The “little” game that could: Naoki Yoshida talks about Final Fantasy XIV

The world of Final Fantasy XIV is one that is enjoyed by many players both young and old, experienced and new. The game has drawn in people from all over the world to the land of Eorzea. With Heavensward just around the corner, Naoki Yoshida (AKA Yoshi-P), producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV, took a moment to speak with us about the Ceremony of Eternal Bonding and the latest expansion, due out June 23.

Dot429: Why did you decide to allow in-game marriages?

Naoki Yoshida: FFXIV is an MMORPG, an online game in which players explore a virtual world, another reality. Just like in the real world, players meet and separate. Part of the game is being able to live in the world of “Eorzea” and, perhaps, some players will grow to feel a stronger affinity for this world than the real one. I’ve actually received many letters from players that have met their significant others in Eorzea and then went on to get married in real life. The game is not simply about fighting monsters, but also about playing as if you’re really living within it. As such, we wanted to allow two adventurers who met in Eorzea to participate in a ceremony to exchange vows and decided to call it “The Ceremony of Eternal Bonding.”

Dot429: When you allowed same-gender couples in the game to do the Eternal Bonding ceremony the consensus from the players was split. Some thought it was great and other thought it had no place in the game. How hard was it to both make the decision and get everyone to go along with allowing same-gender pairings?

NY: The ritual of “marriage” and how it is perceived in the real world differs depending on an individual’s morals, education, and their local laws or customs. Also, what is considered right or wrong differs from each individual’s personal beliefs. I think it may take a few more millennia before there’s a uniform sense of values across the board.

When we were considering the introduction of eternal bonding, I felt that each person should be free to practice their own set of values, and that the system should not be something that’s tied down by the stipulations of real life. With the idea that “In Eorzea, we should support all forms of love,” we decided against referring to this as “marriage.”

Rather, the Ceremony of Eternal Bonding is a ceremony in which two adventurers exchange vows of love, regardless of race or sex. We would like for the community to view this as something different from marriage, and not to argue over whether it’s right or wrong. Players and NPCs that live in Eorzea are all free. It would make us, the development team, happiest for everyone to enjoy creating their own individual stories.

Dot429: I’m a long term-player of Final Fantasy XIV. What does Heavensward have to offer for the many end-game players?

NY: Thank you very much for staying with us and for your encouragement! 

What will be awaiting everyone in FFXIV’s first expansion, Heavensward, which is set to release on June 23rd, is an epic story that matches the expectations as the latest installment in the FINAL FANTASY series. Expect to see more content than one stand-alone RPG, including a great story, character growth, exploration using flying mounts, a new crafting system for the Disciples of the Hand, exploratory voyages, and much more.

In particular, after players have completed the main scenario quests and seen the end credits, there is a ton of content prepared, including the new high-end raid dungeon “Alexander,” new PvP content, building an airship with your Free Company and exploring the skies with “Exploratory Voyages,” battles against the formidable new primals, Ravana and Bismarck, and more.

Before players are able to complete everything, we’ll also have our first major patch update, Patch 3.1. I would like to challenge players to take on the immense volume of content that is coming!

Dot429: I read that one of your favorite MMOs is Dark Age of Camelot. Do you think that has informed some of your design decisions in Heavensward?

NY: Not just Dark Age of Camelot, but many of the MMORPG titles I’ve had the opportunity to play have largely influenced Heavensward. From the high-fantasy world design and values, the concept of role playing, how to avoid the common mistakes made with an MMORPG, and the importance of player hierarchy, there were truly many things I learned from playing. If there are those that aspire to develop MMORPGs, I encourage them to play more MMORPGs than anyone else. Above all, I believe that is the best shortcut!

Dot 429: The player membership is over four million players registered worldwide. That’s quite an achievement for a game that was initially panned by critics. When you were brought on the Final Fantasy XIV back in 2010, did you ever expect for the game to gain the popularity it has?

