'In the end, everything connects to where we are now' - Destructoid Interview
First, the sauce: https://www.destructoid.com/final-fa...--553162.phtml
I know I'm a week later and I honestly can't recall if that interview was talked about but there was some takeaways here that I really stuck me such as:
Quote:
With Stormblood practically in the rear view, I wanted to know what Yoshida considers his crowning achievement, his main takeaway from that rather successful run. After being fairly bashful about giving an answer, Yoshida noted that if he had to pick one thing, it would be the Tsukuyomi battle [an endgame boss fight based on the real moon god legend] from Patch 4.3. Yoshida says it "combined story, visual presentation, and mechanics in such a way that I believe makes it the best battle in Final Fantasy XIV currently. That being said, we will continue to work hard to surpass even that and reach new heights."
Out of all the SB trials, that one is the most memorable, if not, the only memorable battle to me (Yojimbo trial is a close second but that's honestly mostly for the lulz). The introduction, the mechs, the transition in itself (those flowers), the music, holy cow.
Quote:
I also wanted to drill into a concern for many players, loot lockouts. Basically like many other MMOs or MMO-likes, people are locked out of high-end loot at certain intervals per character. Some see it as a gate that prevents them from playing more, and Yoshida had some interesting things to say about it. Calling it a "long-standing proposition since back when I was playing MMORPGs, before I became a game developer," he says he isn't sure what the perfect solution is. He provides some insight from his perspective, noting, "I think players generally believe that weekly lockouts are in place simply as a way for us to extend the lifespan of in-game content. I will admit I felt the same way when I was a player and not a developer. However, this system does have a purpose: it is meant to keep both hardcore and casual players engaged, and to bridge the gap between these two groups. Raiders would likely say they don’t care about that: and I don’t think they’re wrong for thinking that."
He continues, saying that it's "all about perspective," and that their intention isn't to force their ideals onto players, but the lockout system is "necessary for the current state of the game." Yoshida apologizes for waxing philosophy, following that response up with: "I could write an entire book about this if I was to put everything down in writing. Maybe I should publish one if I ever retire from game development."
That was an interesting take on the lockout. I know on the forums that very expression of "extending subs/lifespan" has been repeated many times and it might actually be not completely untrue (after all, as a dev, you also gotta please the suits). I've also seen many suggestions, some having a lot of merit but ultimately not without cons either. Would not want to be in Yoshi's place when it comes to that specifically.