A Storyteller’s Point of View on Final Fantasy XIV

[hagare]

*looks at lower limsa aetherite plaza*
*sweats profusely*

Limsa does not kink shame. Limsa accepts all.

[BRVV]

Limsa does not kink shame. Limsa accepts all.

I think that was the point. You can find every kink in limsa

[ReynTime]

while to some extent I agree, you have to be aware that the game has been around for 12 years.

they have changed the original arc to make it shorter for new players. this is going to cause issues with your attempt to critique the story, since its not the same as it was. in fact, they removed 13% of the ARR quests, lines of dialogue that used to be part of quests were removed to shorten the quest chains themselves. at this point, especially in ARR, you are being handed a book with entire paragraphs, pages and chapters that are simply removed to make the experience shorter because players complained it was too long.

while your attempt is interesting, I feel its conception is flawed from the start

That's not his problem. He's giving his perspective as an author who just started. Just leave him be, it's not like FFXIV will have whatever reputation you people think it has tarnished because someone dared critique past story arcs. If he feels it improves later, he will give his take accordingly.

And then some people here still have the gall to claim the fanbase is not overly defensive of any negative criticism...

[Boblawblah]

That's not his problem. He's giving his perspective as an author who just started. Just leave him be, it's not like FFXIV will have whatever reputation you people think it has tarnished because someone dared critique past story arcs. If he feels it improves later, he will give his take accordingly.

And then some people here still have the gall to claim the fanbase is not overly defensive of any negative criticism...

a single, calm response saying "I agree to some extent, but I do have some issues with your take" isn't being overly defensive of any negative criticism. The OP purposely made this thread to blog his critique of the story/game, are you honestly expecting no one to say "I disagree"?

[Kes13a]

That's not his problem. He's giving his perspective as an author who just started. Just leave him be, it's not like FFXIV will have whatever reputation you people think it has tarnished because someone dared critique past story arcs. If he feels it improves later, he will give his take accordingly.

And then some people here still have the gall to claim the fanbase is not overly defensive of any negative criticism...

"you people"?

funny. personally all I was doing was advising that the premise might be faulty because things have been removed. in no way do I defend their removal. but I forgot, to some, especially like "you people" anything that doesnt condemn the game vociferously must be fanatic defense.

he gave his perspective, and I just advised why that may be the case. people can critique all they want, heck, I even agreed with the OP to an extent. hardly being defensive or defending SE or FFxiv. just pointing out a FACT, that is easily verifiable. relax, your dislike and opinions are safe from assault.

[AngelCheese77]

Close to Home (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Close_to_Home_)

This quest gets us familiar with some locations, the Aetheryte, the market, and one of the hand of war/magic guild, in my case, the archer. As with most starting quests, little danger is involved. Story-wise, Mother Miounne is upfront about the purpose, to give us a grasp of adventuring… I question the wording. We are also told to seek the Smiths should we need advice. We are also encouraged to help anyone who needs it in town.

As you play FF14, please keep in mind that it was mainly written in Japanese. What you see in the language you play in, can be a loose translation, a translation that might have changed from the original intent, or even changed entirely because it needs to fit better into the language it was translated to. So much of the wording and information c an seem odd or just worded wrong.

The Market

Here we speak with Parsemontret, who for the price of 1 eel pie tells us about the market. While the interaction teaches us the mechanic of handing items to NPCs, the bluntness of ‘give me a bribe’ is a tad offputting.

Characters have personalities. I'm sure you know this when it comes to books. So you will find the same here. So it shouldn't be that much of a surprise for an NPC that works through bribery.

The Archers.

So, I was sent to the archer from the start.

Here we speak to the receptionist and get the backstory on archery in the region. Other than the NPC acting like she can’t see my bow, therefore treats me as someone who doesn’t know archery exists, the storytelling is adequate.

It is written as such because later on, you unlock the ability to take on multiple classes. Meaning, you start as an Archer, but after a point in the MSQ (Main Story Questline) you are allowed to go and learn to be a Marauder or a Lancer. So it makes sense the NPC asks if you want to be an Archer in a neutral way.

We return to Mother Miounne, are thanked for being an adventurer who is there for the population, and express hope that we will be there to help in the coming struggles.

One interesting note with the ending. She thanked me for helping some citizens, which I did not do. I think that is a slight flaw in the narrative.

Hm, I never noticed that. Maybe because I assisted other NPCs along the way. Interesting.

To the Bannock (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/To_the_Bannock)

I had to do the first Archer quest to get to level 4 and activate this quest

I will let you know, FF14 has quests and areas behind what are called "level locks" or "gates". These can be the level of your character, the iLevel of your gear (known as item level), how far you are in the MSQ (Main Story Quest), if you have done particular dungeons or side quests, etc. Don't let it discourage you. Many find it annoying.

Passing Muster (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Passing_Muster)

Here we are inspected to ensure we are properly armored.

I had to take a side quest to afford to buy the pieces of armor I needed to meet the requirement. It was the one to go looking for recruits that didn’t show up for training, and while this falls under game mechanics more than storytelling, I’m not a fan of how they are identified with an icon that can be seen from any good vantage points. It makes finding them a little too easy.

I passed muster and concluded the quest.

Blame that on "modernity" and "inclusion" for MMOs. Back in the day (think EverQuest in 1999), you had to write things down and explore. Now, it's all about handholding and making this easier for players no matter how they play. You get used to it.

[AngelCheese77]

(https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Chasing_Shadows)

Right off the bat, we have a storytelling flaw. We ‘have proven ourselves a friend to Gridania’ through our tireless efforts. And we can now be trusted with sensitive intelligence.

