Development

Project Phoenix was first announced in 2013 as a Kickstarter funded campaign, and was billed as the first Japanese-developed game backed by Kickstarter funding. The development team at Creative Intelligence Arts consists of talent that has previously worked on several AAA titles. This includes but is not limited to game director and producer Hiroaki Yura, who has previously worked on games like Valkryia Chronicles, Diablo 3, and Steins;Gate; game designer Vaughan Smith, who worked on L.A. Noire; art director Kiyoshi Arai, who worked on Final Fantasy 12 and Final Fantasy 14; 3D environment artist Yumiko Sugihara, who has worked on Final Fantasy 8 and Final Fantasy 9; and lead composer Nobuo Uematsu, who was also the lead composer on the vast majority of mainline Final Fantasy titles.

Project Phoenix’s original Kickstarter funding goal was to reach $100,000 in funding, which it was able to achieve within its given timeframe. Currently, its funding stands at over $1 million. The developers have stated that the plan to mix Japanese art style with western game mechanics, and as such have AAA talent from both Japanese and western developers. They are aiming to build Project Phoenix for a worldwide audience. The game’s original estimated release date was announced as mid-2015, however, the game has faced multiple delays since then. It was scheduled to launch in 2018 after repeated delays, however there have been no updates from Creative Intelligence Arts on this front.

The game’s iOS and Android versions will feature unspecified changes from all the other versions due to technical limitations.

Story

Project Phoenix is set in the fantasy land of Azuregard, which is beset by several ongoing issues and conflicts as the game’s story begins. Ancient enemies of mankind, the orcs, have been raiding settlements with increasing ferocity and brazen attacks. In the southern coasts, a faction known as the free men, who were once thought vanquished, have begun re-emerging and plan on toppling the rule of the empire. In the midst of all this, the ancient elves have spotted a star that they believe is an omen that will decide the fate of all of Azeregard.

The game focuses on four main heroes. Marcus Stern, a templar, who meets with the amnesiac Ruffles, journey together with two more companions- the internally conflicted battle mage Zarum the Lost, and Sylrianah, the elven Pathfinder, who is a reserved person but is curious to see the larger world. The four heroes form an unlikely band and become embroiled in the world’s larger conflict, as they seek to save it from itself.

Gameplay

Project Phoenix blends the JRPG genre with real time strategy mechanics. Players don’t control all their party members at all time, and instead give them commands similar to real time strategy titles. Characters can be leveled up, however, and can learn new abilities and attacks. Combat is based on point and click mechanics, and players can use each of their characters’ abilities at any given time. using abilities costs mana. Terrain is also an important factor during combat, and players are required to learn the lay of the land in a combat area and use it to their advantage.

There are also destructible environments that can be used to damage enemies or block their paths. The combat area in random battles is also hidden in fog of war, and players must explore it to discover it fully. During combat, enemies will target members of the player’s party that they feel pose the most threat to them, though players can use certain abilities that can redirect their attention. There will also be several boss fights that will require players to focus all their party members on a single target. Other than random battles, there will also be story-specific battles, that will happen at particular points in the game’s story. During story battles, there is no fog of war in the combat arena, and which character is targeted by enemies might also change depending on the context of story battles.

There are also several classes in Project Phoenix, with each character belonging to a particular class. The Battle Mage class wears heavy plated armour, and can magically buff equipment to use enchanted melee weapons. They specialize in heavy single attacks or area of effect attacks. Battle mages have two major skill trees, with one focusing on each of the two kinds of attacks. The Pathfinder class is a ranged combat specialist, and is suited to stealth, and also providing the party with information about the combat area and distant environments. The Berserker is a close combat specialist that has moderately high defense and high attack stats for close range melee attacks.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Kickstarter-funded JRPG Project Phoenix isn’t doing so well. In a recent update on the game’s Kickstarter page, the developer revealed that it had found a programmer, one which had consulted on Project Phoenix before but will only be available full time within two months. It also seems that the project will only be out in 2018 following development.

