The DioField Chronicle, a brand new IP developed by Lancarse and printed by Sq. Enix, is the newest in a rising development of tactical RPG video games. Whereas loads of these sorts of video games have come out this yr already (together with Triangle Technique, Relayer, and Digimon Survive). The DioField Chronicle intends to place its personal spin on the style and stand out in a crowded discipline.
To get a way of how The DioField Chronicle is setting itself aside, I spoke to Lancarse growth director and battle designer Fukui Hirofumi, Sq. Enix producer Shigeyuki Hirata, and artwork director Kumagai Takahiro. The crew members mentioned The DioField Chronicle’s gameplay influences, artwork route, and the way they created a newcomer-friendly technique sport in a frightening style.
But it surely was me, Dio(Subject)!
The DioField Chronicle was first revealed throughout PlayStation’s State of Play presentation in March. When the sport’s reveal trailer premiered, viewers thought it could possibly be a brand new Remaining Fantasy Techniques sport. Then, on the finish of the trailer, the sport’s title card appeared, exhibiting that it was as an alternative a brand new IP completely.
Hirata says it was a shock that the viewers perceived the sport as a possible new Remaining Fantasy Techniques sport. The crew is conscious that the sport is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, and that The DioField Chronicle would inevitably be in comparison with a few of its predecessors within the technique RPG style. Nevertheless, Remaining Fantasy Techniques wasn’t truly as massive of an affect on The DioField Chronicle.
“We weren’t instantly aware of the title when creating the sport,” Hirata tells DailyTech. The DioField Chronicle has shades of real-time technique (RTS) sport influences, however its gameplay was truly extra impressed by MOBA titles comparable to League of Legends. MOBA video games (like Overwatch) sometimes supply a variety of various characters with their very own particular talents for gamers to manage and are extra team-based. This suits in with the truth that The DioField Chronicle has a restrict of 4 characters having the ability to be deployed throughout battle.
As compared, RTS video games like Starcraft and Halo Wars contain managing an economic system and sending waves of faceless items to their deaths. MOBA video games served as bigger inspirations for The DioField Chronicle as a result of the event crew was contemplating methods to include extra compact missions inside a method RPG framework.
“On the subject of the top-down discipline of view, maybe Diablo served as extra of an inspiration in that respect,” says Hirofumi. “As a result of we had been constructing out an SRPG with real-time parts, these two served as extra inspiration.”
Approaching the technique style
Lancarse has created a number of different technique RPG video games up to now, comparable to Monark and Misplaced Dimension, the latter of which Hirofumi labored on as a battle designer. He felt like there was an absence of approachability and replay worth in current titles within the style and needed to deal with that in The DioField Chronicle.
We hope that it’s going to develop into one of many requirements for SRPGs.
Have you ever ever performed a sport the place you failed a mission, and thought to your self, “Wait, how did I lose?” Hirofumi says he believes that there’s a discrepancy between what the sport considers “sport over” and what the participant believes as such.
“When factoring in real-time parts with this sport, I felt that when gamers make a mistake, there could also be a broad feeling in direction of this,” he continues. “Taking that, as a way to enhance playability with this sport, we inserted checkpoints in between missions the place there have been good breaks.”
This permits gamers to go again to checkpoints throughout gameplay once they encounter the sport over message in order that they’ll determine what precisely went flawed of their method, what errors they made of their ways, after which replay it once more to determine what works.
Hirofumi explains: “We tried to extend the replayability of the sport in such a manner in order that gamers can develop into higher on the sport shortly, or it’ll be simpler for gamers to seek out their very personal tactical technique, and so forth.”
The DioField Chronicle has loads of visible aptitude in terms of the characters’ particular attacking abilities. Nevertheless, it isn’t only for present. “We needed to make sure that what you had been doing was clearly communicated by way of the visible presentation,” explains Takahiro. “And so it wasn’t only for aptitude, per se, however making certain that these strategic parts and strategic actions that you simply’re taking are clearly expressed by way of visible means as effectively.”
Setting a brand new commonplace
The DioField Chronicle’s growth was dealt with principally by Lancarse. As for the artwork route, together with the 2D illustrations and cutscenes, Sq. Enix labored carefully with Lancarse Additionally they collaborated with different corporations for hefty belongings comparable to 3D fashions and movement seize.
Since The DioField Chronicle is a brand new IP, Hirata hopes that he can proceed increasing on its world even additional and that it is going to be obtained effectively so the crew might have the chance to take action.
“We hope that it’s going to develop into one of many requirements for SRPGs. Since that is our first title, we imagine that there’s nonetheless room for deepening the mechanics and lore, so we wish to proceed alongside this path,” he explains. “As for the viewers reactions, we might in fact like for them to seek out it enjoyable and fascinating, however on the similar time, we want their trustworthy suggestions on modifications that they wish to see since it’s our first title.”
The DioField Chronicle launches on September 22 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Change, Xbox One, and Xbox Collection X|S. A demo is accessible now on all platforms.
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