SQUARE ENIX Patent Suggests New Game With Innovative Team Combat

SQUARE ENIX has changed the landscape of role-playing games by bringing affluential titles such as Dragon Quest, FINAL FANTASY, and Kingdom Hearts to the world. However, the stellar company has contributed more to the gaming sphere than these few franchises, with many of the series selling copies well into the millions.

SQUARE ENIX franchises, such as Nier:Automata, are still selling like hotcakes. The goliath could continue to create installments in the aforementioned franchises to sustain itself, but it is working towards newer franchises such as The DioField Chronicle. However, the company is also preparing for the future behind the curtains.

Earlier today, we stumbled across a patent recently made public by SQUARE ENIX, which was filed back in December 2021, for a new system that hints toward a new strategic 3D multiplayer title. The company wants to preserve the innovative formula to enhance the current team-combat system to promote cooperation and a strategic approach.

The new patent hints toward a fantasy-based strategic title that involves team battles in a “three-dimensional battle space.” There are also mentions of “guilds/clans,” and teams within them that can engage in combat. Moreover, players can fight against each other or NPCs. Take it with a grain of salt, however, because the patent may never be implemented, or it may be used for multiple SQUARE ENIX titles.

Right now, team combat in most games promotes individual players of one team fighting another team, and the currently established scoring system calculates the total battle point of individual characters, dismissing the need for strategy and cooperation. This leads to less interest and immersion in team battles in most games.

The patent cites regarding the issue, “The ranking of the group becomes a simple total of the battle results for the playing characters of the respective players comprising the group. In the end, strategy or tactics as the group may not be effective, so that interest on the game may be damaged.”

The patent filed by SQUARE ENIX seeks to change the system to promote the need for immersive team-based combat to make the players more invested. The patent cites, “Each group comprising the respective teams can obtain the team point (TP), rather than strength of each playing character so that the higher strategy and a close cooperation between the players are necessary and the interests on the game are widely improved thereby.” The “Group” here refers to the players associated with a guild or clan.

The new system will make it so the performance of each player can have an influence on other players, thus causing the whole team to fight strategically. The patent further mentions, “The whole battle results of the group comprising the player characters of two or more players are affected by the combination of the playing characters of two or more players comprising the other group.”

The patent describes that players in a team can be selected according to their characteristics since an attribute can be “strong” against another and vice versa. Moreover, the proposed system can also function with players who can also play against non-player characters (NPCs).

The patent states, “The players comprising the group classify the playing characters in the teams according to characteristics of the playing characters of the players, for instance, according to levels, HP, MP, arms, magic, good skills of the playing characters, in order to oppose expected enemy playing characters.”

Furthermore, more than two teams can fight against each other at any time in the battle space (arena). “Each group is comprised of two or more teams that participate in the battle in the battle routine, so that it is easy for the player to attack against the opponents in cooperation with the teams, watching the display of his/her terminal.”

The new proposed system will end up being exclusive to SQUARE ENIX as a result of this patent. If brought to fruition, the new patent ought to make team battles more immersive and strategic for future SQUARE ENIX games. However, it’s uncertain which game this patent refers to, exactly.