Were there any real-life inspirations in creating the wilderness of Pulse and the futuristic metropolis of Cocoon?
SE: For Cocoon we wanted the setting to look ultra-advanced, but retain some form of familiarity. We looked at a lot of modern and historical architecture and tried to blend the two together. In creating Pulse, nature was our main focus, and we wanted to over exaggerate that focus as much as possible in the design. In fact, we were able to set up a site survey tour across the United States that spanned many national parks. We took pictures along the way, and due to the power of developing on the PS3 we were able to realistically depict the inspiration we received from these images as settings in Pulse. GP: How will the magical being, or “summons” be incorporated in Final Fantasy XIII? SE: They will be more directly involved with the characters than in the past. An example is Snow riding Shiva as a vehicle. They will also be incorporated into battles. GP: Can you tell us about the military group PSICOM? SE: PSICOM is the military group that governs Cocoon. They aren’t initially enemies
