Character design of Final Fantasy
Although each installment of the Final Fantasy series is generally set in a different fictional world with separate storylines, there are several commonalities when it comes to character design, as certain design themes repeat themselves, as well as specific character names and classes. Within the main series, Yoshitaka Amano was the character designer for Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI, Tetsuya Nomura was the character designer for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIII, Yoshitaka Amano created and did the concept art for the characters while Toshiyuki Itahana was the final character designer for Final Fantasy IX, and Akihiko Yoshida was the character designer for Final Fantasy XII.
Visual character design
The series has often featured male characters with slightly effeminate characteristics, as well as female characters with slightly tomboyish, but still feminine, characteristics. This trend has generally increased as the series evolved. These characters are usually teenagers, which some critics have interpreted as an effort on the part of the designers to ensure the players identify with them. At the same time, some female characters have been increasingly designed to wear very revealing outfits. Square Enix has stated that a more rugged looking hero had been considered for Final Fantasy XII but had ultimately been scrapped in favor of Vaan, another effeminate protagonist. The developers cited scenaristic reasons and target demographic considerations to explain their choice. For Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix settled on a female main character, described as a "female version of Cloud from FFVII." This aspect of Final Fantasy can also be seen in Sora, the protagonist of Kingdom Hearts, a crossover series featuring Final Fantasy and Disney characters.
Ancient (album)
Ancient is an album by Japanese new age artist, Kitarō, which was released in 2001.
The album was nominated for 44th Grammy Awards New Age Best Album in 2002.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Kitaro.
Charts and awards
Personnel
References
External links
List of Legacy of Kain characters
This is a list of characters in the Legacy of Kain series of video games, created and produced by game developers Crystal Dynamics and Silicon Knights. The franchise, which comprises five action-adventure games—Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996), Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (1999), Soul Reaver 2 (2001), Blood Omen 2 (2002), and Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003)—takes place in the fantasy land of Nosgoth, and follows the protagonist, Kain, a vampire destined to preserve the balance of the world. He and Raziel, the series' secondary playable character, are supported by a variety of non-player characters and bosses.
Inspired by the literary style of playwright William Shakespeare, Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack and writer Ken McCulloch made an effort to subvert ideas of moral absolutism when conceiving Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain's main cast, feeling that the video game industry lacked a story addressing issues of good and evil, propaganda, and fate. Crystal Dynamics' Amy Hennig, who directed subsequent games, continued this trend in the sequels, aiming to avoid two-dimensional, uncomplicated characters. She felt it ideal to ensure that each one was given depth, flaws and realistic motives corresponding to their belief systems.
Roma Symphony (Bizet)
The Symphony in C "Roma" is the second of Georges Bizet's symphonies. Unlike his first symphony, also in C major, which was written quickly at the age of 17, Roma was written over an eleven-year span, between the ages of 22 and 33 (he died at age 36). Bizet was never fully satisfied with it, subjecting it to a number of revisions, but died before finishing his definitive version. All four movements were performed in his lifetime, but never all on the same occasion. The full symphony in its latest revision was premiered in 1875, after his death. It is perhaps because of Bizet's dissatisfaction that the work is often said to be "unfinished". However, in the form in which it exists today, it is a complete work and is fully scored. It has been recorded a number of times but is not often heard on the concert platform.
Background
Bizet won the Prix de Rome in 1857, which required him to spend the following two years studying free of charge at the French Academy in Rome, followed by a year studying in Germany. He never went to Germany, but stayed in Rome until July 1860. Rather than returning to Paris straight away, he did some touring through Italy, seeing places he had not visited in his earlier travels in 1858 and 1859. In Rimini he first planned a symphony with each of the four movements dedicated to a different Italian city – Rome (opening movement), Venice (Andante), Florence (Scherzo) and Naples (finale). He may have made some early sketches at this time. When he got to Venice he learned that his mother was seriously ill, so he returned home immediately.
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American-Italian historical drama television series created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald and Bruno Heller. The show's two seasons were broadcast on HBO, BBC Two, and RaiDue between 2005 and 2007. They were later released on DVD and Blu-ray. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic to Empire.
The series features a sprawling ensemble cast of characters, many of whom are based on real figures from historical records, but the lead protagonists are ultimately two soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, who find their lives intertwined with key historical events. Rome was a ratings success for HBO and the BBC. The series received much media attention from the start, and was honored with numerous awards and nominations in its two-series run. Co-creator Heller stated in December 2008 that a Rome movie was in development, but as of early 2015 no further production had been initiated. The series was filmed in various locations, but most notably in the Cinecittà studios in Italy.
Podcasts:
