Final fantasy 10 begins with a close up of a selection of objects on top of a hill before cutting to a group of characters gathered around a campfire. As the camera pans around the characters, one stands up. He places one hand on a female characters shoulder as he walks past her. They share a glance before he slowly climbs up a hill. When he reaches the top an inner monologue cuts in. From this the player can already establish that this character is going to be their player character for the rest of the game because he uses a key phrase “Listen to my Story…”
The camera then fades to the title screen. When it returns a child is walking across a boat to join a growing crowd. The crowd begin cheering and the player character emerges from another craft opposite to them. From this the player knows that the Player character is well liked amongst the community (maybe even to the point of stardom – considering that his costume is mirrored by many small children holding balls) It’s at this point that the player gains “control” over the player character, and can navigate within the game world. While no specific goal is outlined, to further the story can the player must converse with the crowd, and from this those previous assumptions are proven to be a fact when the characters in the crowd ask for autographs. It is at this point that the player can name the player character. From the default name, the player character is known as Tidus, but this can be changed to whatever the player deems fit. Already the player can grow closer or detached to the character by the name they give to Tidus (it may be their own or something odd as a joke (hence detached is mentioned (although in some instances this might unconventionally create attachment to the character)).
Within moments of playing the game, through the reaction of other NPC (non-playable characters) the character has an idea of a few elements about the character “Tidus”.
-From the cheering crowd (and even the presence of a crowd), Tidus is a celebrity in his world.
-Since many small children are wearing his outfit and are carrying sporting like balls, Tidus is a sports star and his costume is in actuality the uniform of his sporting team
- From the conversations with a small group of female NPC’s it is clear that Tidus is both a Crowd Pleaser and has an outgoing personality (“If I score a goal, I’ll do this ...and It means it’s for you…”). Whether his outgoing personality is restricted simply to being a ‘Ladies Man’ is yet to be seen in the opening moments but yet his conversations with the younger members of the crowd suggest that he is generally outgoing.
- The sombre atmosphere and presence of characters not yet revealed (and a much more desolate locale) shows that the character Tidus has experienced much off screen before he reminisces.
- The way the female character looked at Tidus in the cinematic sequence was much different to that of other characters, and maybe indicated to the player that their relationship might be deeper than it seems.
After the character speaks to two members of the crowd, a non-interactive scene begins where three NPC begin to ask Tidus if he can teach them how to “Blitz” (which again from the previous two conversations, the player can deduce that this is the colloquial for “Blitzball” the sport that Tidus plays.). Tidus promises the kids that he will tomorrow but the boy from opening of the scene abruptly says that he cannot. Tidus turns and looks at the kid before saying “maybe …the day after”. The broken promise to the kids is another hint that the player character just wants to please others, while the awkward relationship between the strange boy and Tidus is somewhat foreboding.
When the scene changes, Tidus is seen to be rushing along a long walkway. As he stops, he looks up at a building where there is an older man on a television screen. Tidus pouts and grunts disapprovingly before turning away. This is where player regains control. From that reaction the player discovers that the character does not like the mysterious figure on screen (that the resulting non diegetic radio commentary suggests is called “Jecht”). The player can then navigate down the long walkway – talking with various characters but cannot go back the way Tidus came (impossible action indicating that the player characters goal is something important). When the player has passed the walkway, a predefined viewing frame activates.
The predefined viewing frame highlights a large amount of crowd that blocks Tidus. The player must push through the crowd (with Tidus occasionally saying “Hey get out of the way!” “I’ve got a game to play!” -displaying a small amount of annoyance at the situation). After the player gets through a cut scene activates. From the facial visuals, a clear Asian influence can be seen on Tidus’s design, and from the actions of the character in the “blitzball arena” shows a slight arrogance in the way he acts (he slams a player out of the water sphere, with a sly smile on his face) but the athleticism is shown in his leap from the sphere and almost overhead kick. At this point the appearance of a large creature that attacks makes him lose both his concentration and his arrogance. He panics as he grasps onto a thin platform before falling off screaming. When the cutscene concludes Tidus is seen climbing out of rubble. The camera cuts to a pre-defined viewing frame, and Tidus looks up and sees a man in red clothing leaning up against rubble (he too appeared in the cutscene). He cries out to the figure “Auron” (which the player can assume is that character’s name). At this point the player regains control.
Already the player has learnt quite a lot about the personality, physical state and the game world’s view on the character of Tidus. As play continues, so does the players understanding of Tidus (a little after that mysterious figure Jecht is revealed as Tidus’s “old man” and also Tidus’s inexperience with a weapon also comes to the forefront when he is presented with a sword off Auron “from Jecht”.
Several audio visual techniques are crucial to the success of those representations. Firstly the signifiers created by the crowd cheering indicate the worlds view on tidus. The dialogue and inner monologue play an important part also in revealing what Tidus is like to the NPC’s in his world (outgoing, a little arrogant, willing to please). The character design, placement of that design on others all attribute to the players early understanding of Tidus’s profession while his facial animations reveal a little of what he thinks.
Plus the use of the Sjuzet in Final Fantasy 10’s opening scene has been beneficial to setting the scene. Placing the player immediately in a scene quite removed from the opening (and they have no idea where) before returning to the start gives the story and the actions of Tidus urgency. Also as the player completes the “Zanarkand” segment of the game, already they are moving through “the Hero’s Journey” (as explained in Video Game Spaces). The ordinary world (fame, friendships and success), the immergence of a mentor (Auron) and the destruction of Zanarkand (and thus the ordinary world) -They all are steps on the Hero’s journey.
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