Development Persona 5

1 development

1.1 story , themes
1.2 art design
1.3 music

development

preparation development of next persona title began in 2010. rumors of development floating around since 2009, when sony s mobile website listed katsura hashino game s director. according source, preparatory work going on in 2008 while persona 4 still in development. preparatory development nearing completion in august 2011, full development beginning after following completion of catherine. hashino involved in development after catherine finished, later calling latter game test next persona title s development. development lasted 5 years. when production started, staff consisted of around 40 people. during full production, number expanded 70: 15 planners, 15 programmers, , between 30 , 45 designers. these included game s lead designer naoya maeda, had done modelling work trauma team series. general development challenge team, intentionally changed development structure due more powerful hardware working with.

while final game retained turn-based system earlier entries, 1 of design drafts action-based system incorporating real-time elements foreign series. idea scrapped, real-time command elements introduced battle system, allowing gameplay evolve without extensive change core system. major new addition inclusions of unique dungeons locked layouts opposed dominant randomly generated dungeons of previous persona titles. done both emulate game s themes , provide veteran players different. returning feature both earlier persona titles , mainline megami tensei series negotiation: considered key part of overall franchise fans, hashino decided reintroduce after being absent previous 2 mainline entries. negotiation system persona 5 tied origins of shadows suppressed psyches within collective unconscious. hold function inspired scenes in films antagonist hold people @ gunpoint , make demands. these functions incorporated due title being in part celebration of series history. while designing gameplay elements, weather , environmental elements designed reflect real world. dungeon layout split 3 distinct types: tokyo overworld environments, institutions such protagonist s high school, , dungeon environments. segments took control away player aside limited dialogue choices; chosen reflected controlled environment of japanese high schoolers. lead programmer game yujiro kosaka, served same role on persona 4 , catherine.

while catherine used third-party gamebryo game engine, persona 5 used specially-created engine. hashino believed new engine make rendering ideas easier, although result in long wait fans game. event scene software developed internally atlus, estimated 1,160 being featured in final game. tools developing , handling them expanded on previous 2 entries communicate them players on more advanced hardware. character modelling in general handled specially-developed toon shader helped translate character designs game, while allowing easy adjustment of shaders , lighting effects during fine tuning. characters rendered realistically in catherine, felt wrong persona series. in mind, team did trial , error before finding style satisfied them. did similar interface , menu design. in contrast persona 4, had general deformed hardware limitations on variety of body shapes, technology available team persona 5 enabled unique customization relevant character models. 2 different models used members of main cast: detailed model real-time cutscenes, , general-use model standard event scenes , general gameplay. persona 5 first time large number of personas had been rendered in high definition, proved grueling challenge team.

story , themes

the original story concept written hashino. scenario co-written shinji yamamoto , yuichiro tanaka. initial concept storyline diverged established paths of persona 3 , persona 4, self-discovery , journey being keywords. using frame story of backpacking trip around world, hashino decided refocus on japan in wake of 2011 tōhoku earthquake. following that, , seeing way people bonding in face of crisis, hashino decided have story take place solely in japan, journeying being through ever-shifting palace. according hashino, central theme of game freedom , how characters attain it. wanted make game more thematically approachable newcomers series, , emotional experience presents players mix of emotions leaves audience strong sense of catharsis , inspiration take on own modern-day problems.

the story s central concepts inspired equivalent social changes hashino saw in modern society, particularly in japan. narrative of persona 5 designed omnibus, antagonists pursued party changing regularly. 3 main stories team used inspiration water margin shi nai an, japanese crime movie hakuchuu no shikaku, , anonymously authored spanish novel lazarillo de tormes. setting , style compared picaresque fiction; question team asked in regard how character arsène lupin iii might win appeal in modern society. these themes carried on aesthetics of persona fusion , sacrifice, themed after styles of capital punishment. having more stereotypical theme enabled team create surprising story developments, mixing contemporary drama setting of persona series. series recurring motif of masks used more overtly in game s plot previous entries. game s main locations based heavily on real world counterparts.

the main characters, according hashino, share mindset no longer have place belong in society : events of game give them sense of belonging. hashino stated while last few titles protagonists chasing antagonists, persona 5 feature more of antagonists , phenomena caused them chasing protagonists during activities. characters have been described juvenile academics . activities thieves part of way break way societal norms , express themselves. main aim of game show characters finding courage go outside normal limits of society set previous generations. in contrast previous persona casts, party of persona 5 willingly embrace unfolding unusual events in role of masked vigilantes rather being dragged them. cast going larger character hifumi togo becoming phantom thief, story large, relegated supporting role part of confidant system. technological advances such smartphones , use of social media integrated both story , gameplay due growing prevalence in modern society.

the characters initial personas (arsène, captain kidd, carmen, zorro, goemon, johanna, necronomicon, milady, , robin hood) themed after outlaws , picaresque heroes reflect function , dominant suppressed passions forming palace, , represent aspects of owners personalities. protagonist s initial persona german demon mephistopheles, changed arsène latter character better fit game s themes. cast s alternate personas (satanael, seiten taisei, hecate, mercurius, kamu susanoo, anat, prometheus, astarte, loki) taken mythical beings act tricksters or rebels. 3 main inspirations behind protagonist s alter ego original arsène lupin, fiend twenty faces, , ishikawa goemon. name of protagonist s high school, shujin , chosen because homonym of shūjin (囚人), japanese word prisoner . following trend earlier entries, velvet room assistants named after characters novel frankenstein mary shelley. use of adults antagonists more overt expression of narrative elements explored in persona 4. relation police activities carried on persona 4, time role of protagonists , antagonists reversed. game s villains , protagonists parallels of each other, both being misfits trying shape world saw unsatisfactory or corrupted. intended create ambiguity phantom thieves actions, causing player question concept of justice. questioning extended mission whole, influenced way vocal minority online draw public attention events , scandals in news.