“Current estimates place dev at about 2.5 years out from completion. This is 2.5 years from the time we get our full-time programmer on board. That means we are expecting early 2018 for a finalized build and 6 months for testing after that. We put out the notice that we are looking for programmers to supplement the work our main programmer will be doing, as well as simply getting things started as soon as possible.”

CIA, Inc. also revealed that it won’t be refunding backers currently. “We know a lot of people are disappointed with the delays and organization of Project Phoenix. We are not considering refunds at this time. To initiate refunds is to give up on the project since there would be no money left to complete it. If we make the decision to call it quits then we will work out some kind of remediation with backers at that time. Until then we are pressing on.”

Project Phoenix was originally slated to release in March 2015 but was delayed due to problems on the programming side. Though it’s nice to see a developer remain committed to a project despite hardships, it does seem weird that refunds won’t be offered for those who may want to back out for lack of results in all this time. What are your thoughts on the Project Phoenix delay? Let us know in the comments.

The hugely anticipated Project Phoenix, which began as a Kickstarter effort from the former developers of such household game names as Final Fantasy, Crysis, Diablo, and Halo, though it has been successfully funded via Kickstarter for some time now, has opened up its crowd-funding doors anew—this time via PayPal. Creative Intelligence Arts, the name of the team behind Project Phoenix, is offering up all new tiers of rewards and possible additional content should finding reach certain levels.

There are many different levels of support one can give, each granting a number of benefits. The top tier, valued at $5,000, will grant the donor every reward offered at the lower tiers combined. Here’s that full list:

• Artbook
• Closed Alpha Access
• Closed Beta Access
• Collector’s Edition Box
• Death’s Mantle
• Death’s Scythe
• Developer Card
• Developer Credits
• Developer Forum Access
• Developer Unlockables
• Digital Artbook
• Forum Access
• Making-of-Project Phoenix
• Making-of-Project Phoenix DVD
• Map of Azuregard
• Musical Score
• Project Phoenix Digital Download
• Project Phoenix DVD
• Project Phoenix Soundtrack
• Shadow Phoenix Egg
• Shadow Phoenix Mount
• Signed CE Box
• Soundtrack DVD
• Town Artwork
• Town Background
• Town Creation
• Town NPC
• Wings of the Fallen

If any of the above items tickle your fancy, make your way over to their PayPal support page now.

Source: Project Phoenix

While the world is currently enamoured with the reveal of Sony’s Cloud computing service for the PlayStation 4, dubbed PlayStation Now, don’t expect every single developer to hop on the bandwagon immediately. One such developer is Creative Intelligence Arts Inc., which is currently developing Project Phoenix for the PC, PS4 and PS Vita.

When we spoke to director Hiroaki Yura about utilizing features such as Cloud computing on the console, he replied, “Cloud computing is a bit of a touchy subject due to DRM issues. We recognize the convenience of having things like saved files to the cloud to make it easier to access your saved games on all your devices. Because this debate is still raging internally within our development team, we will let people know once we’ve come to a decision.”

Yura also quashed any expectations of Phoenix using the DualShock 4’s special features, such as the touchscreen, at this point. “There are no plans for making use of the DualShock’s 4 touchscreen since we want to focus on providing a solid game experience first and foremost. Again, things may change once we get our hands on our PS4 devkits.”

As of now, both decisions are currently pending and who knows? We may see Project Phoenix utilize both when it finally comes out. What are your thoughts on the game and on PlayStation Now? Let us know in the comments below.

GamingBolt recently had a chance to speak to director Hiroaki Yura about Project Phoenix, especially whether it would take advantage of PlayStation 4-specific features, its setting and his thoughts on the choice of PS Vita and PS4 for the game’s console release.

"Project Phoenix started as a humble Tower Defense game aimed at funding another game we have planned at the moment, however as our group grew in staffing, we started getting interest in “doing things to the best of our abilities”."

Ravi Sinha: Let’s get this out of the way: For being a squad based RTS JRPG, did you ever envision that Project Phoenix would have the level of success from its Kickstarter campaign that it did?

