Tokyo Sound

"No, no, thanks to the guidance of my predecessors, I know that my price is far above the market average. I am very happy to be recognized by a technical manager of a large company like you." Yin Ze thanked.

The middle-aged man agreed and cast a resentful look at the producer who didn't explain earlier. Alas, what a good pair of hands, now the cost of deceiving has skyrocketed.

"How's your progress?" Yoshida Tomoki asked in a serious tone.

"The time is very tight." The middle-aged man immediately changed his mindset and said seriously and worriedly, "Especially your idea of ​​transferring all the outstanding achievements of the series to this generation of games. It's not easy."

"How could that be? If it can't be achieved in the game, how were so many previous works made?" Yoshida Tomoki was a little puzzled.

"Because the environment is different now." Yoshimoto Mihiko shook his head and explained, "In the past when Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were on the rise, the game character design actually had nothing to do with the actual graphics. This was true even if the character designer and the producer were the same person. When it came time to actually make the game, everyone defaulted to not following the original design. In the past, the biggest use of game character design was for covers, posters, game manuals, and promotional purposes. Of course, some companies would take advantage of this and specifically look for painters whose work styles could never be made into actual game graphics. Mr. Amano [Note: Yoshitaka Amano, a famous Japanese painter and one of the main designers of the Final Fantasy series] is the most extreme among them. His style is extremely recognizable and is extremely difficult to make into a finished product. I don't mean to offend, but from the perspective of game developers and original painters, his draft is 'not what it seems'. Not to mention 3D, even animation is difficult."

"But it's drawn so well, it's one of the souls of generations 1-6." Yoshida Tomoki hesitated to speak.

"It's useless if it looks good. If you dare to use the original picture that is a mudslide in the character design world, the 3D team will really beat you to death." Yoshimoto Mihiko was also helpless. "A flat face outlined by three lines, who can build a model with this picture? It's okay for animation. Vampire Hunter D directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri did match the model, but what about the 3D rendering of game characters? Many previous works did not adopt the original manuscript for this reason."

Yoshimoto Mihiko said as he opened the data in the computer and displayed Mr. Amano's previous drafts. The magnificent and psychedelic pictures were full of stream of consciousness. They should be simple decorative paintings and it was difficult to connect them with the design drawings.

"In the commercial market, people don't appreciate elegance, only the refined and the vulgar. If we have to do it, we can only use the original manuscript as a base and redraw a normal design." Yoshimoto Mihiko shrugged, "But the problem is that if we want to retain this flavor and have a qualified design, it will be troublesome and time-consuming. What we lack most now is time."

Yoshida Tomoki covered his chin with one hand and pondered for a long time, "...I understand what you mean. It can be done, but the benefits are not high, and it will seriously slow down the progress."

"Time is not the only problem. We need to preserve Mr. Amano's spirit while also making it more popular. This is a technical job and it is difficult to mass produce." Yoshimoto added, "There are dozens of people in the 2D [referring to 2D art] team, and not everyone is qualified. If we assign this task temporarily, it may take several days to study it."

"Outsource?" Tomoki Yoshida took out his trump card to deal with insufficient production capacity.

"To be honest, it's not a good idea to outsource any of them. It would be hard to find anyone to take on the redrawing of Amano's draft. It is feasible to outsource the established tasks within the group to free up people to focus on this area, but at this critical juncture, it will disrupt the plans. Moreover, others are not familiar with the project, there will be style deviations, communication problems... all these miscellaneous things are also annoying." said Yoshimoto Mihiko.

"The experts who make zero mistakes and have strong technical skills are all in the big companies. There are very few of them working outside," said Tomoki Yoshida.

"Yeah, it's not easy." Yoshimoto Mihiko also nodded.

"Do we need to seek strong support overseas?"

"But after all, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst."

"In fact, I had been paying attention online before, but in the end I only found a few people."

"Oh? Like what?"

"This teacher Yin is one of them."

"Indeed, it can be seen that his skills are profound."

The producer and the main artist sighed to each other, then turned their heads in sync and looked at the taciturn young man.

"There's no need for you two to hint at anything. Just say what you want to say." Yin Ze's brows twitched slightly.

"Teacher, do you still remember the time when I sent you a private message backstage asking for an article?"

"Of course, what's wrong?"

"At that time and at that moment, it was just like this moment." Yoshida Tomoki smiled mysteriously.

"I don't understand. I don't understand." Yin Ze shook his head vigorously.

“You translate for the translator.” The ruthless producer gestured to the innocent main character.

"180 million yen for about eight redrawn designs by Amano," Yoshimoto said succinctly. "The sooner the better, at least two months."

