Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Robin Burke

Basic Facts

Hand-held RPG-Strategy hybrid Final Fantasy cosmos

diverse sentient racesmonstersmagic

Basic narrative

Main characterMarche

Thrown unexpectedly into a fantasy world

Becomes a leader of a clan Fights battles

to get back to his real lifeto defeat those trying to stop him

Objects

Characters Main character (avatar) Clan members

Weapons Clothing/Armor Healing Items Terrain Map Missions Law Cards

Attributes: Characters

Basic attributes Level Experience Hit Points Magic Points Judge Points Strength Dexterity Speed

Attributes: Characters 2

Race limits available jobs

Job limits basic attack abilities

Abilities Attack Support Response Counter

• Block Combo

Attributes: Characters 3

States Confused

• random action Poisoned

• lose HP per turn Charmed

• work for the other side Defense+ Defense- Speed+ Speed- Attack+ Attack- Auto-Revive Auto-Regen

Attributes: Economics

Level acquired through experience advances character attributes

Experience acquired through successful combat actions used to advance levels

Ability acquired through successful mission completion used to acquire abilities

Money acquired through successful mission completion used to buy items, weapons, armor

Judge points acquired through successful KOs of opponents used to buy powerful "target all" attacks

Hit points lost through attack damage

Attribute: Artifacts

Weapons Attack Defense Elemental

• special attack feature• stronger against certain enemies

Enhancements Abilities Taught Range

Clothing (includes Armor, Shields, Hats, etc.) Defense Elemental

• better defense against certain attack types Enhancements

Attributes: Terrain

Height Obstacles

WaterTrees/Pillars/etc

Laws

Map

Cities Pubs

• missions Stores

Countryside mountains swamp desert forest

Jagd urban but no laws

Battle

Turn-based order determined by speed stat

Facing very important

• side and behind more likely to hit• front only 50/50 at best

Attacks range close

Effect damage status conditions facing / position changes

Laws

Battles take place under variable rulesProhibited and rewarded actions

Law cards enable laws to be canceled Up to the player

to remember what they can't do

Laws

Explicit "Laws" of Battle Random but predictable

Overturnable law cards can be won but not purchased

Stages of the game increasing numbers of laws in each battle

Laws Consequences

Memory tasksome very difficult like "Copycat"

ConsequencesRequires that you have different clan

members with different abilitiesRequires that you be cautious about

engaging in battle

Jail

Law violationsRed card for Marche

• end of game

Red card for other• remove from battle• must travel to jail and pay to release

Yellow card• warning

Emergence

Rule set is very complex many abilities many weapons

Environmental variables terrain rules in force monster / opponent abilities

Each battle is unique Multiple successful strategies

go in swinging cripple with status attacks selective engagement

Uncertainty

Probability of hit only important random factor

Can be manipulated by the user by moving by terrain by acquiring objects by learned abilities

Player can trade effort for more certainty

"Dispatch" missions

Lose the use of a clan member for set period Probability of success differs by mission Best members most likely to succeed Dispatch missions

good for building abilities and experience usually well compensated sometimes necessary for game progress

Decision lose a useful member

• high probability of success send a lower level member

• lower chance• may need to do mission again

Feedback

Negative feedback for experience gain 1 experience point only for defeating

opponents of lesser level must continue to take on challenging

missions Positive feedback on purchasing power

pretty soon you have one of everything but some items can't be purchased

Positive feedback with Totema more later

Game theoretic aspects

"Dispatch" missions Investment decisions

which job to level up in• different stat growth

which abilities to invest AP in• determines repertoire of attacks

Degeneracies Hunter/Morpher combination Illusionists Mog Knight

Conflict

individual levelfighting monsters and opponents

team levelfighting groups with mixed abilities

quest levelto achieve the game goal

• restoring the "real world"

Core Mechanics

Battle Provisioning

Narrative

Borrows heavily from "The Never-Ending Story" Kids enter fantasy world Must try to figure out how to get back

• and decide whether they want to go back Central narrative element

Totema Battles defeat boss monsters holding the world

together each defeat adds power that can be called

on in battle

Narrative cont'd

Plot twists former real-world friends become game-

world enemies Highly linear

fixed plot revelation controlled by "must do" missions

After each narrative point new map destinations new battle possibilities harder monsters

Pleasures

Strategic engagement devising and executing a successful strategy in battle

Payoff of provisioning and investment having the appropriate ability to defeat an enemy having the right set of characters even under strict laws

Manipulating the law canceling a restriction or imposing one when you have the right law card

Achievement advancing your characters getting new abilities

• cool animations

Culture

Compare with Asteroids Avatar

lone ship leader of a clan

Scenario isolated in trackless space in a mapped place

Control fire, thrust, rotate economic, strategic and tactical decision

• multi-leveld

Themes

Responsibility Player is responsible for clan Must plan and invest to build characters

Game as trap Your character is trying to escape from a game that has

become too real temptations of the game

• power• adventure• fun

Reality Characters dispute the reality of the game world Characters dispute the preferability of the real world over

the game The hero is a "rebel for reality"