Hiroaki Yura: We’re as pleasantly surprised as most people are. Although we had had a few other Kickstarter projects that we looked towards as benchmarks, the reception that Project Phoenix received went beyond expectations.  For that, we’d definitely like to thank all of our backers for making this vision a reality and we’ll be hard at work bringing Project Phoenix to life!

Ravi Sinha: How did the idea come about for Project Phoenix? How was Creative Intelligence Arts Inc. formed and how did you finally decide on Kickstarter as the primary mode for funding?

Hiroaki Yura:  Project Phoenix started as a humble Tower Defense game aimed at funding another game we have planned at the moment, however as our group grew in staffing, we started getting interest in “doing things to the best of our abilities”. As we threw ideas around, I always loved RPGs and RTS and thought it’d be brilliant if we can put those two together.

CIA is a music company, it is being used as a company currently to host the Kickstarter service, however, we are planning to make a new game studio in the future before release. Kickstarter, well, we always had our aims for Kickstarter supporters since people who use the service often would probably love what we were thinking of, so it wasn’t a decision per say, it was one of earliest goals.

Ravi Sinha: Project Phoenix boasts an amazing level of professional talent. How did each team member bring their own level of expertise to the project in such a cohesive manner, despite some wildly varying backgrounds (with some having worked on titles such as Halo 4 and Crysis 3)?

Hiroaki Yura: In building the development team for Project Phoenix, my chief concern was that all of the pieces would fit together smoothly.  I needed people who I knew had the skills I was looking for, who would be professional, and, most importantly good to work with. Because of that, many of the people on Project Phoenix are either personal friends of mine, people I’ve worked with before, or are friends of friends who are enthusiastic and passionate about games.  Many of them are among the most respected people in their fields and are known for their ability to deliver solid work products.

"The game takes place on a world called Azuregard, which is a high-fantasy realm and is home to various human kingdoms as well as elves, dwarves, orcs, and other races which include those not native to the Western high fantasy tradition."

Ravi Sinha: You believe that Project Phoenix will bring back JRPGs to their roots but will also move forward along with the advancing technology. How are you planning to do that in Project Phoenix?

Hiroaki Yura: Though the idea of bringing JRPGs back to its roots in the face of advancing technology might seem to be at odds, it’s more easily understood if we stress aspects of JRPGs that have drawn people to the genre in the first place.  By that, we mean game elements like compelling narratives, memorable characters, and an enjoyable, engaging combat system.

It’s the battle system that allows us to try new things and with technology moving forward, we now have the capability to add more environmental interactivity compared to many JRPGs that are out on the market.  The result is that battles will become more dynamic without bogging the player down with too many options.  

Ravi Sinha: Let’s talk about the story. What is the setting of Project Phoenix? How are you making sure that the story will play a pivotal role in making the game addictive?

Hiroaki Yura: The game takes place on a world called Azuregard, which is a high-fantasy realm and is home to various human kingdoms as well as elves, dwarves, orcs, and other races which include those not native to the Western high fantasy tradition. So even though the setting is solid, what will make Project Phoenix successful and engaging will be the way in which players can identify with the game’s cast of characters.

Yoko Enoki, our scenario writer, has been pivotal in this regard.  The characters that she has created for Project Phoenix are down to earth, each with their own quirks.  But they also possess the depth that will make them resonate strongly with gamers everywhere.  

Ravi Sinha: The game features six playable characters. What kind of skills and special abilities will each of them have?

Hiroaki Yura: Without giving too much away you’ll have characters who function as the battering ram and are capable of creating strategic options like holes in walls to surprise enemies.  There’s one character who’s a scout, which gives her good sight range, allowing her to spot enemies and help your team with ambushes. Other character classes that you can expect to see include Templars who are well-trained in both offense and defense, samurai, and stealthy ninja.

Ravi Sinha: Can you talk about the leveling system and how do you plan to make it unique compared to other games in the same genre?

