FFXIV 2nd expansion: Viera-like race still a possibility?

[Nestama]

Judging on how Yoshi-P said they were pretty much a Miqo'te with rabbit ears and heels... unlikely. Heck, he didn't even want to show off the Viera concept art :T

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-...n-sense/.91021

A couple months ago, you showed off the new race, the Au Ra… but you also showed concept art of the Viera, who appeared in Final fantasy XII and other games. Why did you decide against their inclusion as a playable race?

The issue with the Viera is that, if you look at them, they're basically humanoid save for their long rabbit ears and their heels. We already have a mostly humanoid race with animal ears in the Mi'qote. When we looked at those initial Viera concepts, it just seemed like a Mi'qote with bunny ears instead of cat ears. It simply wasn't different enough. Especially when we did the male designs… they didn't look beastly enough, they were just a little too cute. We wanted to make something that was original to the Final Fantasy series, and to do that, we decided to step away from the Viera.

I was actually strongly against showing the Viera concept art at the event we unveiled the Au Ra at. I knew that people would be like “why didn't you include them?!” [laughs] We feel we have a good thing with the Au Ra, though. If you don't like them, though, let us know and we'll take it into consideration with the next race we bring in.

I mean, the same can be said about the female Au Ra, but there's the reason why Viera may never become playable in this game and to be frank, I am glad. Viera would add nothing new to the game (and you can already make a fake Viera with the bunny ears).

[Makeda]

Yoshi-P:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-...n-sense/.91021

The issue with the Viera is that, if you look at them, they're basically humanoid save for their long rabbit ears and their heels. We already have a mostly humanoid race with animal ears in the Mi'qote. When we looked at those initial Viera concepts, it just seemed like a Mi'qote with bunny ears instead of cat ears. It simply wasn't different enough. Especially when we did the male designs… they didn't look beastly enough, they were just a little too cute. We wanted to make something that was original to the Final Fantasy series, and to do that, we decided to step away from the Viera.

I mean, the same can be said about the female Au Ra

Wildstar had it down when it made the catgirls and bunnygirls the same race. /justsaying.

- Unfortunately that is a two faction MMO, and it has resulted in there only being two of us in the entire MMO that play on the other faction. Me, and some random guy who plays a hamster and posts on the forums...
(Ok... there's more than two of us. Might even be 3 of us... I'm slightly exaggerating here...)

Kind of like here... Does anyone actually play anything but a catgirl in this game? First game with elves in it I've ever seen where they are actually unpopular...

[Khalithar]

Does anyone actually play anything but a catgirl in this game? First game with elves in it I've ever seen where they are actually unpopular...

Elezen 4 lyfe! Represent!

But seriously, this is a japanese game and that attracts a certain element in it's audience. Unsurprisingly it attracts a lot of people that want to play the cat girls and other cute females. Also, the Elezen aren't really like traditional elves, they're not short or delicate or graceful, they're lanky, tall, muscular, and stoic looking. They still have the haughtiness and arrogance you'd expect but they are much more civilized, the elezen seem more European with their behavior and culture than a more "traditional" high elven sort of society.

That fact is what made me love the Elezen in the first place tbh. I played an Elvaan from San D'oria back in the day and loved every part of the culture and the characters, thus I made this character that looks identical to my old FFXI character. When I got to meet the Ishgardians I practically fell in love, they're an even better version of San D'oria and I love every part of the questlines involving them.

[Nestama]

Kind of like here... Does anyone actually play anything but a catgirl in this game? First game with elves in it I've ever seen where they are actually unpopular...

I'm more surprised the female Roegadyn weren't popular. They're the only race in the game that can have huge breasts :T
Of course, I aim to play as a male Roe because... male Roegadyn are nice.

[Seryne]

I'm more surprised the female Roegadyn weren't popular. They're the only race in the game that can have huge breasts :T
Of course, I aim to play as a male Roe because... male Roegadyn are nice.

We're too masculine for people so that's why we're not very popular.

On topic, I wouldn't want the Viera race at all. This game already has enough cutesy races. We need more fierce races.

[Ultimatecalibur]

We need more fierce races.

That is problematic because of a Catch-22.

People want fierce races, but many will not play females unless they are cute.
A race with cute females is not a fierce race.

This is how we ended up with the Au'Ra fierce male/cute female sexual dimorphism.

[Nestama]

That is problematic because of a Catch-22.

People want fierce races, but many will not play females unless they are cute.
A race with cute females is not a fierce race.

This is how we ended up with the Au'Ra fierce male/cute female sexual dimorphism.

Why do females have to be cute? If all females of all new races are exclusively cute, then... people are going to get very bored/annoyed with this VERY fast.

The problem with a robotic race, as interesting as it is, is that it won't make sense when you factor in the Echo. When someone dies with the Echo, they take over the closest living things body. For a robot to do this... they would either become {one of six races} OR go through the painful process of turning flesh and bone into what makes them robotic.

[Makeda]

Why do females have to be cute? If all females of all new races are exclusively cute, then... people are going to get very bored/annoyed with this VERY fast.

If designed well, it can still be popular.

There are plenty of WoW players playing female undead and female tauren. They're not "cute" but they are very well animated and have a lot of personality. But... the vast majority of players get hungup over this and only play 'cute' choices.

this is a japanese game ... it attracts a lot of people that want to play the cat girls and other cute females.

Also, the Elezen ... they're lanky, tall, muscular, and stoic looking. They still have the haughtiness and arrogance you'd expect but they are much more civilized, the elezen seem more European with their behavior and culture than a more "traditional" high elven sort of society.

In other words... they're like traditional fantasy elves. Since the fantasy elf is an invention of Tolkien after all.
...Before him, elves were mischievous workshop fairies (probably the pre-industrial gremlin - you blamed mishaps on elf spirits) and santa's unpaid forced labor pool...

And the catgirl thing... well, Catwoman has been around a LOT longer than anime, and she's based on a very old western 'fetish'...

And yeah I know I'm one of the 'people who plays a catgirl'. I'm not negative on the concept. I'm just noting that its such an overwhelming thing that it way overtakes the 'elf-fetish' that dominates so many other games.

[CosmicKirby]

The problem with a robotic race, as interesting as it is, is that it won't make sense when you factor in the Echo. When someone dies with the Echo, they take over the closest living things body. For a robot to do this... they would either become {one of six races} OR go through the painful process of turning flesh and bone into what makes them robotic.

You could easily make a robotic race that has a "soul", it's a pretty common trope in fantasy settings.
The Warforged in DnD, or the Androids in Pathfinder, or Reploids in Megaman X. You could have a soul that's bound to a robotic body. Sure, a person might have a hard time adjusting from a biotic body to an artificial one and vice versa, but that doesn't make it impossible or unlikely.

[Adire]

That is problematic because of a Catch-22.

People want fierce races, but many will not play females unless they are cute.
A race with cute females is not a fierce race.

This is how we ended up with the Au'Ra fierce male/cute female sexual dimorphism.

We don't have to have many people playing the race. Just enough to make the game world actually feel diverse sometimes. A diverse game world will attract players more, which means more money for SE, regardless of whether or not they choose to play a fierce race themselves.

I find the homogeneity of the game's races to be an unattractive quality. I'm not sure if I'd play a fierce race myself (they're usually hit or miss for me depending on design), but I'd still love to see them in game, even if only occasionally. I like diversity, it spices the game up. I'm sure others feel the same, even if they wouldn't play fierce races themselves.