![]() While Colin continued modeling the buildings, I created another character - Vivi.” Initially, it was progressing at a snail's pace - we were slowly chipping away at it for over a year without making a lot of progress. “I had already modeled Princess Garnet, and thought it could be a fun idea to combine our talents to reimagine the opening area of Alexandria. “Memoria actually started unofficially as a side project when I reached out to Colin Valek Sucker Punch Studios in early 2020 after I came across his fanart of an environment from FF7,” Eder says. It still has a long way to go, but there’s little urgency to reach the finish line, so the team can take their time and just enjoy the nostalgic indulgence of it all. This is very much how Memoria Project found its feet, beginning life as a trivial side activity before blossoming into something infinitely more ambitious. In short, this project is my way of thanking this game for everything it has done for me over the past 21 years.”Įder’s passion for this game can be found across several industry professionals who grew up with games like this and wanted to replicate them, or create something entirely unique to live up to their brilliance. My unconditional love for this game persisted throughout my entire childhood and adult life, and it is one of the central reasons why I chose to become a 3D character artist in the video game industry. It didn't really matter to me though, since I was absolutely enamored with the incredible cast of characters, jaw-dropping FMV sequences, mesmerizing music, thrilling gameplay, and just the overall atmosphere and charm it exuded at every step. “As a non-native English speaker who had never played an RPG up until that point, my first playthrough was a challenging experience to say the least, and I can honestly say that I understood literally nothing of what was going on the first time I finished the game (how I even managed to beat it is a mystery in and of itself). ![]() We have never, and will never, make a single dollar out of this project, and are basically doing this for the personal gratification of the fans.” no different from any other fan-made piece of artwork. The key difference is that, unlike those projects, Memoria is essentially an elaborate piece of fan art, nothing more - it will have no actual gameplay, will never be released to the public, and is nothing more than a ‘what-if’ scenario. “People are understandably skeptical of the longevity potential of yet another passion project. ![]() But the team keeps moving forward: “Without a doubt, some of the most frequent comments we get from naysayers is ‘have fun with it while it lasts’ or ‘cease and desist incoming’”, Eder explains. It’s somewhat anomalous in the world of community creations, but Eder wants to use this distinct identity to craft something truly special, even if many obstacles stand in the way of making it a reality. It isn’t aiming to be a playable remake of the epic adventure though - instead, it’s an aesthetic homage to its timeless world and characters. “It is no secret that fan projects get shut down all the time,” Dan Eder tells me about Final Fantasy 9: Memoria Project, a fan-driven love letter to the classic JRPG.
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