The place: The Board Room of Ideas. The time: 1991.
The Head of Ideas is sitting there twiddling his thumbs. The Board of Ideas hasn't had any work for a few days. Suddenly, a messenger bursts into the room.
"Sir! We just bought the rights to a franchise called 'Final Fantasy'! The heads want you to come up with an idea for the next one!" the messenger tells the Head. He leaves the room as the Head jumps up, overjoyed.
After a while, he calms down and realizes he has no idea of what to do. He summons the rest of the Board and says, "OK, boys. Final Fantasy. Go!" Everyone starts writing on their pads. Ten minutes go by and then forty.
Suddenly, the Head hears a shout of "Done!"
"Well, what have you got, Member 092130?" the Head asks.
"Well, sire, what if there was this guy, right? And there's also this company, we can call it Shin-Ra or something. There's also this other guy and his mother who is like a tentacle monster thing. Well, the first guy works for this terrorist group and tries to bring down Shin-Ra. Then he finds out that the second guy is still alive and then he and the rest of the terrorist group have to go and kill him, to save the world and all. Along the way, they discover the meaning of the world and find this chick who's the last of her kind. And they journey and journey. Eventually they catch up to this guy, only to have the chick brutally slaughtered. The main character has a breakdown and then he gets better. Then they go and find the villain and beat him up. The end," says Member 092130.
The Head thinks about this. "It'll never work! It's a load of garbage! Anyone else done yet?" Most of the other members had been doodling on their pads for forty minutes. Member 092130 is saddened, but he takes his idea to the Bosses.
That's how he became the new Head of Ideas. And how Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2, XI, XII, and XIII came about.