So ive been wondering alot lately..

Did the creators of KH plan the whole story before the first KH was released? or have they just been going with the flow and building more and more as they went with it. Like did they from day one know that there would be heartless,nobodies,dream eaters, 13 different xeanorts, Ansem not actually being the ultimate villian, but just moreso a pawn. just everything that has evolved the story that we hold dear to us, love, and are still trying to figure out, did they plan it all out? Or is the director and the creators and everyone involved still trying to figure it out?
Ive searched the interwebz for the answer, but havnt come across a clear cut answer. Its just a thought that i have been thinking about lately and would like to know if anyone has any idea.

 

I'd say before. You can't just start getting ideas as you work on a game -- that would take too long. You write the story first, and then you make the game, making changes to the game if you get different ideas along the way.

 

The whole story? Probably not
Nomura did say in an interview that before kh1 was released he had more story planned and he would only put out a sequel and continue it if the game sold well.

 

They probably planned each game one at a time, and tried to connect them, or they had a concrete story, and then added it part by part. It's a bti hard to see them plan everything from day 1.

 

Yeah i wondered that too but i think they mainly made things up as they went on.What i think thoigh is that they did do some plznning because if you look through the game there are lots of unanswered questions, that could call for another game like why Riku and Sora are chosen by the keyblade.

 

Definitely not. They even said they make up a new idea only when they're finishing up another game

 

Nah. They just plan the new games and try to make changes to reconnect the games together. They might have made some retcons to the storyline. Like Ansem being a heartless.

 

I dunno looks like to me it was planned out before kh1. I mean look at the story now, It's well thought out making the game pretty unique in it's way.

 

I personally don't think so. I think the story was written in chunks as certain parts of the story progressed. More in depth in the spoiler.

Spoiler

For instance, did they know while making KH1 that the ominous hooded figure in the cave was later going to be used as a time travel device to explain that everything that has happened so far has been planned to a T? I don't think so. The connection is fantastic, but you'd have to be some kinda ungodly writer to know that far ahead before hand.

What I think might've happened is that they had started forming ideas for KH2 while in development of KH1, but like Nomura said, wouldn't follow up on them unless the game sold well. Once it did, we see Final Mix in which an organization member shows up to fight Sora. Once that had the green light, I think they planned through CoM and KH2 together, as half of the organization was offed in CoM. If you think about it, KH2 also had the potential to wrap up the series in a nice little bow. After that came 385/2 days, and then, as the series progressed fantastically, it wasn't until BBS that the Master Xehanort arc we are in today came into full fruition. When making that, they at least planned through 3D. There's no way of knowing if they've actually planned all the way through to the end of KH3 though, as it's still so early in development, and can go so many directions, but they might have. Who knows?