Healer/Ranged DPS Magic Contest Entries

[RosaLunaCelestia]

I really liked for healer :





Here for Dps magic:





But they are all awesome but really like this ones.

The carbuncle costum is more for GS or costum to craft can be used for all classes . SE should think about it. #carbunclelovers

[Serilda]

Before I get on to my point, I would like to emphasise that I think the entrants did a great job and every one of them has more imagination, enthusiasm and passion for design than me, no matter how comfortable they feel about their art skills. I also think that the ones which weren't shortlisted were just as good and much of it is down to the personal taste of the judges. I'm going to try to avoid singling out individual entries with my comments as I don't think that's fair, and as people have said there may well be additional details that Square-Enix has chosen not to share for each design. If it's true that all of the shortlisted entries with heavily female-only designs had male-only counterparts which were systemically removed from the gallery, the fault for that clearly lies with the biases of those running the competition and not with the entrants themselves. It's unfair to give only one half of the players a preview of what the outfit is going to look like which is exactly what they have done in cases like http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/range...hSrgMGk/18.jpg (which I like, and would like to see properly adapted for a guy before having a firm opinion).

"When the gear is implemented, we are planning to make it equip-able for all races and genders. IF NO INFORMATION IS INCLUDED ABOUT HOW THE GEAR SHOULD LOOK WHEN EQUIPPED BY MALE OR FEMALE CHARACTERS FOR EXAMPLE, THE DEVELOP TEAM MAY MAKE ADJUSTMENTS."

I think this is very open to interpretation. I wouldn't expect every designer to spend hours accommodating all of the different ears and tails, for example, and the modellers should obviously pick the slack up there. But if they have specifically designed a cute miniskirt combo which will blatantly never be permitted on male characters and are expecting Square-Enix to effectively come up with a brand new design from scratch for guys, it's likely that those of us with male characters will be disappointed with the results which aren't going to resemble the design we've been shown in any practical way. I'm not saying anyone has done that; however, the way the gallery is presented makes it appear that way and it concerns me given Square-Enix's track record with female-only/unisex glamour issues.

This is a game where the design team have taken two years (at least one year actively working on it) to make something as genderless and simple as bunny ears suitable for guys - and they've still only done it for two of six races with no release date in sight. I want my character to be able to get full enjoyment out of the winning designs just like anyone else, so I think raising the concern is important while the judging is still taking place.

Then there are a few designs which do include both male and female variants, but the female one is full of gorgeous unique pieces while the guy version looks like a bunch of existing equipment with a matched colour theme to complement the girl. In those cases I'd rather just wear the girls' version and get some unique pieces for other combinations.

This issue goes both ways; in the case of the 'WAR AF'-style caster design, someone has already raised the concern that they like the male design but want the same fierce trousers on their female character rather than yet another miniskirt. I have a friend who feels very similarly; she hates 'girly' stuff and wants her glamours to look the same as mine when we use the same item. Using a design which already looks good on both genders avoids these problems entirely.

For all these reasons, I am hopeful that the winning design is either so successfully unisex that all kinds of characters will look equally great wearing it (and this applies to both manly and womanly girls and boys; burly highlanders and dainty miqo'te alike). Or for costumes with major differences between the gendered versions, both versions look equally good. To use a practical in-game example and avoid treading on any toes, several of the GARO collaboration outfits (not the main Makai Knight versions) clearly had a lot more time spent on the female versions compared to the male ones and incorporated lots of cute pieces that can be mixed and matched with other glamours. Guys got Generic Trousers #400 and Generic Ankle Boots #70, girls got unique fascinators, sexy dresses and versatile hotpants. Then you have situations like the Mog Station description for one of the old Halloween costumes "Guys and Gals Have Different Designs for Their Bottoms: While guys are only sporting a standard pair of spiderweb stockings, the ladies can also enjoy a stylish short skirt." which seems to openly emphasise how much of a boring afterthought designs for male characters really are.

So here, I'm strongly rooting for one of the designs where there's no gender difference, or if there is both sides have clearly been given equal consideration by the designer. Relying on the game's existing design team to rectify a bias which is already systemic in their in-house design team isn't enough.

[eikomakimachi]

I couldn't believe when my friend told me my design was one of the finalists! (I think mine is #16 on healer row, it's the one that has leaves similar to the sylph's design)

But yeah, adding my 2 cents to the discussion, SE did not publish all the infos for all designs, so some important info might be missing. In my case, the name of the set and the whole explanation of how the design is linked to the game's lore is out because I wrote that on the email body, not on the image itself.

[ivalina]

some important info might be missing. In my case, the name of the set and the whole explanation of how the design is linked to the game's lore is out because I wrote that on the email body, not on the image itself.

which is totally fine! everything which is written ON the picture/design can't be translated and is simply fanservice for other people to understand. everything written in the email is the official comment which will be translated and sent to SE. without that explanation, a lot of sets can be misinterpreted by viewers, just because the info is missing. btw i LOVE your design! im sure it would be really pretty in white or gold, too!

[Divine_Ultima]

Great entries and congrats to the finalist. I would be ecstatic if my 2 favorite entries made it in.

Caster: http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/range...670.1488293780

Healer: http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/healer/mQjY33nEZw/44.jpg

[eikomakimachi]

btw i LOVE your design! im sure it would be really pretty in white or gold, too!

Thank you! I would like to encourage everyone to not give up and to try again if we have more design contests in the future! I've participated on tank contest and didn't even get to the shortlist (and, to be honest, I wasn't exactly happy with my design cuz there were lots of issues that I couldn't figure out how to solve them). I got some feedback from friends and other players back then and took them into consideration for future concepts, so even if I didn't get to the finalists with my tank design the whole experience was worth it.

[ADVSS]

I would definitely rock my rdm out in this set
http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/range...hSrgMGk/08.jpg
This should be the new BLM AF to make up for that silly hat last time
http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/range...hSrgMGk/19.jpg
very yasha-like but i love the more armor-ish style
http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/range...hSrgMGk/40.jpg

anyroad, i loved all the designs, the draconian one cracked me up when i zoomed in read the comment about the belly rubs

[Evumeimei]

The thing is is that they need to include any sets they are considering using from contest even if they don't win. The carbuncle mascot, adamantoise mascot (from the tank contest), ahriman gear, succubus gear and crepe gear are "joke entries" but are there for when they are added to the Gold Saucer.

I really hope they do not add the crepe gear to the Gold Saucer, lol. Also, that reasoning is pretty bad if that is the case since the contest was not advertised as "Gold Saucer Gear Design Contest." Putting certain entries as finalists for mage / healer contest for a reason like that is, in my opinion, in bad taste. Hold a separate contest... Or add a special section that mentions the fact that, while these did not make finalists in the mage / healer contest, they are good enough to be considered for glamour.

[ivalina]

just out of interest. in 6 days the contest is over. anyone interested in seeing whole concepts of male+female + wallpaper + color changes + weapons + explanations and lore after that? or is it more like "nah u only showed us a white dress with a stupid hat, now f* off"? cuz there's a lot i couldnt include in the 3mb email for the contest

[Serilda]

just out of interest. in 6 days the contest is over. anyone interested in seeing whole concepts of male+female + wallpaper + color changes + weapons + explanations and lore after that? or is it more like "nah u only showed us a white dress with a stupid hat, now f* off"? cuz there's a lot i couldnt include in the 3mb email for the contest

Very interested in seeing more from the contestants, no matter whose designs are chosen.