Idea To Help Ukraine

[Fyrebrand]

I remember back when Japan had that big earthquake in 2011, World of Warcraft had a minion you could buy and 100% of the proceeds went to the Red Cross's Japanese relief efforts. So, this type of thing is not unheard of.

The in-game item or reward doesn't need to have anything to do with Ukraine however; in fact, it's probably better if it doesn't and makes sense to show up in the game's world. It can be anything that players will likely want to purchase anyway, but this way they are further incentivized knowing that their money will go to a good cause.

if SE was keen on doing this, they could donate a portion of their overall cash shop proceeds

I really don't like this idea, because as long as it's only "a portion" and not 100% of the income then Square Enix would basically be profiting off of death and destruction. Alternatively, I would suggest maybe they temporarily highlight a selection of items from the MogStation and say "for this month, all proceeds from these items go to Ukraine relief." Or -- and I don't know if it's possible -- they could do something like "for this month, the next MogStation item you buy, whatever it is, 100% of the cost goes to charity." There are probably other good ways of doing it as well, but just not anything that involves them skimming off the top of the purchases to make it a profit deal.

Like all #IStandWith_____ empty causes and all the way back to #Kony and beyond... can we stop with the meaningless in game slacktivision please?

If you really want to help, donate to the Red Cross / Red Crescent / whoever, but please for the love of baby kittens, please stop bringing this stuff into the game.

I mean, it's not "slacktivism" if it actually results in donating money to a real charity. The idea behind in-game rewards being tied to a charitable donation is it incentivizes more people to give, where perhaps they might not have. I'm sure there are a ton of players who would see a cool glam or a cute minion, and say "OMG I WANT IT" and buy the thing, even if they don't care enough about Ukraine to donate otherwise. Or there's probably people who are thinking "Hmm, maybe I could donate some money to help, maybe I'll do it later, not sure how much, or how to do it... meh, I'll figure it out later," and then never do. But you show them a fancy minion that tells them directly "Here, this is the way. Pay for this thing, we will donate the money for you and you get a fun prize as well as pat yourself on the back for doing the thing. Easy peasy." Call it cynical, call it selfish, I don't care. It works.

[Theodric]

I remember back when Japan had that big earthquake in 2011, World of Warcraft had a minion you could buy and 100% of the proceeds went to the Red Cross's Japanese relief efforts. So, this type of thing is not unheard of.

Natural disasters are very different to complex regional conflicts, however. Especially if a business chooses to weigh in on some and not others.

[Rilifane]

Natural disasters are very different to complex regional conflicts, however. Especially if a business chooses to weigh in on some and not others.

Exactly.
Floods, droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornados... these are things that occur naturally and while civilization in general does affect some things in part, it's not something where you have an aggressor. There are no sides to take, there are no underlying complicatd geopolitical issues. They're natural disasters that occur from time to time.
Supporting charities that take care of the victims is simply helping innocents that were caught up in something nobody was responsible for.
Taking a side now means they will eventually get pressured into taking a side on similiar issues and they are never black and white. What if it's a case where it's extremely difficult to know which side to support? SE will get pressured into chosing one regardless. Being for one side means being against another and I completely understand if a gaming company, that primarily aims to entertain and offer people a place to escape reality for a bit, wants to remain neutral.
FFXIV has players from all across the world and while civilians are not their country nor responsible for the decisions of their leaders, it's also understandable if they're uncomfortable if SE is openly against "their" country. SE is still a business and that means trying to avoid stepping on too many toes by bringing geopolitics into their game.

That's not to say a gaming company isn't able to donate to charities like Red Cross to help victims that got injured, lost their homes etc. but announcing they're taking a side like that isn't something I can see them do. Everyone is still free to donate to reputable charities if they want to offer some support, with or without SE.

[Qujah]

Natural disasters are very different to complex regional conflicts, however. Especially if a business chooses to weigh in on some and not others.

This isn't just some "regional conflict".

For almost everyone else except Putin and his "entourage" this won't feel much different than a natural disaster, as soon as it concerns your life: It is a catastrophe (caused by one maniac) that unleashes upon peoples heads without their consent and will. No decent human being can approve with what is happening there.

And you can't expect any actions or statements from SE. But no one will stop us, the players, from showing support for Ukraine.

Suggestion: Let's do some "blue & yellow glam days"!
I'm already wearing an outfit in these colours; I think it's Othard Blue dye and Honey Yellow dye. These dyes aren't expensive. For Honey Yellow you need Yellow Pigment (Miner) from Lower La Noscea/Cedarwood or (as a Botanist) from North Shroud/Peacegarden (suitable name). For Othard Blue it's Blue Pigment from either Western Thanalan/Nophica's Wells (MIN) or Eastern La Noscea/Bloodshore (BTN). And any lvl30 crafter can craft that.

