Male Viera as a playable character! show your support

[KaijinRhada]

Yes, please implement male viera when it is feasible to do so. I was nearly holding my breath from the Paris Fanfest to the keynote today, dreading and hoping... I am disappointed by this choice to reinforce an unfortunately limited lens through which to interpret masculinity and femininity. FFXIV is groundbreaking in many ways, offering challenging stories and thoughtful and nuanced treatment of many difficult topics, as well as laudable egalitarianism in certain respects. It's not perfect, but it is valuable nevertheless. This announcement felt like a step in a very wrong direction. Please amend this.

(P.S. I also feel that it would also be most balanced to also offer a Hrothgar female model that is equally as bestial in appearance and powerful in build as their male counterparts.)

Reminds me of something said by a blogger I follow:

"ah yes the two Video Game Genders

Large Hyper-Masculine Ape-Armed Beast

Waifish Simpering Feminine Lingerie Model"

While we have choices outside of these, it's sadly amusing to see the two new races fall under this exact archetype.

[Anzaman]

(P.S. I also feel that it would also be most balanced to also offer a Hrothgar female model that is equally as bestial in appearance and powerful in build as their male counterparts.)

Well, considering that male Hrothgar is basically modified Roegadyn, you can expect female Hrothgar to use female Roegadyn body.

[Anarnee]

I was so looking forward to seeing all the bunny boys run around.

I feel awful for everyone what was looking forward to male viera.

[Starcallers]

I joined FFXIV around the time Viera rumors started, and the more information began to drip out, the more excited I got, thinking 'I'm going to be a bunny, and it's going to be incredible'. A nature-focused race with incredibly interesting lore, and rabbit-features? Fierce protectors of the forest? My little heart's been fluttering for months about this, and the Wandering Dramaturge's notes only fanned the flames with endless what ifs and hypotheticals to consider from a character development stand-point.

The idea that "Lore" is holding back Male Viera, frankly, insulted me. Square, you're the pinnacle of the industry. I dreamed of working for you as a child. Your stories and worlds are imaginative, and you want to tell me that your creative minds couldn't consider the open ended possibilities of Male Viera leaving their forest because it's on fire, or they're under attack and could use assistance to really help ensure survival? Or that a Viera boy left the forest on his own, because of curiosity, violating his community's traditions to seek new frontiers, and forever being banished from his traditions? I can think of so many interesting stories to tell with the sparse information you provided about the boys being taken away as youths to train in becoming protectors of the forest, living in isolation, away from the females, and away from the rest of the world. Just that little snippet, and if I can do it, I have a very hard time believing you are not imaginative enough to do it as well ... Or that you're not savvy enough to let players figure out why their Male Viera left the forest they 'never leave'.

I really don't expect this to be read by anyone other than fellow forum goers, but I just couldn't believe such an excuse was used, and it felt dishonest to the whole situation, like the true answer had more to do with corporate decisions or resource management than "Lore".

I don't feel good about the lack of female Hrothgar either. If you wanted them in, it would have been better to go the extra mile to encourage the creativity of your player base, allowing them to explore these new societies in forms they are interested in, and to craft their own experiences within your wonderful world. I think both races are wonderful, but they only feel half complete. By denying the player base the opportunity to explore the male-experience of the Viera's culture, and the female-experience of the Hrothgar, you're silencing hundreds, if not thousands, of creative voices. One artist to a multi-million dollar corporation that doesn't care if I exist, that is the real disappointment for me today.

You can do better. Your artists deserve better. Your worlds deserve better. Your players deserve better.

If the Forums really are 'the best way to be heard', which I have my doubts: Please consider this more thoroughly.

[Sin_Faye]

I feel like the real reason male Viera didn't become a thing is because they wouldn't allow FFXIV to set the precedent for what a male Viera looks like.

Like in the eyes of SE the 'MMO' isn't worthy of setting the precedent for what male Viera looks like, it's only allowed to use established assets from the world of final fantasy rather than make them.

If Square Enix respected FFXIV more, perhaps they would have allowed Yoshi to be the first to put male Viera into a Final Fantasy game.

[BillyKaplan]

Like in the eyes of SE the 'MMO' isn't worthy of setting the precedent for what male Viera looks like, it's only allowed to use established assets from the world of final fantasy rather than make them.

Aren't Au Ra XIV exclusive? And Hroths too for that matter, though they're based on other races. They could've given us Viera without being Viera like how Miqo'te aren't quite Mithra and broken away from the shackles of that original lore.
If anything though that's a big part of the problem here, XIV having less and less lore of its own.

[Insertcoins]

I feel like the real reason male Viera didn't become a thing is because they wouldn't allow FFXIV to set the precedent for what a male Viera looks like.

Like in the eyes of SE the 'MMO' isn't worthy of setting the precedent for what male Viera looks like, it's only allowed to use established assets from the world of final fantasy rather than make them.

If Square Enix respected FFXIV more, perhaps they would have allowed Yoshi to be the first to put male Viera into a Final Fantasy game.

THat's LITERALLY what I've been saying all day and before. I'm glad I'm not the only who thinks this. - goes back to my creepy shadow theory door.-

[Sin_Faye]

Aren't Au Ra XIV exclusive? And Hroths too for that matter, though they're based on other races. They could've given us Viera without being Viera like how Miqo'te aren't quite Mithra and broken away from the shackles of that original lore.
If anything though that's a big part of the problem here, XIV having less and less lore of its own.

The thing is Mithra is from the MMO. It’s just not as iconic as Viera which appear in main series outside of the MMO. They just want FFXIV to only use stuff from other MMOs not set the present for things.

Imagine a DC comics mobile game.

In the world of DC the Joker is a major villain, but it has never been revealed what his definite origin is. His background is a huge mystery.

Now imagine if the DC mobile game asked DC if they could make Joker’s background story and reveal it to the players.

I would imagine them to say something like... “You think we’d allow your game to decide something like that? Keep dreaming.”

So I don’t think it was Yoshi’s decision here, it was either no male viera or no viera at all. Also he can’t come out and say that his hands where tied by Square Enix. It’s part of his job just to take the rage and hate from the fans with a smile, when it was something that he was never allowed to put into the game.

Hope male Viera can be made in a different final fantasy game, so they can show up in FFXIV sometime.

[BillyKaplan]

So I don’t think it was Yoshi’s decision here, it was either no male viera or no viera at all. Also he can’t come out and say that his hands where tied by Square Enix. It’s part of his job just to take the rage and hate from the fans with a smile, when it was something that he was never allowed to put into the game.

And while I respect that, it hurts the game. I had a friend who swore he'd live in XIV if BLU gets released. And he has the capacity to play for long durations of time. You know what happened? He got all the spells and hasn't logged in in two months.
They're making too many... at best compromises, at worst, half-boiled decisions and the disappointments are beginning to pile up. This in particular hurts all the more because gender locks are something tehy very actively moved away from. For them to go back to it now...

[Mansion]

I'm here to show support!

Although my real problem is that in their mindest, offering an underdressed female race and a buffed male race is perfectly fine for everyone. Well that's not the case. At all.