Naoki Yoshida interview @Gamescom

[Brannigan]

Remember when we got an Odin extreme primal battle that didn't drop a mount and yet his horse just happened to end up in the cash shop?


That was p r e t t y cool. I love playing my wallet instead of playing the game .

[Myleus]

Odin mount was a cheap shot^^

[Hakuro89]

I like how every time they ask about any of the problems with the current system and note solutions, he responds with "no because that's not FFXIV."

[Magic-Mal]

Remember when we got an Odin extreme primal battle that didn't drop a mount and yet his horse just happened to end up in the cash shop?


That was p r e t t y cool. I love playing my wallet instead of playing the game .

Didn't the mount come out waaaaaay before the trial(which came out in 2.5)?

[Mraj]

It's fun to get some small things between big patches!

So tell me why every month i have to see new optional items instead of a new [ content ] preview?

I love playing my wallet instead of playing the game .

Would that there was some content to be paid for during catch up patches. In between long, listless periods of game inactivity where the chief features are pointless gearing* and working on relics - which involves spamming static, dated content in a multi-stage grind designed to keep players bored but busy.

(*unless you raid. Dungeons / trials don't require current patch gear )

Worse still is FFXIV's inability to make any group happy. The Raiders have motivation issues and 6 months of 4 one-stage raid arenas. The PvPers find that due to restrictions on game modes and matchmaking the already small community is fragmented further. The Housing enthusiasts either can't get a house or find that FFXIV's housing setup still lacks basic personalization features ( like weapon racks, mannequins, more item variety ). The glamour enthusiasts are by far the happiest, but even they face the challenges of limited inventory space ( unless you sink additional monthly fees into FFXIV to purchase more retainers to hold all those glamours )

Extremely casual players may never even hit a content wall because between afking and casual chat, they might not do any content at all besides the daily cactpot. Ironically enough, the hardcore players - having finished all available content - have roughly the same options available to them.

I've heard YoshiP talk on how the dev team is working their hardest - and let's assume that the main patch attractions take all their time and effort to roll out on schedule. If those fail, the game stagnates because every other system besides the main patch attraction has been left neglected...sometimes for periods spanning over a year. It's not hard for any type of player to list numerous systems that they'd like to see updated - if only a little - between main patches. YoshiP, forget not being able to find complex battle system designers - get a few interns to delegate tasks to so that we can see something on the horizon other than cash shop updates.

To list a few things to slip in between major / catch up patches:

* Regularly update Gold Saucer rewards so that MGP isn't just another useless currency. Something as simple as a new npc outfit, weapon, hairstyle.

* Updating current systems like GC's, FC perks, airships, Treasure maps, levequests, guildhests, Hunts, older PvP maps.

* More quality of life changes in general. Give the housing people more furnishings. Give the glamour people a few more glamour rewards to work towards. Give the crafters some new recipes or ingredients.

This sort of upkeep assures your subscription players that the game isn't just a boom-and-bust cycle model with frequent content drought periods. Even the most minor additions and quality of life updates outside major patches lets the players know that the game is healthy and worth paying for, even when there isn't a major update out. On the other hand, when players continually log in to cash shop updates, it only reinforces the message that SE doesn't really care about player experiences outside of what they're expected to release during major patches.

[Chessala]

I think you are misreading Yoshida-san and applying a fairly harsh filter to your reading of him as well. I do think he cares pationately about the game and the players. He's very much a MMORPG player, and cares about how things play. I think this is clearly evident in many of the interviews and presentations he's given over the years.

That care and attention translates to sometimes excessive transparency and perhaps attempts to cater to the whims of the loudest forum voices. But because he is open about most things, people on this forum and elsewhere play "Monday morning quarterback" with his every word, and when things do not work out as expected (not uncommon in game development) folks are quick to jump on him about it and use prior interviews against him.

Perhaps if he were like most game producers and really never talked much about the game or what they are trying to do people might be less apt to second guess everything, or be pre-critical about every change before it's even made. On the other hand, if Yoshida-san did that, we would not have the level of communication from the developers that we do currently.

I prefer the current situation and am realistic about how things can change during development. Heck if I was held to every conceptual discussion or prototype I ever made during development, I'd never deliver a thing because I'd be too busy chasing the ephemeral goals created by others' perceptions and expectations.

I honestly considered to stop reading when I saw "Yoshida-san". He is lucky to have such dedicated fans as yourself that see everything he does positively. I want to make a few things clear:
- I do not think he does everything wrong
- I do think he cares about the game to certain extent
- I appreciate the level of communication he is trying to keep up
- I have no problem with the current cash shop

However, an increased level of communication with a gaming community also means that he should be able to deal with an increased amount of criticism. Gamers (and customers) will ALWAYS complain, there is just no way to satisfy everyone.
The problem I specifically have with how he handles the game is, that he has a set vision and is not very willing to go away from that vision. This could have many reasons, including monetization. No matter if we like it not, a game needs to make money to be kept up and running. And if there is one thing Yoshi is good at, it's finding ways to make money.

