TRIANGLE STRATEGY is a strategy wargame developed by Square Enix in the HD-2D art style. Since the game's launch on the Switch platform on March 4, it has been well received and loved by many players for its excellent narrative and fun-filled battles.
Recently, Bandai Namco invited Chinese media, including Shanguo, to conduct an interview with Mr. Yasuaki Arai, the producer of Triangle Strategy, to discuss the development direction, story and system design, and answer the questions of players. The original text of the interview is as follows:
Q: Most of the team's past works have been mainly RPGs, why did Triangle Strategy become a strategy wargame type game?
A: Because we think this game genre is best suited to depict the "group portrait drama" form that is more difficult to express in previous works.
Q: What are the similarities and differences between Triangle Strategy and other strategy battle game?
A: The same is that they are all timeline turn-based battles that unfold from a beveled perspective with terrain differences; the difference is that in Triangular Strategy, according to the player's "belief", sometimes the plot does not develop as the player thinks.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in development?
A: The biggest challenge is to create a "modern style strategy game". In more detail, there are streamlining the number of values (TP) that players need to master, making the UI clearer and more understandable, revisiting gameplay (chasing, cooperating, adding unique units, and keeping the game balanced), and so on.
Q: Will you consider launching your work in another art style (such as changing the character, no longer HD-2D) in the future?
A: Please forgive me for not commenting. This is the same as HD-2D, depending on the reaction of the players. (We are still trying to find a picture style that matches the player's preferences)
Q: Why did you choose to cooperate with Akira Senju to play the soundtrack?
A: The main reason is because the production team and Sensei Chizumi already knew each other, but on the other hand, it was also because the magnificent music created by Sensei Chizumi in works such as Ōkawa Drama was very suitable for this work.
Q: What kind of ideas in the theme song "Song of TRIANGLE STRATEGY" want to convey to players?
A: I hope that all players can enjoy the music and freely imagine the ideas that are meant to be conveyed.
Q: From the release of the demo version to the present, what kind of feedback have players given? What adjustments did the team make based on player feedback?
A: We have received a lot of feedback, as for the adjustments made to the official version, there is a collation on the website, welcome to refer to. （https://www.jp.square-enix.com/trianglestrategy/enquete/）
Q: Will there be any future DLC updates that extend the story or supplement the prequel story?
A: There is no such plan.
Q: Are you considering a sequel in the future? Will the strategic wargame type be continued?
A: If there is an opportunity to launch a sequel, I will be very happy, and please give you more support.
Q: Will it be ported to other platforms? What considerations did the team have when deciding to port the platform?
Q: Why did you choose the three-way confrontation and the Battle of Salt and Iron as the background of the story?
A: Since we created a story that adults can enjoy from the bottom of their hearts, we think it is the most likely setting for players to integrate into the plot.
Q: Are there any historical facts?
A: No, there is no reference to historical facts. The salt and national aspects refer to a lot of literature.
Q: What is the reason for choosing to use the balance to determine the direction instead of letting the player decide directly from the dialogue?
A: Because we originally decided on the policy of "a story experience that changes with the player's play style", we believe that this is the most suitable project to achieve this goal.
Q: As the game's plot deepens, the sense of "difficult to choose" brought by the balance system will gradually increase, and many players have also said in the evaluation that some choices make them very hesitant. So how did the development team consider combining it with the storyline and gameplay at the beginning of the balance system design?
A: Initially we decided to align with the player's beliefs and justice to make "every option look like the right answer" and designed the options, lines, and text of the exploration article in this way. Because this game describes the war between people, the main story cannot be easily added to the battle section. In contrast, we have decided to give significance to every battle, and so the process and decision of events to become a war is of equal importance. It would be our pleasure for all of us to experience the joy of thinking about it.
Q: Which of the three routes of balance is your favorite?
A: Benedict's decision route. Thinking about Mr. Nakamura's acting skills in the scene of Roland's duel now still makes my blood boil. The decisions and strategies made by the Benedict military master to lead the protagonist to the path of overlord made me rack my brains, so I was particularly emotional.
Q: Do you have any suggestions for players to choose a route?
A: Please do not refer to the raider information in the first round of the game, and play according to the beliefs and justice you believe in.
Q: The proportion of the plot in the game is very large, why is it arranged like this?
A: Because the main theme of this project is "a story that adults can enjoy from the bottom of their hearts". I have re-realized that adhering to our corporate philosophy of "providing the most exciting 'stories' to enhance the happiness of people around the world" can indeed respond to the expectations of players.
Q: How does the team handle the balance between plot and combat?
A: With the motto of "creating for adults", we pay special attention not to let the fight happen too casually (to make it clear who to fight with and what). This led us to scale back the battles in the story, but also to make each battle more weighty. Reduced battles are presented in the form of "battle deductions", allowing players to enjoy a variety of changes. (We consider the plot separately from the weight of the battle to maintain the proper balance)
Q: The role is fixed and cannot be transferred horizontally, so why design it this way?
A: Due to the "modern style of strategy game" policy, we paid special attention to making the game easy to play and easy to play, so we adopted this design. And if you use a high degree of freedom customization system, each character can be arbitrarily transferred, and we are worried that the best class combination will be created (e.g. all characters shoot arrows from high), resulting in the failure of the hard-won project. It was only after many discussions by the development team that the current direction was decided, that is, to make each unit have easy-to-master features, so that players can enjoy the fun of organizing their own troops from a strategic point of view. This choice also makes the personality and background of each character more three-dimensional, and the lines and images of the characters are more convincing, which is also helpful for writing the plot.
Q: The medals required for a career to upgrade are not easy to get started with, why is this designed?
A: Because we want to make players think about how to allocate limited resources and enjoy strategic fun. This game will be designed on the premise of playing multiple rounds, which is also based on this reason.
Q: It is difficult to accumulate the number of points required to get started with powerful stunts in the game, is it deliberately designed in this way?
A: Yes, this is deliberately designed, and it is also hoped that the player will have the motivation to play a few more rounds.
Q: At normal difficulty, the character level of the first round seems to never keep up with the recommended level of the level, and it is not easy to obtain resources, why is it designed?
A: The main purpose is to allow players to level up through imaginary battles. Another reason is that based on the design of this game to gain experience points, even if the character level is not yet at the recommended level, it can catch up in battle, and in case the game is over, the experience points can also be inherited, so I hope that players can challenge the battle with a more relaxed mood. In the final stages of development, when I played the game from start to finish, I deliberately challenged at a level below the recommended level, and enjoyed the fun of leveling up in thrilling battles.
Q: Would you consider introducing a simpler or more difficult mode to take care of players who want to focus on experiencing the story or prefer to challenge the difficulty? (Although the game already has lower difficulty options, some players who are not good at wargames will still find it difficult)
A: Unfortunately, there are no such plans at this time.
Q: What are your expectations for the Triangle Strategy?
A: I hope it becomes a work that will make many players interested in playing and enjoying it for a long time.
Q: The game is already on sale, do you think it has met your expectations?
A: Personally, I think the rewards of this game are better than I expected. Especially the game plot, because I was in charge, I was originally worried about how the players would judge the plot of this game, but in fact, it was well received by many players, which made me relieved.
Q: Is there anything you would like to say to the player?
A: Thank you very much for playing this game. Hearing you say, "Have a great time," is our biggest motivation. Please continue to support us in the future.
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