Hey there! I'm Yoshinori Ono, CEO at Lasengle.
Welcome to my blog and thanks for dropping by!
Have you brought peace back to Hyrule? Are you finally free from your beeping Sheikah Sensor? Or maybe you've started sorting through your carry-over items and gathering info ready for the big Diablo 4 Season 1 release on July 21.
As for me, I got a late start on my adventure in Valisthea, and while I'm only about halfway through, I can officially share my take on this game: truly epic. Personal preferences aside, this new Final Fantasy really lets the players experience all the amazing action elements that the game has.
For one, summons, a signature feature throughout the FF series, are brought right into the action. And I'm enjoying how the game mechanic is designed in a way that makes you master the techniques and find your own strategy. Honestly, I can't stop grinning as I play this game!
Even though I'm only halfway through, the story and world-building have ticked all the boxes for me. The complex relationships between nations, races and people reveal conflicts on political, racial and emotional levels. But, despite the complexity, it's all cleverly worked into the narrative in a way that even someone like me can get fully immersed in the story.
As I'm playing, my mind is buzzing with things like "Ooh, what's gonna happen now?", and "Wait, what?", or "Ahh, okay, so that's how it is!". Like I said, I'm only halfway through but, this game, it's truly epic. Yep, no chance of my leaving Valisthea anytime soon.
Right now, my biggest challenge is trying to find enough time to hole up at home, and play all the awesome titles that are set for release between now and the autumn.
Talking of challenges, we've recently held a gaming event at Lasengle hosted by the Lasengle Fighting Game Club.
The winner has been entered into the fighting game tournament at EVO 2023. It's always a great event to watch, but this year we'll have the added element of cheering on one of the competitors.
We also held a huge in-person social, to bring together as many members of the team as possible.
BBQ time!!
The event was open to team members and their families. It was a chance for those working remotely to get together in-person, interact, and just find out more about each other. The event might have been kinda retro, but I hope everyone had as much fun as me.
We organized a treasure hunt and other games and events just for kids, and a pub quiz for the adults with luxury meal vouchers and game consoles as prices. We wanted to avoid it being all about drinking, and make sure it was something the whole family could enjoy.
We had around 250 participants, which is a big crowd for an event like this, but it was so worth it! You can tell from the photos that I was having a blast. It was just so great to hang with people I'd only seen on screen, share a drink and a conversation.
And to top it all, we somehow managed to time it with a simultaneous event held in Osaka for those team members who couldn't make it to Tokyo. Seeing the team in Osaka taking the initiative and pulling this amazing feat off really made my day. You guys are awesome!
These kinds of events are not only fun, but help us create and strengthen the culture and connections at Lasengle. Which all contributes to building a fantastic team to deliver amazing entertainment.
So, if any of you creators out there are curious about our company, head over to our Careers page and see if anything sparks your interest. Check out all our latest openings here.
We recently did another interview with the web magazine Automaton. The interview features key decision-makers at Lasengle talking about the creative process, and it should go some way in answering questions that creators might have about Lasengle. Click the image below to read the interview (available in Japanese only).
Visit here to see all the interviews in this series.
The interview was a great opportunity to share challenges faced by the Design Team, something that we haven't been able to write about in the past. I hope it has got some of you creators interested in learning more about Lasengle.
We'll keep exploring ways like this to share information with you all, and look forward to creating with you in the future!
Before I wrap up, a reminder that we'll be kicking off the FGO 8th Anniversary at the end of July with the Fate/Grand Order Fes. 2023 Summer Festival.
We're working hard behind the scenes to make sure that this will be an amazing event for all the Masters and everyone involved in the event. Can't wait for you all to experience it!
Until next time!
Yoshinori X（Twitter）