Edge of Eternity Interview: Producer Talks Inspirations, Release Date, World-Building, and More

Edge Of Eternity

Midgar Studio’s Edge of Eternity is, without a doubt, one of the most promising JRPGs in recent years, with an amazing world, characters, and lore. 

We recently got a chance to sit down with the game’s Producer and Scenarist, Guillaume Veer, to discuss what players can expect from Edge of Eternity, the main inspiration behind the game, its release date and more.

Check out the full interview below:

I would like to start by thanking you for agreeing to do this interview, is a pleasure to meet you. I am currently playing the early access version of the game, and loving every second of it.

Guillaume Veer Thank you very much! And for the kind review on The Click, too!

What was the team’s main inspiration behind the development of Edge of Eternity? 

Guillaume – The Final Fantasy series when it comes to the general feeling, the maturity, the world-building, and the soundtrack, what Squaresoft has done throughout the nineties has been a big landmark for us.

For the large, sprawling environments, we took inspiration from the Xenoblade series, as we wanted to convey both a sense of amazement at the world and the smallness of the heroes, involved in stakes that transcend their personal quest. We also did a few nods to other series, like the Breath of Fire or Shadow Hearts.

Edge of Eternity Early Access
Credit: Midgar Studios

The game mixes elements from both fantasy and sci-fi. How was the process of finding the balance between both? 

Guillaume – Mixing fantasy and sci-fi is a JRPG’s most prominent trope, it’s something we’ve always witnessed at some point in most games of the genre.

There is always a moment in those games when a classical fantasy world diverges into sci-fi. Early in the project, it seemed like a most natural thing to do. Once we were set into making the world of Heryon the theater of a confrontation between the two, we had to determine how they would meet and clash each with each other. 

Long story short, the world of Heryon was on the verge of entering its own industrial revolution when the Archelites arrived, confronted with a new technology, completely alien to their own, the people of Heryon were barely exploring the new ventures that magic – and the industrial exploitation of crystals – offered to them.

In such a situation, how would the Heryonese governments react? How would the people? And when a completely unprecedented disease shows up, what can happen?

These questions were essential to the world-building of Edge of Eternity.

Something that caught my eye when I first played was how real the interactions feel, especially between Daryon and Selene. What was your main focus on projecting the interactions between the characters? And your main concern?

Guillaume – The relationship between Daryon & Selene spawns from general writing focus, which was to make the heroes sound and feel like they were actual people, and not stereotypical heroes.

To be completely honest, they are *still* stereotypical in many ways, but we wanted mostly for them to have grounded behaviours and preoccupations. Daryon starts the story by becoming a non-hero, a deserter.

Instead of starting a hero’s journey, he refuses to take part in the salvation of the world. He turns his back on defending his country, the world : only the fate of his family matters to him now. We wanted the player to understand how *normal* Daryon is by showing his relationship to his friends, and family. Most of all, we want our heroes to be deeply relatable.

Their decisions spawn from somewhere, they are not in a quest to save the world because it is “the right thing to do.” Daryon and Selene are both moved by some idea of “greater good” and “justice”, though their own definitions of those concepts differ.

Every character in a story gives a unique perspective on the plot and the world, we wanted Daryon and Selene to feel complementary, help, support and sometimes oppose each other, the way siblings do.

Daryon-and-Selene
Credit: Midgar Studios

Do you guys have a release window planned for the full game, now that its first 6 chapters are already available in Early Acess? 

Guillaume Yes! We have a release window planned: spring 2021! … Which starts in a few days, I guess. We will soon be able to narrow it down. Stay tuned!

Currently, the title is planned for release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Is there a chance for the game to come to the Nintendo Switch as well? And, can we expect versions for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S to be announced? 

Guillaume – At this time, it is still too early for us to say anything. One thing is sure: we would *love* to release Edge of Eternity on Switch, but right now, it seems like it is out of our reach.

To conclude, do you have a message to the fans that are waiting eagerly for the game’s full release?

Guillaume – Thank you for your support. If you’re hanging out on our Discord, that’s probably something you already know.

You guys have been nothing but supportive, have provided us with continuous feedback, which has greatly helped us putting the game on the right tracks. We couldn’t have done it without you. For those who haven’t played the game yet, it’s a throwback to the 90’s and 00’s JRPG genre: if you’re missing those kind of games, then Edge of Eternity will probably be right up your alley!

READ MORE: The best JRPGs for beginners – Where should you start?

Edge of Eternity is currently available in Steam’s Early Acess and will be released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Check out our thoughts on the title here.

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