Editing Final Fantasy VIII (section)

===Story development===
The plot of ''Final Fantasy VIII'' was conceived by Kitase, with the story and the characters provided by Nomura and the actual scenario written by Nojima.<ref name="development"/><ref name="credits"/> During the game's pre-production, Nomura suggested the game be given a "school days" feel. Nojima already had a story in mind in which the main characters were the same age; their ideas meshed, taking form as the "Garden" military academies. Nojima planned that the two playable parties featured in the game (Squall's present day group and Laguna's group from the past) would be highly contrasted with one another. This idea was conveyed through the age and experience of Laguna's group, versus the youth and naïveté of Squall's group.<ref name="sheila"/> Nojima has expressed that the dynamic of players' relationships with the protagonist is important to him. Both ''Final Fantasy VII'' and ''VIII'' feature reserved, quiet protagonists in the form of [[Cloud Strife]] and Squall. With ''VIII'', however, Nojima worked to give players actual insight into what the character was thinking, a direct contrast with his handling of ''VII'', which encouraged the player to speculate.<ref name="interviews">{{cite web|year=2001 |title=Behind The Game The Creators |url=http://www.square-enix-usa.com/games/FFX/btg/creators.html#1 |publisher=Square Enix North America |access-date=2006-04-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209085217/http://www.square-enix-usa.com/games/FFX/btg/creators.html |archive-date=February 9, 2006}}</ref>