Hiroaki Yura: Leveling will be very similar to other games. You gain stats dependent on your class and skills open up as you progress. We don’t want to make it different because we want to be different; we only want to improve on areas that we think needs improving. That been said, we are thinking of putting grinding to a minimum (unless you are aiming for an endgame approach).

"In terms of map size, the world itself is huge. We’re talking a landmass about as big as Eurasia. With that said, we’ll make sure that traveling around a continent of that size won’t take too long and we’ll be setting places aside for future expansions or sequels to Project Phoenix."

Ravi Sinha: How many hours of gameplay can players expect? Furthermore how big the map is?

Hiroaki Yura: Right now, we’re expecting somewhere in the ballpark of 25-30 hours for people just looking to complete the game, but we’re offering endgame content that will stretch it out to about 60 hours, especially if you’re a hardcore completionist.

In terms of map size, the world itself is huge.  We’re talking a landmass about as big as Eurasia.  With that said, we’ll make sure that traveling around a continent of that size won’t take too long and we’ll be setting places aside for future expansions or sequels to Project Phoenix.

Ravi Sinha: We know that Phoenix will be heading to the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita but nothing for the Xbox One or Wii U/3DS. Is this for a lack of funding or did the PlayStation platform present more of a comfortable place for the team?

Hiroaki Yura: As far as the Wii U/3DS is concerned, Nintendo traditionally hasn’t been a company that’s widely embraced indie games.  Because of that, we weren’t planning on developing for any of Nintendo’s consoles.

With that said, we have been hearing rumblings of a more indie-friendly stance from Nintendo, but only time will tell for sure whether this stance is genuine. As for the Xbox One, we haven’t been approached by Microsoft and because of the support that we would need, we have no current plans in the works for Xbox One development.  

Ravi Sinha: How will the PS Vita version differ to the PS4 one?

Hiroaki Yura: We don’t know exactly yet until we get our hands on the dev kits. We don’t want to commit to anything yet.  

Ravi Sinha: I was taking a look at your Kickstarter video and you have placed a lot of emphasis on striking visual artwork. How does PlayStation 4’s architecture and 8 GB GDDR5 RAM help make things easier on the graphical side of things? Furthermore, how are you planning to come over the latency issues that GDDR5 brings along with it?

Hiroaki Yura: Striking visual artwork doesn’t mean it is great in terms of how much polygon we can use and how detailed it can be. We will be using great “design” which would work in low polygon models.

Of course, we are making sure that it wouldn’t look disappointing on any next gen consoles or even on the PC, we want a great experience for the gamers. In the end, it wasn’t “striking graphics” that sold Final Fantasy in the first place, and we really want to dig into the roots of what made JRPGs great.

"Cloud computing is a bit of a touchy subject due to DRM issues. We recognize the convenience of having things like saved files to the cloud to make it easier to access your saved games on all your devices. "

Ravi Sinha: Other than the power of the console, are you looking to utilize features such as Cloud computing and the DualShock 4’s touchscreen?

Hiroaki Yura: Cloud computing is a bit of a touchy subject due to DRM issues.  We recognize the convenience of having things like saved files to the cloud to make it easier to access your saved games on all your devices.  Because this debate is still raging internally within our development team, we will let people know once we’ve come to a decision.

There are no plans for making use of the DualShock’s 4 touchscreen since we want to focus on providing a solid game experience first and foremost. Again, things may change once we get our hands on our PS4 devkits.  

Ravi Sinha: Given the recent developments for Valve, what with SteamOS, the Steam Controller and machines, do you feel this will be a significant step forward for games like Project Phoenix which will be heading to the platform? Will it be a viable alternative to consoles such as the PS4 and does it affect development at all at this stage?

Hiroaki Yura: The only benefit we see is that it’ll allow people who want to play Project Phoenix on a controller while using Steam to be able to do so.  Controller use isn’t going to magically add functionalities that weren’t already going to be there, so if you prefer pointing and clicking with a mouse or using a controller to navigate around, well that’s entirely up to you.  Otherwise, it has no effect on development.  

Ravi Sinha: From a development perspective, what is your opinion on the PS4’s GPU? Do you think it will be stand the test of times in the coming years?  