NY: The answer is neither yes nor no. When I was assigned to be the producer and director of FFXIV, I felt that Square Enix’s reputation and the trustworthiness of the FINAL FANTASY brand was dangerously low. The goal that the development team, operations team, and I set for us to achieve through the restructuring of FFXIV was placing the top priority on regaining the trust of the fans and gamers, rather than being successful from a business standpoint.

Even if we were not considered successful from a business standpoint, Square Enix admitted the mistake, took on the challenge of regaining trust, and never gave up; showing that was the most important thing for the future of Square Enix. The only thing we, as a team of developers, can do to show our utmost effort is to create a fun game and to deliver it to everyone. As a result of pursuing that head-on, this game became something that an incredible amount of people worldwide are playing, and I am extremely happy about that. I also want to show my utmost appreciation for the development and operation teams, and most importantly the players who have continued to support us throughout the years. That being said, I never thought the servers would not be able to handle the amount of people rushing in when A Realm Reborn launched, so I’m sorry for all the trouble that was caused… At that time, the screams were not of joy… 😛

Dot429: Heavensward is largely about a crusade against the Dravanian Horde and is going to make Coerthas more traversable, especially by air. Are there any plans to have other areas open for air travel, like the Floating City of Nym?

NY: The flying mounts that will be implemented in Heavensward can only fly over the areas surrounding Ishgard, as well as the remote regions under the dragons’ rule (and the mysterious floating continent).

The Floating City of Nym that you are referencing falls under A Realm Reborn field, and unfortunately you will not be able to fly over that area. A major reason behind that is because we didn’t create data to enable flight in the original field areas, but also because it would pose an issue with the game design.

ARR field areas are comprised of 3D polygons, but because no flying mounts existed, level design was based on moving in a two-dimensional area using the x- and y-axis. However, with the implementation of flying mounts, the game design would need to incorporate a vertical z-axis on top of that. That is because “just being able to fly” would be boring as a game.

Rather than allocating the resources to apply the change to the ARR areas, I thought players would be happier if we created new fields and content. And so, I think we’ll keep players from flying over ARR areas for a while. But, I do intend on adding some kind of update to the ARR areas in the future. When that happens, I’m sure the secrets of the Floating City of Nym will start to unravel, so your patience is greatly appreciated!

Dot429: You’re very good about listening and implementing player feedback from the forums. Has it been difficult to weigh the player’s wants with your plans for the game?

NY: Depending on the feedback itself, there are different degrees of difficulty. I feel that if the feedback pertains to the overall interface, usability of the Duty Finder, level of difficulty for content, game balance for obtaining items, and length of gameplay, they should be seriously considered and implemented. Players’ opinions regarding these matters are very important in terms of building the world of FFXIV and Eorzea together.

On the flip side, freedom of gameplay, content hierarchy, whether or not to implement a token system, and converting content into instances are all designed based on elements outside of personal opinions, such as gamers’ lifestyles and how much time people can allocate toward entertainment, so it is a bit more difficult to incorporate these types of feedback.

However, please don’t assume that submitting your feedback is not worth the time or effort. FFXIV aims to be a fantasy world theme park, so we will think long and hard to come up with a plan to take on the challenge of creating overarching content as a response to these types of feedback. Making these a reality may take some time, but we do intend on providing you with some kind of response!

Dot429: Many players have been asking for more support roles like Red Mage and Blue Mage. Do you think it’s possible for there to be support roles in the game?

NY: This question is the most difficult out of all of the questions you’ve asked! 😛
We’re received lots of feedback from around the world with regard to new jobs, and the red mage and samurai are particularly popular requests. With a job that sticks to simply being a support role, raising its effectiveness would force the job to become mandatory in a party. On the other hand, if the support power was weakened, it would be difficult to contribute to the party. Therefore, that type of job is very difficult to balance.

