We’re entering the final stretch of Moogle Paint Contest 2008! There are still several more days to get your entries in, but don’t wait until the last minute or you may miss your chance!

Complete rules and details can be found on the official contest page.

We are now accepting submissions for Moogle Paint Contest 2008!

Moogle? Paint? No, no, don’t worry; it’s not nearly as messy as it sounds. After convincing the cute, fuzzy guys that they should let DS owners doodle on them as they please, it wasn’t much of a stretch to get them to show off their DS owners’ designs for fun and prizes.

In Story Mode, after receiving a stamp from a moogle, talk to it again to paint on the moogle. You can paint on the moogle’s face, head, and body, and change the color of its pompom, fur, ears and feet, and wings.

We’re selecting First and Second Prize winners in each of three categories: “Most Fashionable,” “Best Culture” and “Freestyle.” Entries will be judged on creativity, skill and overall appeal, and winners will be announced near the end of May.

The contest ends May 5th, 2008, so get painting! Official contest rules and steps to enter can be found on the contest page, kupo!

A word from our new management staff member.

In an earlier entry, there was talk of Mr. Kawazu, the Executive Producer of FFCC Ring of Fates frequenting Kamiyama’s booth to “harass” him, but as a matter of fact, Kawazu-san also frequently comes to harass…err, visit us here in the management room as well! Not only that, but there are times when he comes bearing gifts. Every time he does, the staff room becomes replenished with snacks, so it’s a very welcoming thing. The staff room is an oasis.

He also comes to the management room for Multiplay sessions. Until recently, I was also a gamer who played Kawazu titles, so this was certainly a sight for me. There was no way I could stay calm as I thought to myself, “This is rare! This is too rare! Waaaa!!!” And as those thoughts run through my head, I find myself forcing a moogle on his shoulder… Nevertheless, he kindly let us take a picture!

I hope everyone enjoys the Multiplay mode, which is highly recommended by Kawazu-san himself!

Management
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Hello, everyone. This is Yasuhisa Izumisawa, toy fanatic. I’m one of the character art designers for this title. I work on all sorts of things, from character and monster designs to message window portraits, etc. etc. I also worked on the GameCube installment.

In FFCC Ring of Fates, changes to the characters’ equipment are actually reflected on-screen.

At the beginning of development, I was assigned the duty of designing the equipment, but at the time there was no equipment list or anything of the sort, and since there was nobody to decide what kind of equipment would be in the game, I created designs based on a temporary list which I made. I remember it being a very one-sided list.

From there on, my daily tasks involved making adjustments to the list based on features and schedules, designing the equipment in bulk, and passing it on to the modeling team.

What I struggled with is the feature of having different designs for each tribe and gender, even if the equipment have the same names. This was done so that the tribes can still be differentiated even if they are all equipping the same things.

Many different kinds of equipment are included in this game, from standard ones to FF-type ones.

In order to appeal to a wide demographic, we have also included pretty extreme equipment as well.

Head armor and body armor are separate, so you can combine them in any way you like. As a matter of fact, there’s actually another way you can have fun with the characters, but you’ll have to wait to hear more about that.

It would be great if you and your friends can play around with the various equipment and show off to each other in Multiplay mode.

Yasuhisa Izumisawa
Character Art Designer
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Hi hi, Kamiyama here. Today I’m here with Yuichiro Kojima, the leader of the character texturing designers.

The character texturing designers are truly a skilled group, taking a limited number of texture sizes to give the characters the lively expressions that they possess.

This time we prepared a ton of weapons and equipment, and wanted to give you a lot of flexibility in dressing up the characters, so we ended up imposing a tremendous amount of work on them, but with their skill set, everything turned out just great. When you obtain a new equipable item, we hope you not only look at the stats but also enjoy its visuals as well. By the by, we’ve included a gimmick that shows off the equipped items, so please look for more information to follow.

Mitsuru Kamiyama
Director
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Masato Motoki, one of the character modeling designers. This is my first time working on an FFCC title.