Yin Ze's eyes kept jumping between these two bad guys, and finally he couldn't help but want to express his personal opinion.

"Actually, I did some research before I took over Yoshida-san's project. The art style of the Final Fantasy series changed significantly in the seventh generation. From the original fantasy and steam machinery to science fiction and superpowers, the subject matter also changed from beautiful fantasy to cool modern times, from riding chocobos to driving motorcycles."

"Because the seventh generation happened to have a significant improvement in semiconductor performance, the history of game development is also a history of computer performance. In the mid-90s, due to the performance limitations of computers, even CG movies tried to avoid using complex materials, and normal mapping [Note: a computer graphics term, referring to a special type of texture map used to increase the realism and details of three-dimensional models] technology was even more experimental at the time. This determined that whether it was the game screen or the cutscene, the modeling of most characters and scenes could not be too complicated, and the materials should be as simple and repetitive as possible. Only the light source processing could be enhanced using shading [Note: an oil painting term, referring to the principle of using pinhole imaging to reflect the image of the model on the canvas], and with the relatively simple shadows, the whole picture had a strong inorganic feel [Note: a bare, unchanging 3D picture]."

"At the time, Mr. Amano's painting style was beyond the limits of mainstream computer performance and could not be done at all. But with today's technology, there is still room for operation." Yin Ze asked, "Can I borrow a digital tablet and a computer?"

Yoshimoto Mihiko gladly and generously gave up his seat.

Yin Ze skillfully opened the software, used shortcut commands to create a new canvas and layer, took a round-tipped pen, and began to draw the lines with a very small pen.

"Teacher Amano's learning is quite diverse, with oriental classical beauty and European fantasy complex connotations. The figures are depicted abstractly, and the facial features are irregular and slender eyes with angles, which remind people of Tang Dynasty ladies' paintings and Japanese Ukiyo-e. Sometimes the treatment also reminds people of Mucha. In addition, there are various delicate and exquisite decorative props. Mosaics and Rococo elements, geometric planes and decorations are in strong coordination and contrast..."

Look once and then look away, and the things that impress you most are the key points that you need to retain.

The rest will be replaced by commercial genres.

To be honest, someone who has been through many battles is very familiar with the process of changing the skin and shell.

Domestic original artists are somewhat constrained. For example, in terms of whether to leave brush strokes, the general rule is to leave no brush strokes, otherwise some clients will think that it is still a rough draft, not evenly applied, not detailed at all, and not attentive. However, in foreign commercial drafts, it is allowed and even emphasized to leave brush strokes, so that the painting feels stronger.

The artists in the Final Fantasy 14 project team are all industry leaders, and Yoshihiko Yoshimoto, who serves as the lead artist, is undoubtedly the top-tier original artist in Japan. But the fat middle-aged man was a little frightened at this time.

The young man's pen was so fast and steady that it was as if a finished product was already on the blank canvas, and he seemed to be so steady that he was just tracing the picture step by step. It flew away like a shooting star, leaving traces that could not be ignored.

Any artist needs a certain amount of reference in their creation. The masters can do it easily with one stroke because they have a lot of training and experience in this subject matter, which has become instinctive and daily. In the field of sketching, Kim Jung-ki [Note: South Korea's international multi-dimensional space creation artist, died in 2022] is a master who will always be mentioned. This cute uncle with a strong hairstyle [Note: Strong people do not need hair] who draws on napkins when eating is particularly good at showing the layout of the picture in multi-dimensional space stereoscopic vision, and can be called a self-propelled material library of human figures.

The title is "Female Mage", but when it comes to action, there is much more to it than just these three words.

What weapon does she use? A magic staff or a magic sword? What kind of staff and sword? Is the armor made of cloth or leather? How to match the clothes? How to connect and arrange a few armor pieces? What material and color? What is the background setting? Eastern witch or Western church? Is the pattern balanced or asymmetrical? Abstinence or tsundere and cute? How to swing the floating cloth of the skirt armor structure to make it spiritual?

How many cores does your head need to have while you're writing and taking into account the basics and coming up with all the optimal design solutions?

This is what Yin Ze is doing now. His lines are as wild as a fantasy, and within a few minutes he has constructed an unbalanced but beautiful figure. Then, without any pause, he naturally starts to pile up materials.

This is probably the kind of person that a genius is talking about.

While Yoshimoto Mihiko was expressing his feelings, he also felt a little inexplicably strange.

From the outsourcing of previous works to the current processing methods, his skills are all streamlined and practical, the result of long-term hard work and overtime in the front line, revealing a strong sense of efficiency in the race against time. His original style is also a popular commercial style, as if he has been tortured by various clients and has been a brick-moving worker in various subjects.

just like.

Yoshimoto Mihiko looked at the man's back.