Hiroaki Yura: We think it will do the job. Our job is to make sure the gaming experience is great for the gamers and not complain about the hardware our gamers will be using =D  

Ravi Sinha: JRPGs today like Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XV are heavily emphasizing a more action oriented approach. You could’ve easily turned Project Phoenix into a hack and slash experience as well. Why go for a squad-based RTS game?

Hiroaki Yura: We simply wanted to go after a battle system that emphasizes team-based combat in a way that is engaging as you have plenty of options at your disposal as you seek to grind out strategic advantages.  A hack and slash battle system doesn’t have the kind of experience that we’re looking to bring to Project Phoenix.  

Ravi Sinha: Do you have any plans to add second screen support for the PS4 version? [via tablets, PS Vita and mobiles]

Hiroaki Yura: There are currently no plans in place for second screen support.

The Kickstarter campaign for Japanese role playing game, Project Phoenix closed today with donations totaling over $1 million. Developers Creative Intelligence Arts set the initial donation goal at $100,000.

The total amount raised as of this morning, when the project closed, was $1,014,600. The outrageously high donation margin allowed the development team to include and fully fund a number of stretch goals, making for additional character models, a fully explorative over-world, and customizable player characters. Gaming Kickstarter campaigns often include additional donation goals once the initial goal has been reached, promising expanded game features for future hit goals.

Project Phoenix is a strategic, squad-centric JRPG and hosts a multi-national team of development veterans. Included on the team are Hiroaki Yura, who has worked on such games as Diablu 3 and Valkyria Chronicles, Nobuo Uematsu, who is the genius composer behind the majority of the Final Fantasy series, and Kiyoshi Arai, which has been the art director for many Square Enix projects.

Project Phoenix is set to launch in mid-2015 across PC, Mac, Linux, PS Vita, and PS4, with limited versions of the game releasing on Android and iOS.

Via: Polygon

Project Phoenix managed to accrue more than $730,000 from 12,153 backers despite just needing $100,000 with 5 days still remaining, and combines RPG mechanics with squad tactics. It will be arriving on Linux, Mac and PC along with mobile platforms. It features developers who have worked on titles such as Final Fantasy, Halo, Crysis and many more titles. It will be arriving by mid-2015.

For those who haven’t had a chance to contribute to the Kickstarter can still contribute to the crowd-funding through PayPal. There will be pledge tiers for the PS4 and Vita versions, and existing backers will be able to change their platform of choice later.

Project Phoenix, for those of you not in the know, is a Kickstarter project that is trying to unite the best Japanese game making talent to create an RPG that takes influences from both, WRPGs and JRPGs. The project, which has some massive names attached to it, has understandably attracted a lot of attention. The developers have now taken it upon themselves to throw more light on the game and what they are planning for it via a series of videos. The first one of these, that you see above, explains one particular aspect of combat in depth: terrain.

There are many ways this factors into the game, from the obvious ones such as line of sight to the less obvious ones such as vantage points and squad based effects, and it seems to lend the game the promised depth and complexity of an SRPG.

Project Phoenix is planned for a variety of platforms, including PC, iOS, Android, PS4, and Wii U. We’ll have more for you on the game as it develops.

The Kickstarter page for new game Project Phoenix has gone live, and the game looks to be pretty ambitious in its scope.

The page describes the game as a JRPG with ‘squad based RTS gameplay’ at one point, and an RTS with ‘Japanese RPG influences’ at another, is nonetheless a ‘AAA title’  which is bringing together the top talent from Japan and the west, including famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. The game promises a nice amalgamation of eastern and western sensibilities, and also claims to be the first Kickstarter video game project from Japan.

Project Phoenix is aiming chiefly to be a single player game, though multiplayer modes and functionality is not out of the question; it is also aiming for PC, Mac, and Linux versions. iOS and Android versions will also be made, but they will be different games. Other platforms, which include the PS4, and possibly the Wii U and Xbox One, are also being floated, and might be accommodated if the game reaches its goals.