When I look back, I began playing video games when I was in elementary school. Whenever we had 10 or so people at my house or a friend’s house, we would get so amped up over video games. I never imagined such a kid would end up working at a video game company, and on top of that work on a title carrying the FF name. I wish I could go back in time and tell my young self.

I went off on a tangent, didn’t I? Sorry about that.

I came aboard this project in the middle, so I haven’t made a whole lot, but to make up for that I put great care into each thing I made.

The other character modelers have already brought this up, but we constantly found ourselves in situations where we HAD to get rid of 1 or 2 polygons.

In order to really express this part right here, we have to bring a polygon from somewhere, but where is there such a polygon? Hmm… if we focus on this part here, then that part over there won’t work… Seriously, if I could buy a polygon for a buck, I would. Designing these characters took so much trial and error that these kind of thoughts constantly ran through my head, so please take a good look at them. We’ve poured our souls into them.

That goes not just for us modelers, but everyone in the other sections have poured their souls into Ring of Fates, almost to the point where some sort of ectoplasm found its way out of our mouths. What we have created is a game that friends, acquaintances, lovers, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers alike can go crazy over; a game that has the power to bring people together. Of course, Story Mode is plenty of fun in itself, so no need to worry.

10 or 20 years from now, if you could look back and say, “Remember when we were all fired up over that game?”… if that can be a reason for purchasing this game, then that would be more than I can ask for. I hope this is a game that will stay with you throughout the years.

Masato Motoki
Character Modeling Designer
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Hello. This is Takeshi Maruyama, one of the character modeling designers.

I have been creating the characters’ shapes, but modeling for the DS was pretty fun.

Although they’re a bit blocky, I think that’s what makes them appealing. Personally, I kinda like them.

What I did have trouble with was using a limited number of polygons and trying to reproduce the design drawings, while also taking into consideration the characters’ movements.

There were other challenges but now they are just good memories. Spoons and pots, cows to weak monsters, boss monsters and that thing at the end… just some of the things I made during the project.

The Story Mode is of course enjoyable, but this is a game that can be enjoyed with others, so please get together and have fun.

Takeshi Maruyama
Character Modeling Designer
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Good evening. This is Kamiyama.

I hope you have had a chance to look at the movie for “Switches Galore.”

In Multiplay, there’s a free mode similar to the previous title where you can venture through the fields, as well as a quest mode. There are many quests for you to enjoy, ranging from co-op quests to the long-awaited battle quests.

“Switches Galore” is one such quest, and should be a dream come true for switch maniacs. Play together and hit those switches like there’s no tomorrow!

All quests will utilize the mechanisms and techniques found in Story Mode and the free mode in Multiplay, so raise your skills as you enjoy the game in Story Mode and widen the gap between you and your friends!

Mitsuru Kamiyama
Director
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

A quest that can be played in Multiplay mode. Among the many quests, there are battle types and co-op types. This time we’re going to introduce a co-op type!

Countless switches suddenly appear in the cave. There’s a variety of switches. Work together and activate the switches.

What will happen if all the switches are activated within the time limit…?

Hello, everyone. This is Yasuhiro Yamanaka, the synthesizer operator.

I will explain how the music composed by Tanioka is actually implemented into the game, along with an account of an exchange between myself and Tanioka.

For FFCC Ring of Fates, aside from a few parts, music playback is done with the built-in audio source. In simpler terms, I break apart the music composed by Tanioka so it fits in the game’s specs, then put the pieces back together. This way, it’s possible to playback the music using less memory.

However, the built-in audio has a tough time with certain sounds, so in order to avoid this problem I have to have Tanioka keep that in mind while composing.

Before Tanioka composes the music, I try to take measures:
“These sounds and these sounds are hard to use, so try not to use those if you can.”

But regardless, it ends up with me saying:
“I told you not to use these sounds!!”

However, I’m well aware that it’s necessary for the song, so from this point on our exchange becomes a bit strange.