Just look at the cash shop. Yes, people might feel entitled to certain items because they pay a sub. Fact is: they are not. Having a game running only with subs is difficult at best, even a title as prestigious as "Final Fantasy" will have problems with that eventually, especially with the content schedule they are running (I explained this before and will not do so again). The cash shop offers unnecessary fluff that do not influence your progression in-game at all. This is what I expect from a cash shop in a sub game. If you want the fluff item, you pay for it. We still get plenty of them in-game anyway. If a mount you can't get in game and that you don't want to pay for, ruins your gaming experience, that's your problem.

As for him catering to the "loudest" voices. All he does is cater to the JAPANESE community and even then it is things that fit in his set vision. He only listens to the voices that are convenient for him. And no, he does not understand the community. Look at LoV. People wanted some small minion fight minigame.Maybe be able to challenge someone they stand next to and have their minions brawl. What we got was a convoluted system using DF.

I am not intending to bash on Yoshi, I am just being realistic. He can bring as much communication as he wants, if the content behind it is lacking, that won't help anything.

[Hyrist]

Except the content is NOT lacking. Especially, not in quantity.

People are literally asking for a different game at this point. The level of expectation of what's to be developed is pretty much over-hyped. We've gotten new systems at a rate no other MMO has and the sticking point with the complainers is that it is always - not good enough. While the silent majority is actually enjoying the content, albeit with criticisms of their own on how each system can be refined.

The real argument against having a predictable content is also that you have dependable content. You don't design completely new systems in a timely manner. That's the reason a lot of MMOs don't have a dependable patch cycle, especially with new content.

For us, every year and a half or so, with a new expansion, we tend to get a trend of new things within that cycle. Diadem and Palace of the Dead were the big hitters this expansion, and it is only because Diadem wasn't what people wanted out of it that we're having this conversation. 'Catch up' mechanics, bluntly, aren't bad. We already have an hyper-accelerated power creep in our game as it is. We don't need more of that. Now, we an argue that they can diversify the select of content that provides max level content - that's a valid feedback. But to say we don't get enough new things is willfully blind at this point.

Yes, the base grind in this game will likely not greatly change. But that does not mean you're subject to following it the exact same way each time. I took a break, I waited for catch up content and I played that instead. I enjoyed myself much more.

Btw, claiming he doesn't cater to the NA crowd is a laughable assertion. A lot of adjustments we've received have been NA driven.

Long story short, people will always complain. Having a set of dependable updates to content is not a bad thing. The best criticisms receive really are the encouragement to better refine the new content we do receive and means to keep it relevant. And I feel to some degree that Yoshida is justified in telling people to go play other games if they are burning out.

You go do you and let Yoshida decide whether or not your playstyle is what he's appealing to.

[Sandpark]

@Velhart
Matt Firor from ESO sees the metrics the same way. Most updates lately have been made to make the game more accessible rather than meaty. Account wide Champion, mounts, One Tamriel. Yoshida is not blind, even if we don't like everything he does.

The glory days of huge barriers to entry and long deep content are numbered in the industry.

[Velhart]

snip

Yep I agree. As I said in my previous post, I am just fine with a predictable patch cycle, they just need to continuously find ways to make the set content cycle we have in place more interesting. Rather it be new mechanics or ways to take on the content we are familiar with. Also making sure whatever new content you do make holds weight and not forgotten within the same patch.

The glory days of huge barriers to entry and long deep content are numbered in the industry.

No, accessibility is a great thing. It is one of FFXIV's strengths. Accessibility does not mean easy. It means the content is more available to you. I like that I can log in and do instanced content with my group as opposed to dealing with those annoying, time wasting barriers MMO's of the past did.

What is an issue is lack of challenge in the content itself, not how you access it.

[Sandpark]

No, accessibility is a great thing. It is one of FFXIV's strengths. Accessibility does not mean easy. It means the content is more available to you. I like that I can log in and do instanced content with my group as opposed to dealing with those annoying, time wasting barriers MMO's of the past did.

What is an issue is lack of challenge in the content itself, not how you access it.

Accessibility is a great thing. But though I prefer depth which implies interesting systems with complexity. The farther you go into complexity, the harder it is to make content globally successful.

Which is why when I see people asking for raids to become more prominent than they already are, I get confounded. Raids are the most complex system in this game currently. That flies in the face of accessibility. Hence you see the low participation and completion rates.

This game needs something more midcore, something like Abyssea, Sky, or Sea. It can have some interesting gimmicks, but not so many or harsh that doing content with duty finder is not feasible. Perhaps make the open world sections of it with slightly less gimmicks being replaced with various other methods.

I would like to see raids become their own thing since they are designed to be hard and require high group skill. Maybe make normal mode more of a public dungeon area with eased mechanics. You can go in solo or duo and accomplish some things. But some things require parties and some things require alliances. The zone instance would cap out at 24 players to keep content fluid enough and allows interesting mechanics. Though the joining numbers vary on player preference or need.