If we were to ever implement a red mage job, I don’t think it would simply be a support role. In terms of the blue mage, I think it may be great to make it a special job geared specifically toward solo play, almost like a unique type of playable content in and of itself. In any case, I am not able to definitively reply about the next new job at this time, but regardless of what job we do implement, I promise you that players will be surprised and enjoy playing it!

Dot429: I’ve noticed that the storyline is taking a more political bent. I enjoyed the ending of 2.55 and that the politics between city states are more evident. I also like where the Ascian storyline is going. It also seemed like the Garlean empire plotline finished up. Will we see more of the Garleans or is that plotline finished?

NY: Thank you very much for your kind words regarding the main story!

With Patch 2.55, we experienced the Season One finale of FFXIV; now Season Two will start with the release of Heavensward. Things that were a mystery during Season One will unravel, so please keep your eyes peeled for the brand new story! How the three city-states interact with each other, as well as the politics and tactics behind them, are definitely something to pay close attention to. With regard to the Garlean Empire, of course their influence is still present in Heavensward, and you will be able to sense their involvement in the situations to come. A new emperor will rise from the Garlean Empire with a burning ambition to unite the land, so the Warriors of Light should best beware…

Dot429: Aside from the Wandering Minstrel that was modelled after you, which character is your favorite NPC?

NY: There is an NPC named Keitha who loves and cares for the chocobos at Bentbranch Meadows. I am very fond of her values (and her looks!) In terms of main characters, my favorite is Alphinaud. He’s an upper-class type and a strategist, and you can sometimes see how full of himself he is. But he is now faced with a major setback, and just beginning to truly grow as a human being. An idealist like him may seem foolish at a quick glance, but that’s also because he is young. I am extremely excited to see his growth moving forward.

Dot429: Three new jobs are being introduced in Heavensward, Dark Knight, Machinist, and Astrologian. What was the impetus behind their inclusion and design?

NY: Each time we implement a new job, we always set a goal to make sure we prepare a special system or gameplay element that is only available to that job. At the same time, we lay the basic concept of when the player begins to master the job, there is room for them to devise their own playstyle.

The dark knight is different from other tanks as they draw “dark aura” from magic, and by freely manipulating it, they can strengthen themselves and raise their attack power. They look really cool wielding their greatsword, and strongly reflect the elements of dark fantasy from their animations to their visual effects.

The machinist was highly anticipated, and even during the original FFXIV, players around the world were calling out, “Hurry and add a gun-wielding job!” Not only does the machinist use a gun, but they are able to utilize and control various pet-like mechanical turrets. In particular, they will be able to raise their damage by using a cast time with gun attachments, similar to casters, or can also unleash a combo by reloading special bullets. So players will need to quickly react based on the situation. The animations are very stylish, so if you want to shoot things up, I would recommend this job.

Last but not least, the astrologian was designed with the Ishgardian culture in mind. As a healer who uses astromancy, they read the movements of stars and the moon. Their weapon, the star globe, is beautiful and never-before-seen in any other MMORPG, so I would love for people to try it at least once. Astrologian are able to switch between Diurnal Sect and Nocturnal Sect, allowing them to change from either a pure healer or barrier-generating healer. They also have a deck of Divining Cards that they can draw from to aid allies. For all of the jobs to be equally attractive, we will continue to make adjustments until the very last minute before the release, and we hope players can enjoy them to their heart’s content!

Dot429: If you could choose any race from Final Fantasy XIV, including the Au Ra, which race would you be and why?

NY: No matter what MMORPG I play, I choose the smallest race available. In FFXIV, I play as a Lalafell. That’s because I love PvP, and when you go into PvP content, small characters are hard to click on with a mouse. Plus, you can easily hide behind trees and other objects. :p

But, with regard to the new race that will be implemented with Heavensward, I really like the look of the male Au Ra, and find it the design that goes best with the dark knight job. After Heavensward is released, I think I’m going to secretly use a Fantasia to change into an Au Ra (laugh).