art design

shigenori soejima, had worked on last 2 main-series persona titles, returned character designer. game s art director masayoshi suto, notable work on earlier titles included user interface (ui) displays. art design reflected picaresque theme aimed rest of team. according soejima, working on designs then-prospective persona 5 while previous game still in development: designs evolved story persona 5 came together. aesthetically, team felt picking persona 4 left off. styling presentation unintentional reflection on hurdles team needed overcome during development. thematic color of game red, of persona 3 , 4 blue , yellow respectively. red color meant convey harsh feeling. because of this, suto tested multiple font colors until settling on black , white, stood out best against color. there wish, in teaser image used game s announcement, represented main characters being chained down rules of modern world. soejima designed logo convey high-speed existences of young cast, while elements such protagonist s persona arsène designed appear old-fashioned comparison. presented challenges soejima needed balance strong sense of style. main aim game s environments create sense of realism npc movements, elements within tokyo s districts such street trash , graffiti. when creating ui, hashino wanted demonstrate how shift in perspective alter dull life exciting 1 in context of story. ui designs aggressively animated obscured happening in game. because of this, animations toned down , text orientation altered, toning down ui s graphical elements present balance between user-friendliness , style. rather use of sub-colors earlier entries, ui used primary red, black , white colors aside health , magic point meters, menus using special moving 3d model of protagonist change position depending on selected menu.

the first character sketches submitted in 2012. soejima worked closely hashino characters , environments reflected game s themes. due being high school students, soejima found difficult make each main character s uniform design distinctive, instead expressing individuality through thief costumes. protagonist s design cited soejima challenging recent work. protagonist needed both convey taste of game s overall artstyle, , act avatar player. main theme , narrative of persona 5 revolved around crime , vigilantes triggered protagonist voluntarily choosing path, soejima needed convey while allowing character suit whatever dialogue choices player decided upon. due these difficulties, protagonist given multiple designs in trial , error process find best one. phantom thief premise common stereotype in fiction, soejima drew protagonist , main cast in style similar shōnen manga, these designs scrapped clashed persona series realistic aesthetics. previous entries, protagonist silent character, previous protagonist soejima had work out way communicate without dialogue. solution imagine persona 5 protagonist type of person made plans did not share them others. persona designs, being based on literary characters, intended evoke both familiarity , surprise players. once names chosen, soejima designed personas based on character.

the game s anime cutscenes created production i.g, , directed , supervised toshiyuki kono. kono directed 3 , half years prior game s completion hashino: faced project, kono felt great deal of pressure in role. persona 5 first time production i.g had worked on series, though many staff @ studio fans. despite this, studio did not change standard animation process, focusing on characters had done many of previous projects. important part of cutscenes getting character s expressions right, particularly when came general-mute protagonist. storyboarding game s opening handled sayo yamamoto, director of lupin third: woman called fujiko mine. concept opening of characters figure skating around environment suggested director. intended visual symbolization of opening s theme: breaking free of external force. scene protagonist first summoned persona requested atlus appear wild , again difficult protagonist s purpose extension of player. blue flame effects related persona not created cgi, hand-drawn animators. anime cutscenes estimated containing on hour of footage.

music

the original score game composed, arranged, , produced shoji meguro, sound director persona series. further contributions , other general sound design handled toshiki konishi, kenichi tsuchiya, atsushi kitajoh, , ryota koduka; of them having worked on series well. opening theme wake up, up, out there , further vocal themes sung lyn inaizumi, first performance in video game after career jazz , soul music singer. when singing opening theme, difficult part inaizumi singing rap segment in english. vocal contributions other tracks surprised her. meguro s main concern performance lyn s pronunciation of english lyrics on point . english lyrics written long-term collaborator benjamin franklin, while lyrics ending song stars , written shigeo komori.

in order express game s mood, meguro incorporated acid jazz elements score, including opening theme, mixed strings vocals , additional instrumentation. aimed make music sound realistic, aiming match game s graphics. boss themes, included hard rock elements convey battle between strong enemy , party. meguro changed way music flowed when compared last 2 persona games: instead of opening , ending themes being conglomerates of general score, described entire score single continuous work. recurring musical element included across soundtrack described do-la syllable: opening used la re mi on strings hook, led do-la syllable other tracks such normal battle theme. while creating music, meguro received hashino when made positive comments on tracks created internal demo. meguro given full creative freedom work on soundtrack without restrictions, 80% of tracks used in game being his. work on soundtrack lasted around 3 years.

the game s official soundtrack released in japan mastard records three-disc set on january 17, 2017. album featured 110 tracks, , cover art created soejima. in addition standard release, special disc selected tracks titled persona 5 -sounds of rebellion- released part of north american , european collector s edition. full soundtrack received international digital release on itunes on april 18, 2017. upon debut in japan, album reached #5 in oricon charts sales of on 29,000 copies.