It's as if this young man in the prime of life, who should still be enjoying his wonderful youth in college, has the soul of an old-fashioned office worker... His blood pressure doesn't spike when he sees Erque's feedback, but he just sneers and accepts his fate.

Ten minutes later, the chief artist and producer looked at the "cheesy Amano-style standing picture" that had taken shape on the canvas, and after a few seconds of silence, they couldn't help but cheer and applaud.

“The painters here are all top-notch. I am just expressing my personal thoughts and understanding.” Yin Ze turned off the assistance of the Corridor of Life and left his seat modestly.

"Don't be so polite. We once made a big mistake due to our arrogance, but we have also become more receptive to opinions." Yoshimoto Mihiko looked at him slowly, as if he wanted to remember this face. "It's better if you are the one."

In this industry, those who are slow and persistent will be despised, and those who can deliver goods quickly are the strong ones who are appreciated and praised by their colleagues.

"Mr. Yin, please consider signing a long-term outsourcing cooperation with us." Yoshida Tomoki made a sincere invitation.

The man thought for a few seconds and finally nodded.

"By the way, where is the toilet?" Yin Ze asked, scratching his head.

"I'll take you there." Yoshida Tomoki led the way happily.

Going to the toilet together is also one of the romantic things men do when they are reading.

……

In the rest area by the corridor, the producer warmly invited us to drink the coffee provided.

"I took a look around and found that besides being busy, you were also very anxious. Is there any special reason?" Yin Ze asked curiously.

"We made a mistake. Due to our blindness and arrogance, we made a disastrous game, and we are still trying our best to save it." Yoshida Tomoki finally showed a trace of fatigue on his smiling face when he talked about this topic. "The Final Fantasy series has loyal fans all over the world. It is a long and beautiful story started by an extremely romantic person at the end. It is the childhood and memory of many people. But FF14 as an online game ruined everything. We receive bad reviews from all over the world every day. We are the 'worst MMORPG in history'."

"Don't be so pessimistic. In fact, wanting to be the worst is a science." Yin Ze comforted, "The 03 film Room is known as the Citizen Kane of bad films. It is so bad that it is regarded as a masterpiece. Some audiences even wrote to the director to request an extra screening just to see how bad it is."

"You mean we can ascend to godhood in reverse?" Yoshida Tomoki looked strange.

"I think that there is a large group of capable people gathered here. Given the size and bottom line, it can't be too outrageous. Sometimes we can't satisfy every player, so it's normal to receive some criticism," said Yin Ze.

"But it's really bad." Yoshida Tomoki's tone left no doubt.

"How bad is it?" Yin Ze couldn't help himself.

"No auto-attacks, no jumping."

"It's okay. In the later stages, when the level goes up, everyone is busy using flashy skills, so it doesn't affect them. As for jumping, not everyone is a Blizzard player, and they jump when they walk."

"The UI design is very anti-human, and I can't even find the function to exit the game."

"Nowadays, no one will log out properly, and they will all shut down in the background..."

"There are no mounts, and the large map is all copy-paste."

"It's understandable that this is a compromise due to the large size and insufficient manpower..."

“There is a fatigue system for upgrading.”

"Hahaha, I'm not sleepy anymore after hearing this. It's so friendly and great! There should be an anti-addiction system for picture-brushing, otherwise the parents of the children will complain! I can also sell fatigue medicine and increase revenue. Why not?" Yin Ze slapped his thigh.

"No, the main reason for setting up the fatigue system is that there is no game content after reaching the maximum level." Yoshida Tomoki looked worried.

"At least, at least the art is excellent..." Yin Ze managed to say.

"Of course. A wooden barrel contains thousands of cross-sections and 150 lines of material codes. It is quite exquisite." Tomoki Yoshida nodded.

"This is the ingenuity of the craftsmanship." Yin Ze was delighted.

"Then there were hundreds of such barrels in the city, and the game server couldn't handle the load and crashed." Yoshida Tomoki said expressionlessly.

"..."

Both sides stared at each other.

"Brother Yoshida, can you tell me how you created this masterpiece?" Yin Ze asked in shock.

"I don't know. I wasn't the developer [Note: the producer of FF14 version 1.0 was FF11's producer Hiromichi Tanaka, who had already left SE at that time]. I was transferred in later to be in charge of modifications and updates." Tomoki Yoshida shook his head.

"This is a classic leadership tactic, a typical way of finding someone to take the blame! Brother Yoshida, listen to my advice, just pack up and run away!" Yin Ze was very anxious.

"I accepted the transfer application myself," explained Tomoki Yoshida.

