Revelations from Keynote III (2019)

[polyphonica]

As for the lore, it was stated as the reason during the English commentary. It might have just been an offhand comment by Koji Fox, but seeing as how he's supposed to be translating the event (so far as I know), it's not unreasonable to believe that that is the actual reason.

Really the only reason I care about this whole debacle (other than finding genderlocking to be asinine in general) is that they tried to use lore as a reason for genderlocking in the first place when it just falls apart so quickly. Lack of consistency is cause for concern.

I don't think he was making that comment at all to state that it was the reason, but more like it's an in-lore rationalization for why they're remaining rare (non-playable). I'm quite sure that at no point during the development process they were ever so bound by the lore to feel like they "could not" have added male Viera if they wanted to, and if they decide to add them in the future there can easily be an in-lore justification/rationalization for that as well ("as a result of <plot developments>, now even the men are leaving the forest..."). They also pointed out specifically that male Viera and female Hrothgar will not be playable but it doesn't mean they don't exist.

In the end, it definitely is not the development team's official reason, and I don't think he was trying to pitch it that way. I'd say Koji's comment was just to point out that it's not inconsistent with the established lore... which is obviously why they made the lore that way in the first place. The official development reason is more like "some people wanted Viera, other people wanted a more beastly race, so we tried to do both and as a result did one gender of each." Of course people will argue that this was a bad decision and they should have just picked one or the other and gone all the way... but it's way too late to change course now. The hope is basically that the fill out the other respective gender and make it playable in a later patch/expansion.

[Wyssahtyn]

So... an inevitable shitstorm occurred later rather than sooner and you're mad your expectations were betrayed.

I'm not a fan of gender-locking races either, but the developers do have creative control over the world, and if they choose to implement them with attendant lore they are free to do so. Whatever consequences come of that (like this shitstorm) are theirs to deal with.

You may have started on your post before my edit was made, but I have no strong feelings one way or the other about Viera or Hrothgar outside of believing genderlocking to be stupid. So no expectations were betrayed because I had none, and I am most assuredly not angry about it. And while the developers may have creative control over their world, that does not somehow restrict me from questioning their actions.

I don't think he was making that comment at all to state that it was the reason, but more like it's an in-lore rationalization for why they're remaining rare (non-playable). I'm quite sure that at no point during the development process they were ever so bound by the lore to feel like they "could not" have added male Viera if they wanted to, and if they decide to add them in the future there can easily be an in-lore justification/rationalization for that as well ("as a result of <plot developments>, now even the men are leaving the forest..."). They also pointed out specifically that male Viera and female Hrothgar will not be playable but it doesn't mean they don't exist.

There already exists a justification given by the Wandering Dramaturge, in that recent generations of Viera have had members leaving and living outside the Wood. Also, for a rationalisation, it falls flat, due to the examples I gave in my first post in this thread with Miqo'te males, especially Keepers. And at no point did I say that male Viera not exist, given that they plainly do. Nor did I comment on Hrothgar outside questioning how a race that looks more bestial than Au Ra is supposed to be well received in Eorzea when one of the two Au Ra we were introduced to at first hid her appearance because it was believed it wouldn't be well received, and the other had his tribe massacred to the last. Of course, that last one's something of a rhetorical question given the lack of reaction to PC Au Ra in general in ARR and HW content.