Reverse Design: Final Fantasy VII

by Patrick Holleman

The Reverse Design series looks at all of the design decisions that went into classic video games. This is the fifth installment in the Reverse Design series, looking at Final Fantasy VII . Written in a readable format, it is broken down into eight sections examining some of the most important topics to the How latter-day critics have misunderstood the artistic goals of Final Fantasy VIIHow RPG history began to diverge significantly after 1981, allowing for the creation of specialized RPGs like Rogue , Pokemon , and especially Final Fantasy VIIHow Final Fantasy VII does not abandon complexity in its systems, but simply moves that complexity to the endgame to aid the narrative elements of the gameKey FeaturesComprehensive definitions of key concepts and terms, introducing the reader to the basic knowledge about the study of RPG designSummary of historical context of Final Fantasy VII going all the way back to Dungeons & DragonsExtensive collections of data and data visualizations explaining how Final Fantasy VII's systems work, how they are organized to prioritize exploration, and how they interlock in a positive feedback loop that peaks at the end of the game

Genres: Game Design, Nonfiction

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2018

Reviews

[Tom Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really delivers on the "reverse design" premise! It unpacks all elements of the game in broad strokes, and presents them objectively. At the end of each chapter, you feel like you have another section of the very initial design doc for FF7 as a product in it's 1997 context.
The evolution of Final Fantasy as a series, and of the characters and themes, were fun to read and insightful. For as popular as FF7 is, I don't see people often analyse it's themes like this!
More stat-heavy sections, like analysing enemy distribution or, for some reason, distribution of word count per dialogue window over time, are a lot more dull to read. They are a huge chunk of the game product and so should be a big chunk of the book, but these sections felt like over engineered scaffolding for mildly interesting points. The author has great dedication and keen insight so I wish those strengths were better directed for some of the book. That's why I couldn't give it 5 stars.

Overall, if you work on games: read this book. It's an accessible exercise for looking at a game as a producer (or designer, or writer) instead of a consumer.
If you don't work on games: the above is still true! But there's a much lower chance you'll reach the end of the book.

The author is a game designer and writer, by the way.

[Guilherme Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

análise baseada em dados e estatísticas matematizando fluxo, ritmo e força literária em uma mídia em que nós achamos que tudo isso é dirigido por nós mesmos. apesar de se apresentar como um guia de lições que devemos tirar para fazer nosso próprio jogo e ser meio ultracrepidário nisso, delineia muito bem as razões pelas quais o jogo foi tão triunfante.