Me: “I’ll try to put this sound in somehow, so can we scrap this one instead?”
Tanioka: “…” (eating bread)
Me: “All right, I’ll see what I can do *tears*…so buy me something.”

Generally, my resistance just goes ignored. This kind of exchange was routine, as just about every song made me try every conceivable way to make it work.

I feel as though Tanioka’s music for Ring of Fates adds another dimension to the drama. I find myself on the verge of tears when I’m checking the events.

Please look forward to FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates.

Yasuhiro Yamanaka
Synthesizer Operator
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Hello, Kamiyama here.

Today I’m going to introduce Satoshi Ogata, the Menu System Programmer.

Since this line of work tends to overwork the eyes, there are many staff members who care about their eyes’ health. Ogata is one such person, and his item of choice is quite the thing!

“Eye drops and blueberries, those things are for amateurs. It’s all about pinhole glasses!”

And so, he’s diligently working everyday while rocking that fresh style you see below. It’s strange, but when you wear these glasses you actually can see far away objects better. But, I would think it’s kinda hard to program while wearing these…

But apparently he has 20/20 vision and no cavities (not that it matters), so I’m envious of him.

Mitsuru Kamiyama
Director
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Hello, this is Keito Itoh. I’m one of the 3D Field Designers for FFCC Ring of Fates.

Today’s portable gaming systems are impressive, aren’t they?

I remember looking at my friend’s portable gaming system back when I was a kid. It only had a few buttons, the backgrounds were all fixed, and character movements consisted of blinking.

I was amazed when screens began utilizing dots, but then color screens came, and I guess it’s no surprise that we’re seeing polygons now! Not only that, but there’s a touch screen (which I had previously only seen on ATMs), downloading capabilities and wireless functions as well.

If you think about this in a different way, it basically just adds more things for the development side to work with.

I will do my best!

What I kept in mind while creating the fields is to “draw landscapes that are easy for the user to grasp.” Since the game is packed with action elements, I thought it would be nice if the player can instantly get a feel for the elevations and depths of the fields… and so I ended up using too many polygons and textures (sorry).

Although the game is filled with cute characters and emotional events, it would be nice if you can spare some time and attention to examine the fields.

Keito Itoh
3D Field Designer
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Hello, Kamiyama here. Today I’m here with Character Modeling Lead Designer, Nozomu Nishiiri.

Everyone on the Ring of Fates modeling team possesses amazing character modeling techniques, and what they have accomplished here is admirable. Though the models that can be made using many polygons is indeed enticing, modeling with a limited number of polygons seems to be pretty intense as well. I suppose there’s a puzzle-like challenge involved with it.

Ring of Fates is filled with the techniques of these amazing modelers. Please pay careful attention to the characters and monsters.

Mitsuru Kamiyama
Director
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Hello there, this is Yuko Komuro, one of the BG Designers.

Before I knew it, we were at the halfway period of the project, a busy time. At first, I wasn’t sure what to do with such a limited number of polygons, but if you ask me now, I’m actually impressed with how many polygons can be used. In BG work, what can and cannot be done is pretty clear-cut, so knowing that, it was mainly struggling with creating the best possible fields and staying within the limits.

Although there’s no denying that the characters are cute, please wander around and experience the fields to the fullest too.

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates in stores March 11.

Yuko Komuro
3D Field Designer
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Kamiyama here again. This time I would like to introduce Toshiyuki Itahana, the Art Director for Ring of Fates and Director of the upcoming Wii installment, THE CRYSTAL BEARERS.

I’m sure Itahana doesn’t require an introduction, but here it is anyway. He’s the central organizer of all the Design sections, and also takes part in the main character designs. He’s a key person whom the FFCC series cannot go without.

For the record, at this time he was playing FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS.

Development for both Ring of Fates and THE CRYSTAL BEARERS are proceeding smoothly!!

Mitsuru Kamiyama
Director
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates