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{{Short description|Japanese video game designer}}
{{Infobox Person
{{For|the president of Crypton Future Media|Crypton Future Media}}
| image=Replace this image male.svg<!-- Only freely-licensed images may be used to depict living people. See ]. -->
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| caption =
| name = Hiroyuki Ito | name = Hiroyuki Ito
| birth_name= 伊藤 裕之
| birthplace = {{flagicon|Japan}} Japan
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| nationality= ] | nationality= ]
| occupation = Producer, director and designer of ] at ]. | occupation = Video game producer, director, designer
}} }}
{{nihongo|'''Hiroyuki Ito'''|伊藤 裕之|Itō Hiroyuki}}, also credited with the spelling '''Hiroyuki Itou''', is a ] ] and ]. He currently works for ] and is most known for his work on the ] series '']''. {{nihongo|'''Hiroyuki Ito'''|伊藤 裕之|Itō Hiroyuki}}, is a Japanese ], ] and ] who works for ]. He is known as the director of '']'' (1994), '']'' (2000) and '']'' (2006) and as the creator of the ] (ATB) system in the '']'' series.


==Biography== ==Biography==
After graduating from ], Ito joined ] in 1987.<ref name="ff12_zjs_ultimania" /> He initially worked on '']'' and '']'' as a ] but first became genuinely involved with game development while creating sound effects for '']''.<ref name="ff9_ultimania" /> His next major role was as the designer of the ] system for '']''.<ref name="ff9_ultimania" /><ref name="1up_interview" /> Square filed a Japanese ] related to the ATB system on 16 July 1991 and a corresponding US application on 16 March 1992. One Japanese patent (JP2794230) and two US patents (US5390937 and US5649862) were granted based on these applications.<ref name="fXWX6" /> For '']'', Ito designed the fully customizable ].<ref name="1up_interview" /><ref name="rpgamer" /> He also created the 'Chicken Knife or Brave Blade' choosing event.<ref name="rpgamer" /> '']'' marked the first time that Ito became a director on a game. For this title, he was in charge of all battle aspects.<ref name="edge" /> He was also responsible for the battle systems in '']'' and '']'' before he once more took on the role of director with '']''.<ref name="ff9_ultimania" /> Ito had the idea to make its protagonist ] flirtatious towards women.<ref name="A21QP" />
Initially working on the sound effects for '']'',<ref name="ff3">{{cite video game |title=] |developer=], ] |publisher=Square Enix Co., Ltd. |platform=] |date=November 14, 2006 |scene=staff credits}}</ref> he later participated in creating a long-time series staple, the ] (ATB) system, for the follow-up '']''.<ref>{{cite video game |title=] |developer=], ] |publisher=Square Enix Co., Ltd. |platform=] |date=July 22, 2008 |scene=staff credits}}</ref><ref name="video">{{cite web |title=Video interview with FINAL FANTASY XII Directors |work=FINAL FANTASY XII Collector's Edition Bonus DVD |publisher=] |date=October 31, 2006 |accessdate=January 25, 2011 |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYIzjBbO2FQ |quote= '''Hiroyuki Ito:''' Developing the ADB system felt very similar to developing the ATB system that appeared in FINAL FANTASY IV.}}</ref> Afterwards, he served as a designer for a number of gameplay systems and features in the series, including the ] in '']'' and '']'',<ref>{{cite video game |title=] |developer=] |publisher=Square Co., Ltd. |platform=] |date=December 6, 1992 |scene=staff credits}}</ref><ref>{{cite video game |title=] |developer=] |publisher=Square Co., Ltd. |date=June 20, 1997 |scene=staff credits}}</ref> the Esper system in '']'',{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} the Junction system and '']'' mini-game in '']'',<ref>{{cite video game |title=] |developer=] |publisher=] |date=September 9, 1999 |scene=staff credits}}</ref> the Active Time Event (ATE) system in '']''{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} and the Active Dimension Battle (ADB) and License Board of '']''.<ref name="video" /><ref>{{cite web |author=Rob Fahey |title=This Great Fantasy |publisher=] |date=October 31, 2006 |accessdate=January 25, 2011 |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_finalfantasyxii_ps2 |quote= '''Akitoshi Kawazu:''' The battle director, Ito-san, when he was making FFXII's license board, his design philosophy was very much to give players the freedom to make characters the way that they want to.}}</ref>


In mid-2005, ] announced that ] had left the company due to an illness but would be acting as a supervisor on '']''. Ito was appointed as the director of the game. Matsuno apologized for the long development time of the project but guaranteed players that it was "progressing in its development under the hands of excellent staffs".<ref name="VKgUe" /> Ito created the License Board of ''Final Fantasy XII'' with the intention to give the player much freedom in developing characters to their liking without becoming too complicated.<ref name="kawazu" /> At the Square Enix Party 2007 pre-conference meeting in May 2007, he was introduced on stage as the producer and director of the newly announced ''Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System''.<ref name="conference" /> He stated later that he considered the game design and battle system of ''Final Fantasy XII'' a "definitive contribution to the gaming lexicon" and that it had "the potential to shine in future games".<ref name="e3cLQ" /> In about 2012, Ito was tasked by producer Shinichi Tatsuke with the creation of a battle system for a new game. However, the plan changed and he was told a week later that there was a different project to consider. Tatsuke now requested a concept for a social game which he felt was an interesting opportunity to have Ito work on, given his experience with simple Nintendo Entertainment System game systems. This concept became '']''.<ref name="1Y4I6" /> In September 2012, Ito said that he would work on another ''Final Fantasy'' game if the company's president wished for it.<ref name="1up_interview" /> The corporate executive of Square Enix's 1st Production Department, ], mentioned in July 2013 that Ito was "planning and doing some proposals for a new project" and "putting some ideas together".<ref name="Npzsf" />
He also served as one of the directors of '']'' with ] and as the director of '']''. He was one of the directors of '']'', first with ], then with ] after Yasumi Matsuno left the project.<ref>{{cite web |author=Anoop Gantayat |title=Changes to Final Fantasy XII Staff|work= |publisher=] |date=August 1, 2005 |accessdate=May 4, 2010 |page= |url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/638/638050p1.html}}</ref> He served his first role as a ] for the release of ''Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System''.


==Game design philosophy== ==Game design and impact==
As the ] of a '']'' game, Ito tries to balance the story and ] with the gameplay.<ref name="qfP5P" /> When he begins his work on a title, he does not consider the story at hand but rather adapts his game system to it as closely as possible over the time. He thinks that it is his job to smoothly implement a game so the people in charge of the stories do not have to worry about this aspect.<ref name="1up_interview" /> He also believes that the most important factor of the ''Final Fantasy'' series is the player's feeling of accomplishment after beating the game and seeing "The End" on the screen.<ref name="video" /> Professional sports were the primary inspiration behind Ito's battle systems.<ref name="1up_interview" /> The monsters in ''Final Fantasy IV'' and the Gambit system in ''Final Fantasy XII'' resemble aspects of the ] in that their actions are based on the most likely outcome of a specific situation.<ref name="1up_interview" /><ref name="video" /> The Active Time Battle system was similarly inspired by ], as Ito had the idea to give characters different speed values after seeing a race in which the cars passed each other. These values would then become the basis for the battle system and dictate when it will be a character's turn.<ref name="ff9_ultimania" /><ref name="1up_interview" /><ref name="AfuwJ" />
When directing a ], Hiroyuki Ito does not like the story to be the main focus; he believes in balancing a deep story with an equal amount of traditional RPG gameplay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.psx.ign.com/articles/085/085276p1.html |title=The Final Fantasy IX Team Spills All |author=Dave Zdyrko |publisher=] |date=September 20, 2000 |accessdate=December 26, 2010 |quote='''Hiroyuki Itou:''' Although the FF series has evolved over the years, it is still an RPG. Since the FF series tends to be story-driven, I wanted to balance the story with the traditional gameplay of an RPG.}}</ref>


At the ] 2006 ] held on 22 September 2006, Ito accepted the "Grand Award" and "Award for Excellence" for ''Final Fantasy XII''. He thanked the development team, longtime fans and new players alike and said that the team was grateful for the awards as they could not possibly think about the game's reception during its creation.<ref name="CESA_award_ceremony" /> His comment at the ceremony was: "I did my best to bring new and innovative elements to this work. I'm very happy that something like this, which was one of the more challenging games to create in the Final Fantasy series, has received this award. To return the favor to the users who've played this game and who regard it so highly, I'm determined to continue creating by always reminding myself of the need to rise to new challenges."<ref name="S4SQ1" /> ] considers Ito one of his four "seniors" at the company and a likely influence on his battle planning.<ref name="llAAK" /> He also stated that he was taught the basics of game design by Ito.<ref name="QirHG" />
==Credits==
{{Clear}}
{|border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; text-align: center;"

==Works==
{| class="wikitable sortable" width="auto"
|- |-
! scope="col"|Year
! Game !! Release !! System !! Credit(s)
! scope="col"|Title
! scope="col"|Credit(s)
! scope="col"|{{abbr|Ref.|References}}
|- |-
| rowspan="2" | 1987
! '']''
| ''Aliens: Alien 2''
|| 1989 || <small>]</small> || Planning
| Developer
| <ref name="1up_interview" />
|- |-
! '']'' |'']''
| Debugger
|| 1989 || <small>]</small> || Scenario, map designer
| <ref name="ff9_ultimania" />
|- |-
| 1988
! '']''
| '']''
|| 1990 || <small>]</small> || Sound effects<ref name="ff3" />
| Debugger
|
|- |-
| rowspan="2" | 1989
! '']''
| '']''
|| 1990 || <small>]</small> || Game designer
| Planning
|
|- |-
! '']'' |'']''
| Scenario staff, cartography
|| 1991 || <small>]</small> || Battle system designer
|
|- |-
| rowspan="2" | 1990
! '']''
| '']''
|| 1992 || <small>]</small> || Battle system designer, Job system designer
| Sound effects
| <ref name="ff9_ultimania" />
|- |-
! '']'' |'']''
| Game design
|| 1994 || <small>]</small> || Director, game designer, battle system Designer
|
|- |-
| 1991
! '']''
| '']''
|| 1995 || <small>]</small> || Event planner
| Battle design
|
|- |-
| 1992
! '']''
| '']''
|| 1996 || <small>]</small> || Extra special thanks, battle system support
| Battle design
|- |-
| 1994
! '']''
| '']''
|| 1997 || <small>]</small> || Game designer, battle system main planner
| Director, battle system design
| <ref name="edge" />
|- |-
| 1995
! '']''
| '']''
|| 1999 || <small>]</small> || Battle system designer, '']'' game designer
| Event planning
|
|- |-
| 1996
! '']''
| '']''
|| 2000 || <small>]</small> || Director, "]" lyricist
| Special thanks
|
|- |-
| 1997
! '']''
| '']''
|| 2000 || <small>]</small> || Game designer
| Game design, battle system main planner
|
|- |-
| 1999
! '']''
| '']''
|| 2006 || <small>]</small> || Director, game designer, battle system concept
| Battle system design
| <ref name="CSBFI" />
|- |-
! '']'' | 2000 || '']''
|Director, battle system design
|| 2006 || <small>]</small> || Supervisor
| <ref name="ff9_ultimania" />
|- |-
| rowspan="3" | 2006
! '']''
| '']''
|| 2006 || <small>]</small> || Supervisor
| Director, game design, battle director
| <ref name="kawazu" /><ref name="video" /><ref name="Zd4KZ" />
|- |-
! '']'' |'']''
| Supervisor
|| 2007 || <small>]</small> || (Original staff credits) Game designer, battle system main planner
|
|- |-
! '']'' |'']''
| Supervisor
|| 2007 || <small>]</small> || Producer, director, game designer, battle system concept
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2007
| '']''
| Producer, director, game design
| <ref name="conference" />
|-
|'']''
| Battle supervisor
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2009
| ''Crawlian''
| Producer
| <ref name="crawlian" />
|-
|'']''
| Special thanks
|
|-
|'']''
| Special thanks
|
|-
| 2011
| '']''
| Special thanks
|
|-
| 2012
| '']''
| Original concept
| <ref name="vfKYy" />
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| ''Deadman's Cross''
| Battle design
| <ref name="Ma2si" />
|-
|'']''
| Special thanks
|
|-
| 2015
| '']''
| Special thanks
|
|-
| 2016
| ''Guardian Codex''
| Special thanks
|
|-
| 2017
| '']''
| Supervisor
| <ref name="wvQlS" />
|-
| 2021
| '']''
| Director
| <ref name="dungeonEncountersAnnouncement" />
|- |-
! '']''
|| 2007 || <small>]</small> || Battle system supervisor
|} |}

His name has also been credited on the following games, but it is currently unknown if it is the same person:
* '']'' (2004, developed by Square Enix and ]) - Main programmer
* '']'' (2007, developed by Square Enix and Jupiter) - Planning director
* '']'' (2009, developed by Square Enix and ]) - Lead planner: missions
* '']'' (2010, developed by Square Enix and h.a.n.d.) - Co-director


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist|refs=
<ref name="ff12_zjs_ultimania">{{cite book|title=Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System Ultimania|publisher=]|pages=322–327|author=Studio BentStuff|language=ja}}</ref>
<ref name="ff9_ultimania">{{cite book|title=Final Fantasy IX Ultimania|publisher=]|pages=578–582|author=Studio BentStuff|language=ja}}</ref>
<ref name="rpgamer">{{cite web|last=Coxon|first=Sachi|title=Interview with Square: Part 1|url=http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q1-2000/032200d.html|publisher=RPGamer|date=22 March 2000|access-date=14 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202221305/http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q1-2000/032200d.html|archive-date=2 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="edge">{{cite magazine |date=March 2013 |title=The Making Of... Final Fantasy VI |magazine=] |issue=251 |pages=124–127 |publisher=]}}</ref>
<ref name="kawazu">{{cite web|last=Boyes|first=Emma|title=Q&A: Final Fantasy XII producer Akitoshi Kawazu|url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/qanda-final-fantasy-xii-producer-akitoshi-kawazu-6160463|publisher=]|access-date=5 January 2012|date=26 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025171539/http://www.gamespot.com/news/qanda-final-fantasy-xii-producer-akitoshi-kawazu-6160463|archive-date=25 October 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="conference">{{cite web|last=Mielke|first=James|title=Square Enix 2007 Conference Report|url=http://www.1up.com/news/square-enix-2007-conference-report|publisher=]|access-date=4 January 2012|date=10 May 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106104621/http://www.1up.com/news/square-enix-2007-conference-report|archive-date=6 November 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="1up_interview">{{cite web|last=Parish|first=Jeremy|title=Final Fantasy's Hiroyuki Ito and the Science of Battle|url=http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-hiroyuki-ito-science|publisher=]|access-date=25 November 2012|date=22 October 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="video">{{cite web|title=Video interview with FINAL FANTASY XII Directors|work=FINAL FANTASY XII Collector's Edition Bonus DVD|publisher=]|date=31 October 2006|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYIzjBbO2FQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/EYIzjBbO2FQ |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
<ref name="CESA_award_ceremony">{{cite web|url=http://awards.cesa.or.jp/2006/ceremony/02.html|publisher=Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA)|title=『 日本ゲーム大賞 2006 』 Award Ceremony|access-date=4 January 2012|language=ja}}</ref>
<ref name="crawlian">{{cite web|script-title=ja:「スクエニ メンバーズ」会員60万人突破＆パズルゲーム配信開始|url=http://www.4gamer.net/games/081/G008127/20090430028/|publisher=4gamer|access-date=26 February 2013|language=ja|date=30 April 2009}}</ref>
<ref name="fXWX6">{{cite web |url=http://worldwide.espacenet.com/inpadoc?DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP&FT=D&CC=US&NR=5390937A |title=List of patent family members for US Patent No. 5390937 |publisher=] |access-date =17 November 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="A21QP">{{cite web|last=Coxon|first=Sachi|title=Interview with Square: Part 3|url=http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q1-2000/032400b.html|publisher=RPGamer|date=24 March 2000|access-date=10 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403230030/http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q1-2000/032400b.html|archive-date=3 April 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="VKgUe">{{cite web|last=Niizumi|first=Hirohiko|title=FFXII producer steps down|url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6130121/ffxii-producer-steps-down|work=News|publisher=]|access-date=25 June 2011|date=1 August 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729073117/http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6130121/ffxii-producer-steps-down|archive-date=29 July 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="e3cLQ">{{cite web|last=Mielke|first=James|title=Square Enix Talks about the Ivalice Alliance|url=http://www.1up.com/news/square-enix-talks|publisher=]|access-date=9 January 2012|date=9 October 2007}}</ref>
<ref name="1Y4I6">{{cite web|script-title=ja:【徹底ガイド】人と魔獣があやなす"深化"を遂げたカードバトル『ガーディアン・クルス』|url=http://app.famitsu.com/20120329_47667/|publisher=]|access-date=26 February 2013|language=ja|date=29 March 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Npzsf">{{cite web |author=Donaldson, Alex |date=24 July 2013 |title=Talking Talent, Western Development & Sequels with Final Fantasy Producer Shinji Hashimoto |url=http://www.rpgsite.net/interviews/457-talking-talent-western-development-&-sequels-with-final-fantasy-producer-shinji-hashimoto |publisher=RPG Site |access-date=10 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818141836/http://www.rpgsite.net/interviews/457-talking-talent-western-development-%26-sequels-with-final-fantasy-producer-shinji-hashimoto |archive-date=18 August 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="qfP5P">{{cite web |url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/085/085276p1.html |title=The Final Fantasy IX Team Spills All |author=Dave Zdyrko |publisher=] |date=20 September 2000 |access-date=26 December 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="AfuwJ">{{cite web|title=A Conversation With the Creator of Final Fantasy IV|author=Jeremy Parish|publisher=]|url=http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-iv-creator-conversation?pager.offset=2|access-date=13 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="S4SQ1">{{cite web|url=http://awards.cesa.or.jp/2006/english/prizelist/2005-2006/index.html|publisher=Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA)|title=Japan Game Awards 2006: Final Fantasy XII|access-date=13 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="llAAK">{{cite web |title=Vol. 11: Kingdom Hearts 3D 3: Square's Intentions |url=https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Nintendo-3DS-Third-Party-Game-Developers/Vol-11-KINGDOM-HEARTS-3D-Dream-Drop-Distance-/3-Square-s-Intentions/3-Square-s-Intentions-839620.html |work=Iwata Asks |publisher=] |access-date=6 January 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="QirHG">{{cite web|last1=Sato|title=How Final Fantasy V Was A Turning Point In Tetsuya Nomura's Career|url=http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/13/final-fantasy-v-turning-point-tetsuya-nomuras-career/|website=Siliconera|access-date=23 May 2015|date=13 March 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="CSBFI">{{cite video game |title=Final Fantasy VIII |developer=] |publisher=] |date=9 September 1999 |scene=staff credits}}</ref>
<ref name="Zd4KZ">{{cite web | author=Gantayat, Anoop| date=1 August 2005 | title=Changes to Final Fantasy XII Staff | publisher=IGN | url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/08/01/changes-to-final-fantasy-xii-staff | access-date=1 September 2006}}</ref>
<ref name="vfKYy">{{cite web|title=About this Game|url=http://www.square-enix.co.jp/smart/gc/en/about.html|publisher=]|access-date=13 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916222429/http://www.square-enix.co.jp/smart/gc/en/about.html|archive-date=16 September 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Ma2si">{{cite web |year=2014 |url=http://www.jp.square-enix.com/dc/en/#dc_information |title=Information |publisher=] |access-date=17 February 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="wvQlS">{{cite web |year=2016 |url=http://www.famitsu.com/news/201606/06107465.html |title=The "FFXII" turned into HD "FFXII the Zodiac Age" will be released in 2017 in the PS4 |publisher=] |access-date=6 June 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="dungeonEncountersAnnouncement">{{Cite tweet |user=SquareEnix |number=1443893773713481728 |title= Strategize to survive in a brand new dungeon crawler. Producer: Hiroaki Kato Director: Hiroyuki Ito Character Design: Ryoma Ito Music: Nobuo Uematsu An all-star team are bringing #DungeonEncounters to Switch, PS4 and Steam on October 14th: http://sqex.link/sgzq}}</ref>
}}


==External links== ==External links==
* * {{in lang|ja}}

{{Square Enix}}
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 18:27, 31 August 2023

Japanese video game designer For the president of Crypton Future Media, see Crypton Future Media.

Hiroyuki Ito
Born伊藤 裕之
NationalityJapanese
Occupation(s)Video game producer, director, designer

Hiroyuki Ito (伊藤 裕之, Itō Hiroyuki), is a Japanese game producer, director and designer who works for Square Enix. He is known as the director of Final Fantasy VI (1994), Final Fantasy IX (2000) and Final Fantasy XII (2006) and as the creator of the Active Time Battle (ATB) system in the Final Fantasy series.

Biography

After graduating from Tokyo Zokei University, Ito joined Square in 1987. He initially worked on Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II as a debugger but first became genuinely involved with game development while creating sound effects for Final Fantasy III. His next major role was as the designer of the Active Time Battle system for Final Fantasy IV. Square filed a Japanese patent application related to the ATB system on 16 July 1991 and a corresponding US application on 16 March 1992. One Japanese patent (JP2794230) and two US patents (US5390937 and US5649862) were granted based on these applications. For Final Fantasy V, Ito designed the fully customizable Job system. He also created the 'Chicken Knife or Brave Blade' choosing event. Final Fantasy VI marked the first time that Ito became a director on a game. For this title, he was in charge of all battle aspects. He was also responsible for the battle systems in Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy Tactics before he once more took on the role of director with Final Fantasy IX. Ito had the idea to make its protagonist Zidane Tribal flirtatious towards women.

