Kazushige Nojima
Development of "Final Fantasy XIII" began in February 2004, shortly after the release of "Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission" in Japan. At the time, the project was internally referred to by the codename "Colors World". Over the first year, director Motomu Toriyama and scenario conceptor Kazushige Nojima conceived ideas for the plot. Nojima thought up the crystal mythology that became the basis for the "Fabula Nova Crystallis" series, including concepts such as the fal'Cie and l'Cie. Toriyama then created a story premised on this mythology. He wanted to portray "characters at the mercy of a predetermined, unjust fate" who "belong together but collide heavily". In order to achieve this, each of the story's thirteen chapters was made to focus on different protagonists. Chapters seven and eight were to mark a turning point in the interpersonal relationships of the party.