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GDC08: Square Enix unveils Crystal Tools engine
Note: Image not representative of engine. Once again, Square Enix refuses to let us take photographs from their sessions. Sorry.Square Enix's Taku Murata of the GM, Research and Development Division spoke to a completely packed audience at GDC this year. In a session entitled "The Technology of Final Fantasy," Murata explained the new technical direction of the company for the new generation of gaming platforms. "This is the first time Square Enix has made a technology platform that could be used across the entire company."The platforms being targeted are PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC, although he noted that "some of our technologies support Wii. It's not 100% yet, so that's why I didn't put it up [on the slide] yet." He noted that in the past, Square Enix has made games specifically for one platform. However, that's not what they're interested in pursuing in the future. "In the past that approach, that worked and at the time I believe that was the right approach." In 2004, the company wanted to a "common 3D data format" to work on. This decision occurred as hardware manufacturers started offering new details on the current generation of hardware. Square's Research and Development Division was established on September 2006, and they announced an engine, then nicknamed "White Engine." At GDC, Murata unveiled its official new name: Crystal Tools, which reached version 1.0 on September 2007. (Internally, the team is working with v.1.1 of the tools.)
Square's next MMO summoned at GDC?
There are so many MMOs coming to the market and announced to be in development these days that sometimes it's hard to keep track of who is doing what. If you you look at Square for instance, there's been a smattering of news over the past couple months, none of it terribly conclusive. Back in December we heard about their Virtual World, a simplistic derivative of Second Life that would operate on ad-revenue. We've also heard briefly about Concerto Gate, a free-to-play game that looks to combine the social aspects of an MMO with the super-deformed characters and battle systems of a console RPG. And lastly, we heard a bit of news last month that indicated that Square's next big MMO is already well along in development, and is currently being tested internally.Now the latest news on the wire is that Square's Taku Murata may talk about their big new MMO at GDC next week. If you look at his personal page on the GDC website, it says that he'll be talking about how they plan to use their new engine not only in the development of the new Final Fantasy for the Playstation 3, but also for a "new MMORPG in development." With the game development climate being what it is in the absence of E3, it's entirely plausible that they'd take the veil off of the game at GDC. We'll just have to sit around and wait another week to see if every Square fanboy's dream comes true.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
New info on latest Square Enix MMO at GDC?
It's been a long time since we've heard anything about this seemingly secretive new MMO from Square Enix; however, some promising info on this illusive title has recently popped up. It's been revealed on the Game Developers Conference website that Square Enix has four representatives speaking at the event -- one of which is Taku Murata, general manager of R&D, who will be discussing the technology that goes behind making Square Enix's current-gen games (specifically the White Engine). The news nugget about the MMO can be found rather subtly on Murata's personal page where it states he'll be talking about the White Engine used in Final Fantasy XIII, the new MMO in development, and other future titles. Of course, this only confirms that the MMO has not disappeared into vaporware, and still leaves a lot of room for speculation. Will we be seeing some new game footage or will new info on the game itself be divulged? We guess we'll just have to wait until GDC rolls in to find out. [Via Forever Fantasy]
Molyneux, others join GDC lineup, Fable 'talk' imminent
Having the inside scoop, Gamasutra reports that Peter Molyneux, Killer 7's Goichi Suda, and a team of Final Fantasy XII developers led by Taku Murata are joining the GDC 2007 lineup. Molyneux, well known for his mastery of hype-building (and subsequent apologies), will by lecturing on Fable 2, musing aloud about the brilliant innovations that might or might not make the final cut -- Molyneux promises to reveal "a totally unexpected feature" (we've heard that before).Teasing aside, Molyneux is one of the most forward-thinking developers in the industry today. He might not always deliver, but he's earned his street cred for being a risk-taker. Molyneux's colorful presence is a key addition to GDC.Also making appearances during the conference will be Goichi Suda, who will illustrate the experience of working on a small development team (in this case, Grasshopper), along with Taku Murata and other core members of the FFXII team, who will reflect on the lessons learned during the game's development.
