2006, with full development beginning in late 2006 to early 2007. Total development time came to roughly a year and a half. It was being developed at the same time as Tales of the Tempest, another Tales title for the DS, as the next main entry in the Tales series, as opposed to Tempest which would become a spin-off title. While Tempest was conceived as a "compact" version of a Tales title, Innocence was designed to include all the elements expected from a mainline console title, meaning it was created with very different development goals. Rather than by established Tales developer Namco Tales Studio, Innocence was developed by Alfa System, a Japanese studio that had previously worked on the first two Tales of the World spin-off titles. They were chosen to work on the game because of their previous successful efforts with these spin-offs. It was the company's first title for the DS. While developing the title, the team drew on previous difficulties suffered while developing Tempest to promote a smoother development and better final product. The team tweaked the battle system used for the title so that it felt fresh to series veterans while still retaining its identity. One of these aspects was the new character growth system, which relied on customization more than gaining levels in a linear fashion through experience; the theme behind the creation of this system was "a more profound battle with wider frontage". The team incorporated an updated version of the free-running ability from Tales of the Abyss so players could have maximum freedom in battle. The game's title was inspired by Ruca's portrayal as an innocent young boy thrust into the world's troubles. Ruca himself was portrayed as a shy and introverted type, unlike many previous Tales protagonists, which were portrayed as outgoing and confident. As well as themes of coexistence common in the Tales series, the team incorporated aesthetics and motifs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The characters were designed by regular Tales artist Mutsumi Inomata, who almost turned down the offer to work on the title due to scheduling conflicts. She created the cast of Innocence at the same time as that of Tales of Hearts, leading to difficulties with her workload. Inomata's brief was not to emphasise the characters' status as heroes, with Luca being deliberately drawn and designed as a physically weak character. As with previous