In mid-2005, Square Enix announced that Yasumi Matsuno had left the company due to an illness but would be acting as a supervisor on Final Fantasy XII. Ito was appointed as the director of the game. Matsuno apologized for the long development time of the project but guaranteed players that it was "progressing in its development under the hands of excellent staffs". Ito created the License Board of Final Fantasy XII with the intention to give the player much freedom in developing characters to their liking without becoming too complicated. At the Square Enix Party 2007 pre-conference meeting in May 2007, he was introduced on stage as the producer and director of the newly announced Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System. He stated later that he considered the game design and battle system of Final Fantasy XII a "definitive contribution to the gaming lexicon" and that it had "the potential to shine in future games". In about 2012, Ito was tasked by producer Shinichi Tatsuke with the creation of a battle system for a new game. However, the plan changed and he was told a week later that there was a different project to consider. Tatsuke now requested a concept for a social game which he felt was an interesting opportunity to have Ito work on, given his experience with simple Nintendo Entertainment System game systems. This concept became Guardian Cross. In September 2012, Ito said that he would work on another Final Fantasy game if the company's president wished for it. The corporate executive of Square Enix's 1st Production Department, Shinji Hashimoto, mentioned in July 2013 that Ito was "planning and doing some proposals for a new project" and "putting some ideas together".

Game design and impact

As the game designer of a Final Fantasy game, Ito tries to balance the story and event scenes with the gameplay. When he begins his work on a title, he does not consider the story at hand but rather adapts his game system to it as closely as possible over the time. He thinks that it is his job to smoothly implement a game so the people in charge of the stories do not have to worry about this aspect. He also believes that the most important factor of the Final Fantasy series is the player's feeling of accomplishment after beating the game and seeing "The End" on the screen. Professional sports were the primary inspiration behind Ito's battle systems. The monsters in Final Fantasy IV and the Gambit system in Final Fantasy XII resemble aspects of the NFL in that their actions are based on the most likely outcome of a specific situation. The Active Time Battle system was similarly inspired by Formula One, as Ito had the idea to give characters different speed values after seeing a race in which the cars passed each other. These values would then become the basis for the battle system and dictate when it will be a character's turn.

At the CESA 2006 Japan Game Awards held on 22 September 2006, Ito accepted the "Grand Award" and "Award for Excellence" for Final Fantasy XII. He thanked the development team, longtime fans and new players alike and said that the team was grateful for the awards as they could not possibly think about the game's reception during its creation. His comment at the ceremony was: "I did my best to bring new and innovative elements to this work. I'm very happy that something like this, which was one of the more challenging games to create in the Final Fantasy series, has received this award. To return the favor to the users who've played this game and who regard it so highly, I'm determined to continue creating by always reminding myself of the need to rise to new challenges." Tetsuya Nomura considers Ito one of his four "seniors" at the company and a likely influence on his battle planning. He also stated that he was taught the basics of game design by Ito.

Works

Year Title Credit(s) Ref.
1987 Aliens: Alien 2 Developer
Final Fantasy Debugger
1988 Final Fantasy II Debugger
1989 Square's Tom Sawyer Planning
Final Fantasy Legend Scenario staff, cartography
1990 Final Fantasy III Sound effects
Rad Racer II Game design
1991 Final Fantasy IV Battle design
1992 Final Fantasy V Battle design
1994 Final Fantasy VI Director, battle system design
1995 Chrono Trigger Event planning
1996 Super Mario RPG Special thanks
1997 Final Fantasy Tactics Game design, battle system main planner
1999 Final Fantasy VIII Battle system design
2000 Final Fantasy IX Director, battle system design
2006 Final Fantasy XII Director, game design, battle director
Final Fantasy V Advance Supervisor
Final Fantasy VI Advance Supervisor
2007 Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System Producer, director, game design
Final Fantasy IV DS Battle supervisor
2009 Crawlian Producer
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord Special thanks
Gyromancer Special thanks
2011 Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Special thanks
2012 Guardian Cross Original concept
2014 Deadman's Cross Battle design
Murdered: Soul Suspect Special thanks
2015 Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Special thanks
2016 Guardian Codex Special thanks
2017 Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Supervisor
2021 Dungeon Encounters Director

References

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  27. @SquareEnix (1 October 2021). "Strategize to survive in a brand new dungeon crawler. Producer: Hiroaki Kato Director: Hiroyuki Ito Character Design: Ryoma Ito Music: Nobuo Uematsu An all-star team are bringing #DungeonEncounters to Switch, PS4 and Steam on October 14th: http://sqex.link/sgzq" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

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