Nox Fleuret. The project's later director Hajime Tabata called Ardyn an unusual antagonist within the Final Fantasy series as he actively helps Noctis through his quest, even though it ultimately serves his desire for revenge. Both Tabata and scenario writer Saori Itamuro called Ardyn a character driven by hatred of the Lucian royal line, with everything in his life serving his quest for revenge and his wish to torment Noctis. Hajime Tabata described Ardyn's unique design as tying into his personality, comparing it to the design of Final Fantasy VI antagonist Kefka Palazzo. Following the game's release, Ardyn was considered for dedicated downloadable content (DLC) due to positive fan feedback. Planning for the DLC release "Episode Ardyn" originated with the development of Episode Ardyn Prologue, a short ONA detailing Ardyn's backstory. According to its lead staff, the aim was to show more emotion in Ardyn, while his gameplay featured greater freedom of movement than the main game and a focus on his dark powers. His gameplay was also designed to show his cruelty, though some considered actions were dropped so as to perserve the game's CERO rating. The team wanted to create a Final Fantasy with a villain in the lead, a rarity in the series. Ardyn's relationships with his brother Somnus and fiancee Aera were meant to be the focal point of the ONA narrative, but its short length limited this element. The events of the ONA were also intended to lend context to some of Ardyn's in-game actions. Ardyn is voiced by Keiji Fujiwara in Japanese and Darin De Paul in English. Fujiwara often told the staff he liked Ardyn's character, and the staff noted his enthusiasm with playing the character, enjoying his performance. Fujiwara was often surprised that he managed to give his character a sense of tension, most notably when he laughs loudly as it exceeded the staff's impressions as well as the fanbase. For Episode Ardyn, Fujiawara was requested to do "the opposite", starting by portraying Ardyn in a heroic way and shifting his performance to his villainous form as the story progressed. Paul was used to portraying deeper-voiced characters, leading to him almost not auditioning. He changed his mind as he "got [the] character", landing the role with a single take. Speaking on "Episode Ardyn" Paul lemjoyed the contrast between Ardyn's different personalities through the narrative. Ardyn's motion capture for XV was performed by