"No, what are you trying to do? There are so many projects aborted every day in the industry, especially large-scale MMOs like this. Once a problem occurs, there is no way to pull it back." Yin Ze really couldn't understand.

"Yes, it's in a state of terminal disease. Even if I keep patching it, it won't help. The reason is that this online game uses the operating system of a single-player game. It's rotten from the root. No matter how it's fixed, it will still die in the end." Yoshida Tomoki said slowly, with a different look in his eyes. "There is only one way to solve this problem. That is to develop a new game while continuing the life of this game and directly replace the old version."

"How much time do you have?"

"Two and a half years, tearing everything down and rebuilding everything."

"Is this just a normal 8?

It is simply impossible to develop a Type 2 MMORPG in half the time." Outsourced workers like Yin Ze have never participated in the development of an online game that is equivalent to the size of a complete stand-alone game, but he understands its difficulty to some extent.

"Yes, in order to achieve this impossible goal, I compressed the time like crazy. Even the time everyone spends going to the toilet was included in the Excel spreadsheet. I was like a devil and a slave owner, cruel to the extreme, squeezing my own and everyone's potential." Tomoki Yoshida said silently.

Yin Ze looked at him for a long time, "I don't understand why you would take the initiative to do such a thankless task."

"Yeah, why?"

Yoshida Tomoki first looked down at the swaying coffee cup, then raised his head and looked out the window at the summer scenery under the glaring sun. The reinforced concrete city covered the small hills in the distance, and the scent of grass and trees could not be smelled in the city.

"I came into contact with games when I was very young. At that time, game consoles were rare and only people with big business would buy them. The children from the rich families in town had a set of red and white game consoles [Note: referring to Nintendo FC] at home, which could play games with color pictures. I still remember the names of those games." The producer said softly, "... "Donkey Kong", "Ice Crush", "Tank Wars", and the famous masterpiece "Super Mario" [Note: all games on Nintendo FC] and so on. In order to be able to go to my classmate's house often to play, I helped him with his homework and clean the house every day."

"There are actually many interesting things in my hometown in the summer, such as the endless blue sky, the green fields, the streams shining brightly in the sun, and the laughter of catching cicadas together... But I forgot everything, and my whole soul was captured by the narrow and small screen."

"When my father saw that I was crazy, he beat me with a stick. I was awakened by the beating and felt that I should be pragmatic and not indulge in fun all the time. After all, games are just spiritual supplements. What we produce is not food, clothes or tools, nor are they necessities for humans. They are dispensable and will be criticized as entertainment that delays children's future."

"However, when I was 14, I played Final Fantasy 1 and played the role of a swordsman, embarking on a huge time loop of 2000 to save the world. I was completely inspired, and the ethereal world in my heart suddenly came alive. I knew that in the rest of my life, I would devote everything to this art."

Yoshida Tomoki came back to his senses and looked at the person in front of him.

Yin Ze didn't dare to look directly into those burning eyes.

There was a child reflected in those eyes. A child who could smile innocently while playing the Kingsoft typing game in computer class. A child who looked at the collapse of the Demon Locking Tower with a confused and sad face. A child who was caught by his father in the arcade and beaten until he cried.

That is himself.

"Anyone can master any skill as long as they persevere in honing it for ten years. And if you want to be more successful, what remains is other qualities that have nothing to do with technology. What do you think they are?" asked Tomoki Yoshida.

"A keen business mind, a thick skin that can withstand setbacks, a group of like-minded friends, and a benefactor in life?" Yin Ze thought about it.

"Maybe, but I think all of this is dispensable. After all, the premise of everything is the original 'perseverance'. Teacher Yin, although you are very young, your skills are excellent. I want to know, how many years have you spent on this skill?"

"...It's been almost ten years." Yin Ze leaned back on the soft sofa and looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling.

"I'm really precocious. At least I taught myself programming and production in college." Yoshida Tomoki smiled, then sighed, carefully savoring the weight of that unit of time, "Yes, ten years. How many decades are there in a lifetime? During this journey, how many times did I want to give up, because of family, because of wealth, or because of illness and inferiority. But in the end, I still made it through. After overcoming those dark nights, why did we get here?"

"Someone must do this and continue this fantasy dream. I am full of love for that free world with dragons flying in the sky. I don't want to betray it, and I don't want to escape."

Yoshida Tomoki continued.

"I know I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Players who have logged into the game so far are always waiting for hope. When I first came to the project team and announced the restart, the whole place was silent. Someone stood up, rushed over, raised my hand, and shouted, 'Then let's follow!' At that moment, I knew that all this was not impossible. Since there is no darkness without tomorrow, there will be a moment of dawn."

"You are so awesome." Yin Ze said softly.

"Is Teacher Yin studying at university?"

"Yes."