I'm ready to gather and craft more of these and hand out the dyes for free, but I will not spam in-game messages like "get blue and yellow dyes for free" (I still hate spamming).

I'd love to see many players in blue and yellow for a while.

Regards
Qujah

[Vahlnir]

This isn't just some "regional conflict".

For almost everyone else except Putin and his "entourage" this won't feel much different than a natural disaster, as soon as it concerns your life: It is a catastrophe (caused by one maniac) that unleashes upon peoples heads without their consent and will. No decent human being can approve with what is happening there.

Yep. This is everyone's problem, whether they realize it or not. Doesn't matter if they live a few miles from Kyiv or up in the Yukon area of Canada. The ramifications are huge, and that is why there is so much outpouring of support for Ukraine right now. They are a democracy under attack by a dictatorship. That is not okay.

[Padudu]

This isn't just some "regional conflict".

For almost everyone else except Putin and his "entourage" this won't feel much different than a natural disaster, as soon as it concerns your life: It is a catastrophe (caused by one maniac) that unleashes upon peoples heads without their consent and will. No decent human being can approve with what is happening there.

And you can't expect any actions or statements from SE. But no one will stop us, the players, from showing support for Ukraine.

Suggestion: Let's do some "blue & yellow glam days"!
I'm already wearing an outfit in these colours; I think it's Othard Blue dye and Honey Yellow dye. These dyes aren't expensive. For Honey Yellow you need Yellow Pigment (Miner) from Lower La Noscea/Cedarwood or (as a Botanist) from North Shroud/Peacegarden (suitable name). For Othard Blue it's Blue Pigment from either Western Thanalan/Nophica's Wells (MIN) or Eastern La Noscea/Bloodshore (BTN). And any lvl30 crafter can craft that.

I'm ready to gather and craft more of these and hand out the dyes for free, but I will not spam in-game messages like "get blue and yellow dyes for free" (I still hate spamming).

I'd love to see many players in blue and yellow for a while.

Regards
Qujah

no one is stopping you from wearing Ukraine flag colors in game lol just don't act as if this is making a some sort of impactful difference.

also Theodric never said it was "just" a regional conflict lol don't put words in his mouth. Come on now you know his point is very well that giving aid to natural disasters vs political conflicts are two very different ball games

[Iscah]

I mean, it's not "slacktivism" if it actually results in donating money to a real charity. The idea behind in-game rewards being tied to a charitable donation is it incentivizes more people to give, where perhaps they might not have. [...] Call it cynical, call it selfish, I don't care. It works.

I think it's a difficult thing because it sets a precedent. Create a minion to support one worthy cause or disaster and the next time one happens, they either have to do it again or look like they don't care about it as much as the other thing.

There's already a similar kind of issue going on with the housing timers spending more time paused than active as yet another regional disaster prompts them to halt the system again – but for them that's just a matter of hitting a switch and frustrating a few players looking for houses, not something they actively have to put work into.

If they were on the same kind of expectation with charity minions then that would be adding more unscheduled work for them every time something happens, and we'd get a pile-up of permanent minions for temporary disasters.

The best option if they ever did want to do a minion might be a single "all proceeds to Red Cross" minion that never stops directing funds to some aspect of the organisation's work, even if the specific cause ceases to require funds. But that still raises the question of how many charities are deserving of such representation, and which ones.

[Padudu]

"Hmm, maybe I could donate some money to help, maybe I'll do it later, not sure how much, or how to do it... meh, I'll figure it out later," and then never do. But you show them a fancy minion that tells them directly "Here, this is the way. Pay for this thing, we will donate the money for you and you get a fun prize as well as pat yourself on the back for doing the thing. Easy peasy." Call it cynical, call it selfish, I don't care. It works.

so you want SE to basically make a minion that not only trivializes the tragedy going on but also enable people to keep turning a blind eye to it for a virtual item? sounds great!

btw it doesn't work, if anything it just makes people only donate if there's something in it for them -- you know an idea against the notion of charity

yelling at a game company to make an item so you have a "reason" to donate is just about as effective as slapping the flag colors on your character in the name of support. just donate to a charity directly, or even if you don't want to send yourself to the front lines I'm sure there's local organizations you can spend your time in to volunteer - such as packaging first aid ect.

[Illmaeran]

I remember back when Japan had that big earthquake in 2011, World of Warcraft had a minion you could buy and 100% of the proceeds went to the Red Cross's Japanese relief efforts. So, this type of thing is not unheard of.

That was an awesome thing for them to do, no doubt. The decision to do something like this is a lot easier when it's in response to an event not related to governmental actions such as we're seeing in Ukraine. If I were SE, as much as I may want to help, getting involved in something that's so closely tied to sensitive politics is touchy.