Do you think lore helps or hinders?

[Belhi]

Lore does hinder PvP due to GC limitations.

Scholars can't explore and make use of the Crystal Tower since G'raha thinks everyone is not technologically advanced ... yet we now have Azsys Lla.

Then there's the whole glamour deal that limits what people can wear when we see plenty of npcs wearing gear that they should not be able to due to their jobs/class

There were also lore-reasons why female Highlander and roegadyns npcs were not available. While male miqo'te kept true to the lore in terms of npc rarity, not sure why how/why female roegadyn/highlanders are everywhere post calamity

To be fair, the Crystal Tower as the centre of Aether production for the Allag empire. As far as potential for miss use its kind of on another level to Azys Lla. Frankly we probably wouldn't let people just walk around Azys Lla either if we could. Regardless, its the Crystal Tower that caused the destruction of Allag, not what came out of Azys Lla.

On the actual thread topic, Lore and story gives context to activities. You collect ten bear asses but its the Lore and Story telling you why your doing it. That makes a difference.

[KitingGenbu]

I think lore honestly depends on the type and the individuals participating. Everyone has their own views on how extreme situations can get within a lore perspective or what can be modified. For example, WoW's demon hunter class only has two specializations due to "lore reasons" but that can be translated into various ways especially since several other classes in the WoW world have had specializations added and/or modified over the years. Blizzard could have honestly added a 3rd specialization because one of the demon hunter npcs has access to a scythe and utilizes some magic abilities, but they took the lazy route imo. This is seen any many mmorpgs though because people believe certain things can't exist at certain periods of the game due to "lore reasons" which can greatly hinder the advancement of the game depending on the ideas wanting to be introduced.

[Kaurie]

IMO, it's readily apparent WoW's writers know less about the lore of the game than most of the fans do. They have so much and do so little with it. They're the Disturbed/Nickleback of story writing.

FF14 has a lot less, but upon examination they're actually consistent and self referential with it. I much prefer this.

Yeah consistency is good, but consistently boring is not so great. *shrug*

[Konungarike]

Lore is very important to me in an MMO. It doesn't have to be the best thing ever, but it has to be consistent with the rules it has set up for itself. I ask of an MMO to set up a world for me to immerse myself in, I don't really ask that of other game genres. With that in mind, there are already things that irk me slightly with FFXIV's lore. The seasonal events for instance; I like the concept of seasonal events but the Christmas trees and literal Easter eggs consistently yank me out of Eorzea and back to my dorm room.

For the topic of the thread, of the lore was shaky or outright disregarded for the development of a game mechanic or something, I'd be pretty upset about it.

[CosmicKirby]

Yeah consistency is good, but consistently boring is not so great. *shrug*

Well, they give the most points for sticking your landing, not for attempting stuff that looks great only to fail at it.

[Naunet]

I don't think "lore" should be used as an excuse to limit a certain functionality in a way that makes a feature less fun for players. Unfortunately, that does happen all too often in this game. >_<

I like lore, and I appreciate the richness of it in certain aspects of the game. I just don't think it should be used to limit players.

[BubblyBoar]

Lore does hinder PvP due to GC limitations.

Scholars can't explore and make use of the Crystal Tower since G'raha thinks everyone is not technologically advanced ... yet we now have Azsys Lla.

Then there's the whole glamour deal that limits what people can wear when we see plenty of npcs wearing gear that they should not be able to due to their jobs/class

There were also lore-reasons why female Highlander and roegadyns npcs were not available. While male miqo'te kept true to the lore in terms of npc rarity, not sure why how/why female roegadyn/highlanders are everywhere post calamity

Yoshi and team have already said that Lore isn't the reason for GC restritctions for Frontlines.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

I don't think "lore" should be used as an excuse to limit a certain functionality in a way that makes a feature less fun for players. Unfortunately, that does happen all too often in this game. >_<

I like lore, and I appreciate the richness of it in certain aspects of the game. I just don't think it should be used to limit players.

I can think of Grand Company limitations on PvP, no Garlean armor, and no Cloud Motorbike; what else has used lore to justify limitations on content?

I think it should be used to limit players to a certain extent; for example, the game (which already plays fast and loose with its own aesthetic) will be ill-served by letting players dress in jeans and sneakers. If you're going to give your world a certain character and remain consistent to that, then there will be things that don't mesh with that and should be left out as a result. FFXIV's team is reasonably talented at finding ways in which otherwise incongruous things can have a place in the game, but there's definitely a limit.

[Berethos]

Do you think lore advances those issues? Or does it limit what could be coming?

I don't think it limits what could be coming, at least in terms of features, outside of some of more extreme ideas players might have. For many ideas, current lore can be adjusted via addendum or new lore can be created to explain why x or y feature or addition is now a thing, and generally they've been good about making sure it fits.

Randomly generated dungeon crawler, inspired by a previous FF title and possibly a few rogue-likes, as an idea? Use the established lore of aether and its impact on mortal bodies to explain that it's gone haywire and is draining aether from those who go in this place and so things are going to work a bit differently (but no worries, you'll regain your former strength as you imbue these handy weapons made specifically for this purpose). Oh, and someone is using powerful magic to change the layout.

Bam, fits the lore and a new feature is added.

Development resources (time, manpower) or development complications are much more likely to be a driving reason behind why a feature doesn't get implemented (along with whether the developers think it is something that is healthy for the game in its current state).

Of course, none of that really applies when the discussion is about where the narrative might go in the future.

Since lore is the framework within which a story is told (some treat just the story as the lore, but it's only a portion - it contributes events, characters, etc., but it itself is only a part), the narrative will ultimately be guided by the rules set forth in the lore.

[Berethos]

I don't think "lore" should be used as an excuse to limit a certain functionality in a way that makes a feature less fun for players. Unfortunately, that does happen all too often in this game. >_<

I'm curious as to which functionalities you believe was limited by lore that then made a feature less fun.

You claim it happens often, so I'm interested in seeing your examples.