The game was directed by Jason Avent, produced by Mark Simmons, and the programming team was led by Stewart Lynch. Designer Tuomas Pirinen described the entire design process as very hard, as they wanted to create both functioning gameplay and extravagant graphics to show off the Xbox hardware's capacities. The most challenging element was setting the difficulty so casual and experienced RPG players could enjoy the game. The game design was strongly influenced by "Secret of Mana" and '. Its combat drew additional inspiration from "Devil May Cry", the "Dynasty Warriors" series and '. Real-time combat was chosen as the team felt turn-based combat was overused in the genre. There was also a noted rarity of real-time combat systems with any depth and care in RPGs. The first-person combat was a relatively late inclusion, with the team needing to alter enemy AI so it would approach differently and allow players to see and fight them with the altered perspective. An early problem was the special moves and quick menu, as if kept in real-time enemies would have an advantage of either attacking a vulnerable character or moving out of range. Drawing inspiration from the slow-motion action sequences in "The Matrix", the team implemented a slowing of time, allowing players to maintain an advantage and strategise without the combat losing its real-time style. It was designed from the beginning as a single-player experience, as multiplayer would have significantly delayed its release.