We’ve commented before on where Square Enix stands in gaming right now. Their name has been somewhat tarnished of late due to the fact that they release games that are good overall but just don’t have the same spirit or strong story types of their glory days. But that might finally be about to change. The unveiling of their new tech demo, Agni’s Philosophy, did an almost real world take on Final Fantasy giving us our first true glimpse at Square’s Luminous Engine. We’ll give you all the goods on what Square is doing with Luminous and whether or not Agni’s Philosophy is a clear indicator of where the next Final Fantasy is going.
More Than Dirt and Scratches
Whenever we see tech demos for new game engines, we usually get more of the same. Specifically we get great shots of dirt, scratches, water, things like that. While these are great, there are some very real, human, elements that usually go unnoticed. Things like facial hair, for example, always look fake. In Agni’s Philosophy we see something different: we see the muscles in a man’s face tense up as he screams. While games such as Heavy Rain and LA Noire had excellent facial animation, it was all achieved through motion capture. Agni’s Philosophy is made from scratch, which makes the achievement amazing. Things like cloth, facial hair, and even the extremely difficult hands look amazing.
Keeping It Real With Final Fantasy
Agni’s Philosophy does something that previous installments of Final Fantasy have been building to but have not acted on: It brings Final Fantasy into a realistic setting. Sure the demo featured crystals, magic, and even a neatly designed dragon at the end. But it also featured men with machine guns, walky talkies, soda bottles, and a slum that looks like something ripped out of a poverty torn nation. This could be the key to Square finally creating new characters that feel relatable.
Square Cares
What is really interesting about the demo isn’t even the possible implications that it represents a new Final Fantasy. No, what is really interesting is that Square wants to know what people thought of it by including a survey for people to fill out on their website. The questions on the survey certainly seem as though Square is trying to get in touch with just what their audience wants. This is a good indicator that Square actually cares about their fans once again and wants to do what they can to make sure to give them what they want. Whether they will succeed or not remains to be seen, but at least for now it is an exciting time to be a Square fan.
