank you, Julien Merceron, for this exclusive interview for JeuxCapt.com and Final Fantasy Dream! Thank you so much!

Julien: Thanks, see you later.

Ketchup: FFDream (& JeuxCapt.com)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Shinjuku

Entrapment
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,719
Age
34
Location
Georgia
Meh they can be using any Engine they want, but until Square delivers better titles I won't give two shits about it. For the record there were some games they've had that were okay, but overall this gen they've probably done worse then dare I say EA.
 

Chaser

Not KHI Site Staff
Staff member
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
23,228
Awards
70
Location
Australia
One wonders, of course that this technology will be used for future productions of Square Enix.
Do you think Nomura might be able to use it for a future Kingdom Hearts III?
Julian : While it is clear that we will use Luminous Engine on more than just Final Fantasy franchises. Moreover, Crystal Tools , which earlier I spoke about, is used by Final Fantasy, only primarily . Because the next Dragon Quest X is using Crystal Tools as well as other projects in-house: thereby Kingdom Hearts also using Crystal Tools so obviously Luminous Engine cover a wider spectrum of franchises and I will use the hope by many teams but we still have much work to do.

That's all I saw about Kingdom Hearts III on there.
 

CaptainMarvelQ8

Bronze Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
1,334
Awards
4
thereby Kingdom Hearts also using Crystal Tools so obviously Luminous Engine cover a wider spectrum of franchises

does.not.compute...
so he's talking about kh utilizing crystal tools then shifts over to Luminous Engine which does not make it clear.
either that or google translate failing.

well if thats not newsworthy then please close the thread
 

Chaser

Not KHI Site Staff
Staff member
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
23,228
Awards
70
Location
Australia
does.not.compute...
so he's talking about kh utilizing crystal tools then shifts over to Luminous Engine which does not make it clear.
either that or google translate failing.
Google translate always fails. But I only know English so I always use it >,<
I just took it to mean Luminous Engine will cover a wide range of games, but Kingdom Hearts III will use the Crystal Tools.
But that doesn't seem right.

well if thats not newsworthy then please close the thread
Nah, I'll leave it open. I won't put it on the front page though, cause I'm not sure how truthful this all is cause I have seen this information around but what's on the source differs from what's above.
If that make sense.
 

Sephiroth0812

Guardian of Light
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
10,531
Awards
37
Location
Germany
KH III will use the same engine that Versus XIII uses, so it will be most likely Crystal Tools.

I remember it being said somewhere that the main KH team is learning and experimenting with getting the best out of the engine for Versus XIII and then will use that experience they gathered for KH III's development.

It would only stretch time out more if the dev team would now need to adapt into another engine instead of using all the experience they gained with making Versus.
 

Chaser

Not KHI Site Staff
Staff member
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
23,228
Awards
70
Location
Australia
Oh, that's right. Luminous is just for lighting on Versus yeah? Lol, I got it mixed up with something else. Sorry guys! xD
 

Shamdeo

skipped leg day
Joined
Jan 11, 2005
Messages
9,009
Awards
11
Website
finalfantasy.net
Meh they can be using any Engine they want, but until Square delivers better titles I won't give two shits about it. For the record there were some games they've had that were okay, but overall this gen they've probably done worse then dare I say EA.

Not by a longshot.
 

Reagan Rayden

Exploding Man
Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Messages
7,085
Awards
6
It'll be strange seeing a major improvement in the graphics engine. The game has never really strayed from its signature graphical style and look even since the very first game.
 

Shinjuku

Entrapment
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,719
Age
34
Location
Georgia
@ Shamedo

I won't make that into an argument as we have differing opinions, but you'd be surprised at what people have said about them.

Maybe I did go to far with the EA thing, but I do admit I've enjoyed some of EA's titles over this generation.

Plus I do have my own reasons I'm upset with Square Star Ocean: Last hope, FFXII, FFXIII, and FFXIII-2 just to name a few.
 

D.D.D

New member
Joined
Jan 23, 2011
Messages
860
Location
Stuffed in a sack and being thrown through a magic
It'll be strange seeing a major improvement in the graphics engine. The game has never really strayed from its signature graphical style and look even since the very first game.
It's going to be so awesome! Man, I want Sora's spiky hair to be so dang high quality, HD, and shiny that it blinds me.
In all seriousness, I'm excited for it to get the graphics update. It'll be cool to see it in such beautiful detail. And then in ten years we'll be like, "Ew! Look at those graphics! They're so gross!", like we do with every other game that's been out a long time.
 

Lonbilly

Captain Marvel is a lesbian send tweet
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
6,655
Awards
6
Age
29
I'm not really surprised seeing as how Versus is for KH3 as TWEWY was for KH on the DS. I don't think the graphics will change to an FFXIII style though. I can see the same style remaining while being in an HD format. I just hope I'm not wrong and they go with the graphics the openings use because while they're beautiful, Disney characters look a little odd in it. And I can't see anyone outside of the main crew (S & co.) looking like that.

Unless I'm misunderstanding everything, in which case I should just stop.
 

Shinjuku

Entrapment
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,719
Age
34
Location
Georgia
The only KH game that had a realistic style was the first one it had color to it, but it felt more realism to me. Cause looking at KH2 and KH1 you could tell KH2 had a cartoon animation style going for it.
 

D.D.D

New member
Joined
Jan 23, 2011
Messages
860
Location
Stuffed in a sack and being thrown through a magic
I don't think the graphics will change to an FFXIII style though. I can see the same style remaining while being in an HD format.
Totally agree with you there. They should still make it look like KH and not some FF. Though, I would be uber happy if it was like FF13 quality.
I just hope I'm not wrong and they go with the graphics the openings use because while they're beautiful, Disney characters look a little odd in it. And I can't see anyone outside of the main crew (S & co.) looking like that.
I'm sure if they used super updated graphics that they would make Donald and Goofy a little less creepy to look at, lol, but I don't think they will. Maybe super mind blowing cutscenes will occur maybe once during every world, and then won't for the rest of the game except the ending and the opening. At least, I hope they put in a bigger amount of high quality cutscenes than just the opening and ending.
 

Shamdeo

skipped leg day
Joined
Jan 11, 2005
Messages
9,009
Awards
11
Website
finalfantasy.net
@ Shamedo

I won't make that into an argument as we have differing opinions, but you'd be surprised at what people have said about them.
I think the criticism (legit or just blowing steam) is readily apparent to most people.

Maybe I did go to far with the EA thing, but I do admit I've enjoyed some of EA's titles over this generation.

Plus I do have my own reasons I'm upset with Square Star Ocean: Last hope, FFXII, FFXIII, and FFXIII-2 just to name a few.

Aside from you not liking a few of the games they've put out in the last few years, I don't see how Square Enix is -worse- than EA.

When Square Enix puts out an Origin, or steamrolls over highly respected and talented studios to drain a quick buck out of them, or seeks to monetize every trivial aspect of the industry, then we'll talk.
 

Shinjuku

Entrapment
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,719
Age
34
Location
Georgia
So you want Pirates of the Carribean graphics from KH2 to be the graphics of KH3 lol.

@ Shamedo

That sounds more like Activision, but I know EA is capable(or has done that MMA is an example) of that as well.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top