I am posting this to once again say thankyou to SE for creating Vana'diel, all those many years ago.
There is actually no way for me describe the joy and wonder that Vana'diel has brought into my humble life, for the last twelve years.
I have already written long lavish posts about why FFXI is the greatest computergame of all time, and I will stand by that verdict until I see a better computergame. I played my first computergame in 1981, and being a disabled girl I decided early on to spend most of my free-time playing computergames. I've played a lot of really good games in the last 35 years. But no game has ever completely stolen my heart like FFXI has.
I loved FF7 and FF8, especially FF8 which is still my favourite PS game. FF8 had the beauty, magic, romance and amazing NPC characters that I had craved for my whole life. FF8 had so much wonder and immersive battle content, it took my breath away.
I was less excited by the 9 and 10 games, although I do rate them as good games.
FFXI arrived, and suddenly all the pieces fell together for me. This was how games should be. Was this game even possible? Was I really playing this game? I was instantly and totally captivated by Vana'diel.
So what, you say. Well, the remarkable thing is, I am still totally mesmerised and in love with Vana'diel twelve years after I loaded FFXI for the first time.
Every time I log in and see my Tarutaru scurrying around, or see my automaton waving his little arm at me, or run across my favourite old zones, I am silenced by a depth of emotion and wonder, that I've never felt in any other games.
Vana'diel has a truly unique wonder and joy, if a person will take the time to just feel it. We are always rushing around ingame, to get things finished so quickly, we risk overlooking the simple beauty of the most amazing computergame world of all time.
I want to say thankyou to SE, one last time. FFXI gave me so much happiness for twelve years, and I pray it will continue to for years to come. Vana'diel fills my dreams when I sleep, and fills my heart when I am awake.
Thankyou for Vana'diel.
The joy and wonder of Vana'diel.
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03-10-2016, 10:59 AMStompaThe joy and wonder of Vana'diel.
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03-29-2016, 02:05 AMKriegnacht
You aren't the only one. When I first learned of FFXI I was a freshman in high school with the same love for the FF series you have. When a couple of friends told me about FFXI I immediately thought "How is that possible", as well as "This must be the best game ever made". I played loyally for a very long time, but in the last couple of weeks have moved to try out FFXIV...(I think it deserves a shot). I don't believe any new game can ever capture the Magic FFXI did. Here is to hoping for a mobile port so I can take it with me all the time!
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03-29-2016, 02:45 AMAngemon
Hi Stompa, I love this game so much :)
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03-29-2016, 04:09 AMmachini
This is sycophantic to the extreme.
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03-29-2016, 05:11 AMAngemon
You are always so negative and rarely ever is something positive posted, why even comment?
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03-29-2016, 05:28 AMAlhanelem
Oh man, the countless many hours of my life wasted on this game... and I don't regret any of it! Well, almost none of it. :D
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03-29-2016, 09:01 AMmachiniBecause sycophantic, servile words of praise for everything and everything that gets done is what leads to developers who think they can't make bad choices.Quote:
Originally Posted by Angemon
And no, I actually am not only negative. I just rarely feel the need to comment on things that are going well. I don't come around and go "Everything but x, y, and z are great." I say "X, Y, and Z, need to be fixed."
And honestly, a lot of you on this forum could have a squeenix dev crap on a plate in front of you and you'd eat it and call it the most delicious food ever. It's sad. -
03-29-2016, 09:03 AMAlhanelemCall me optimistic but I don't think an occasional happy person posting that they're happy is going to fool anyone on the dev team into thinking they can't make bad choices. There's really no reason to rain on people's parades like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by machini
I also don't see anyone so profusely in love with SE that they'd do what you say. I see very little blind love around here. In fact, the love around here tends to be of the tough variety. -
03-29-2016, 09:32 AMCatmatoThe FFXI devs would have to be on some seriously good drugs to think they can't make bad choices, no matter how much smoke is blown up their arse.Quote:
Originally Posted by machini
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03-29-2016, 12:20 PMStompa
Thankyou for all your replies.
I know that I'm not the only one who feels so much huge love for Vana'diel, and also feels really proud to be a FFXI player. I consider the act of playing such an incredible game, to be something that a person should wear as a badge of honour!
On sycophancy. No. This is not sycophancy. This was just me saying thankyou to SE for all the years of total happiness that Vana'diel has brought me. There are hundreds of other threads that are criticising specific issues in FFXI, some of them I agree with. This thread was a simple "thankyou" thread, looking at the big picture, and not the small details that we may have issues with.
If a person lives for sixty years, and spends say fifteen years playing the same computer game, that means they have spent a quarter of their free-time in their whole life playing that single computergame. If I am spending a quarter of my human life in Vana'diel, because of how happy I am in Vana'diel, then it makes logical sense for me to say "thankyou" to the people who made Vana'diel.
In my normal day-to-day life, I would rarely mention that I've been a gamer for 35 years, I don't really feel the need to mention it online either. But I have found myself often repeating this fact on the FFXI forum over the years. And the reason is simple.
If I say ; "I love FFXI, it is the best computergame I have ever played, and I've been playing computergames for almost six months!" that would make my verdict on the greatness of FFXI somewhat meaningless. But if I point out that I loaded my first cassette tape game in 1981, and have played most decent computergames for the last 35 years, and FFXI is by far the best game I have ever played, then that adds weight to my verdict on the game.
Vana'diel has been my solace, my best friend, I always knew that my Tarutaru is always waiting for me, always ready to make me smile. Vana'diel gives a lot of positive and wonderful experiences, even to the most casual player, it helps us to remember that life can be filled with joy if we just choose to open ourselves to joyful experiences.
So this thread, was really my way of ensuring, without a shadow of a doubt, that SE knows I am very thankful for FFXI, and I am thanking everyone involved in the FFXI project since day one, for everything they have done to make Vana'diel the wonderful place it is.
There is not enough data space on the internet for me to write the kind of essay I would have to write, if I were to list all the happy memories I have had in Vana'diel, or the kind of monster essay I would have to write to explain why I think this game functions so well as an immersive computergame experience, it weaves a magic spell on the player, when other games just never seem to affect me in the same way at all.
So here's another thankyou to SE from me, thanks for Vana'diel, with deep sincerity and zero sycophancy. FFXI has brought impossible to gauge amounts of thrills and happiness into my small world.
:)