I’ve just stood here, finishing one quest, and started this one.

We are told that we are good and important to Gridania, but we haven’t been shown to be so. ‘Show don’t Tell’ is a much-repeated rule in storytelling, and I think that here it matters. Instead of trusting we did help people (which in and of itself doesn’t prove we are trustworthy). We should be given minor tasks and missions where we show we can be trusted to do what we are told.

I get where you are coming from, but if we were made to do X amount of mundane tasks to prove ourselves .. I'm certain many players would quit before a few hours are up.

We get a cut scene that starts with some words I like the least in games like these. ‘Time is of the essence. Unless the mission is on a timer (few are) then time is not of the essence and the NPCs shouldn’t act like it is.

It's to give urgency to the narrative. Doing timers for quests in an MMO doesn't work, IMO. That and the anxiety. Ugh. Besides, some players might want to do other things, and being "forced" to do a quest with an arbitrary timer given kinda stinks. You lose the "sandbox" open feeling that way.

While one of the function of this quest is to get us to interact with an item. On a storytelling level, the problem with it is that there is no story here. We interact with the sword, people show up, including author inserts, there is a fight, basically the end. There is no need to ‘do’ anything story related.

We aren’t part of the story; the story happens around us.

You have figured out the main narrative of FF14. Because we are always "in the right place" when things happen. Remember, we are the chosen of Hydaelyn, the Mother Crystal of the Source (where we live). So things will happen around us, characters will be drawn to us, and we will be pulled into every problem (big or small) that happens.

Welcome to being a hero!

Here we have the first clear indication that we can speak, and yet, our dialog doesn’t show up.

Welcome to us being a silent protagonist as well!

My big problem with this quest is that it’s supposed to be something only I could do, but how could any guard fail to see a sword in a stump? In a story, events have to happen for a reason supported by the narrative. Nothing in the narrative support that I should be the one to resolve this issue. There was no subterfuge involved, no mysterious person to find. Just a sword in a stump anyone passing by could have seen. And guards have been passing by since they made a report about that area.

Remember in the cutscene that strange apparatus Papalymo wore over his face? It senses aether in the world. I believe that sword was covered in that aether and due to the placement of it and the stump, it was in an out-of-the-way area. Hence how only you three found it.

[DPZ2]

Right off the bat, we have a storytelling flaw. We ‘have proven ourselves a friend to Gridania’ by our tireless efforts. And we can now be trusted with sensitive intelligence.

I’ve just stood here, finishing one quest and started this one.

A caveat as you play through the game via only the Main Story Questline: You will find a number of times you'll find some of the wording odd because you haven't done the side quests. You have no need to do them to advance in levels in 2022. Back in 2014, when I started, you ended up doing all of the quests available to advance in levels.

We should be given minor tasks and missions where we show we can be trusted to do what we are told.

We are. They are called side quests.

We aren’t part of the story; the story happens around us.

You are not important at this point in the story. You're getting there, to be sure, but it will be a long time before you earn the eponym "Warrior of Light".

Even Frodo was 'just a hobbit' when he started out.

"Here we have the first clear indication that we can speak, and yet, our dialog doesn’t show up."

We "speak" quite a bit in cut-scenes. There is no need for us to reiterate in text what we've already gone through in-game. You'll find that we are given dialogue to choose when it matters (and sometimes when it does not).

[kindar1]

I get where you are coming from, but if we were made to do X amount of mundane tasks to prove ourselves. I'm certain many players would quit before a few hours are up.

Minor doesn't have to mean mundane. And as the main character of our story, even a task that starts as mundane, could and should evolve into something entertaining. it doesn't have to be world-shattering yet, the goal would simply be to make us actually matter to the characters around us. so that when we are entrusted with this mission, it makes sense why it is us, who is entrusted with it, and not someone actually qualified.

It's to give urgency to the narrative.

Unfortunately, telling me it's urgent and not enforcing it, doesn't give me a sense of urgency in the narrative. It simply leaves me questioning why. This isn't an issue that only FF14 struggles with. I've played multiple single-player games where I'm given a job that MUST BY DONE NOW, then I'm allowed to wander around for hours and days on end before finishing it.

Welcome to being a hero!

Here I have to disagree. the hero is the one who does. the sidekick is the one who simply assists.

Welcome to us being a silent protagonist as well!

If I am going to have to play a silent protagonist, the protagonist should be silent, and not simply put me in a position to not be able to read what he's saying.

Remember in the cutscene that strange apparatus Papalymo wore over his face? It senses aether in the world. I believe that sword was covered in that aether and due to the placement of it and the stump, it was in an out-of-the-way area. Hence how only you three found it.

Galfrid tells us to go to the Lifemend Stump, and that the majority of the sightings took place there. so, clearly, they sent someone there. you raise a good point about the sword being covered in the aether, and that could be why no one saw it before. We don't know that we have the Echo yet. I'd have to look at the cut scene again, but I don't recall how Papalymo and his companion behave regarding the sword before and after he puts the goggles on. I'm confident that nothing is made of it one way or another, which would be a missed opportunity to show us that the glowing particles were more than just an indication to me, the player, that this was the item I needed to interact with.

an addendum on 10-7-22, I just rewatched the cutscene, and Yda sees the sword without the use of any device, implying that it's visible to anyone.

[Restonance]

This is pretty interesting surprisingly enough. I went in expecting blind praise but no, there's actually some pretty good stuff written down here aside from a couple of bumps. I may have to actually follow along. I'm interested in seeing how far this'll go.