A Storyteller’s Point of View on Final Fantasy XIV

[SannaR]

Somehow my brain thought he was posting the quests at the levels they were at. Instead of at what level they occur at. Again most of the time there won't be a time limit as like you said someone might not be ready to tackle the quest. The only complications is that you get the failed duty noise and need to restart. Which gets both annoying and tiresome. Not saying that the game does a good job of showing urgency or time passage, buy I either have grown used to it or accept that in most cases what kind of media I'm partaking in.

[Cygnia]

Technically we do have timed events in the game, from dungeons to various instances...but stuff like quests have never been set to a timer. Besides, what point is there to a timed quest if its completion is vital to progressing? You're simply adding a layer of frustration and for an illusion of urgency that will be popped the moment you can retry the quest.
For those events which do such as some beast tribe quests, the timer itself has a different reason to exist than to faff around pretending we're on a schedule.

[AmpelioB]

Addendum

As of the time I am posting this, my subscription has expired. The only way this affects me is that I will not be able to play beyond the last MSQ level 59 quest.

So, the story now has until I hit that point to convince me to buy a subscription.

I want to make sure it’s clear. This isn’t a ‘keep playing because things will get good eventually’ situation. Just about everyone who’s talked with me about the game has told me that already. No. When I hit that last quest and I’m informed that, unless I get a subscription, I will not know what the next quest entails. I must be at the very least sufficiently curious about what’s to come, that I’ll want to spend the money.

This is something that bothers me, you boast about your writing credentials yet you are only judging by story aspect, you are not taking in consideration the gameplay or social elements of it, in this addedum you speak like it's some kind of comic book or novel where you are only in for the story and even taking it as a game you are solely treating as some kind of single player game, when it's intrinsic of the social elements and they cant bend the story to deny you of using these aspects just because whatever is happening in the MSQ is urgent.

you have also said you "cant criticize on gameplay" like, sure you may not be some game designer but you are still a player and a consumer. sure your commentary won't be deep but i'm pretty sure at level 30 you can speak at least something, principally even some skill from the classes tie back to the lore.

also talk about botany and carpentry, thats nice.

[Atelier-Bagur]

This is something that bothers me, you boast about your writing credentials yet you are only judging by story aspect, you are not taking in consideration the gameplay or social elements of it, in this addedum you speak like it's some kind of comic book or novel where you are only in for the story and even taking it as a game you are solely treating as some kind of single player game, when it's intrinsic of the social elements and they cant bend the story to deny you of using these aspects just because whatever is happening in the MSQ is urgent.

you have also said you "cant criticize on gameplay" like, sure you may not be some game designer but you are still a player and a consumer. sure your commentary won't be deep but i'm pretty sure at level 30 you can speak at least something, principally even some skill from the classes tie back to the lore.

also talk about botany and carpentry, thats nice.

Although to defend his take a bit, there's nothing wrong with sticking to FFXIV just for it's plot, so if he ever manages to get invested in the world, characters and the events happening prior to the expiration of the free trial then that's already fine as is.

I first grew to enjoy the game for it's world and most importantly my own personal attachment to my WoL, everything else came 2nd afterwards and I've grown to enjoy that too.

But everyone is different, not everyone will be pleased by the game (which is major well no dip) and that's fine too.

[VelKallor]

Storywise, the main issue I feel here is a lack of agency. This is another case of us being told what is happening, when a chain of small quests could have conveyed the same information, and left me feeling like the victory was mine, instead of just going where I’m told.

There is much more to this, and I find it odd you didnt mention the moogle's involvement in all of this...it matters a great deal...now and later.

Another case of being told how good we are, when nothing we have done is all that impressive. Also, again, something urgent where I can take however long I want. I do understand that not every player will be ready to take on the next mission, but if a sense of urgency won’t be real, it shouldn’t be part of the story. And if it is urgent, put a timer up and let the player deal with the complications that cause.

There is a thread and theme you have either missed or ignored...and it shows. I assume you either disregarded or ignored Mother Miounne's comments when you first arrived in Gridania. How much of the actual text are you reading?..or are you reading it at all?

Had you done so, then Miounne's comments have more significance than you realised.

MSQ isnt on a timer because its designed to be started and stopped whenever the player wants.

you boast about your writing credentials

Yeah, 15 novels in ten years?

[Cygnia]

Question - the qiqim's egg theft, committed 'to survive' - was it a fertilized chocobo egg? My impression at the time is the fellas stole it for greeds sake as well, rather than as a desperate act of hunger that could only be satisfied by crunching on baby eggs. Doesn't make the retribution any less brutal, but does put things into perspective.

[SannaR]

There is much more to this, and I find it odd you didnt mention the moogle's involvement in all of this...it matters a great deal...now and later.



There is a thread and theme you have either missed or ignored...and it shows. I assume you either disregarded or ignored Mother Miounne's comments when you first arrived in Gridania. How much of the actual text are you reading?..or are you reading it at all?

Had you done so, then Miounne's comments have more significance than you realised.

MSQ isnt on a timer because its designed to be started and stopped whenever the player wants.



Yeah, 15 novels in ten years?

I do wonder about how much they really are reading. As a lot of their misunderstandings does come off as not paying attention to what's being stated in the quests. A lot of the things he has a problem with or seems to not understand are things brought up in those quests. The few timers outside of some kind of duty is normally the ones where you are transporting something from point A to point B. Either its a heavy object and your legs will give out after 2mins or there's something faulty with said object.

[AmpelioB]

Although to defend his take a bit, there's nothing wrong with sticking to FFXIV just for it's plot, so if he ever manages to get invested in the world, characters and the events happening prior to the expiration of the free trial then that's already fine as is.

I first grew to enjoy the game for it's world and most importantly my own personal attachment to my WoL, everything else came 2nd afterwards and I've grown to enjoy that too.

But everyone is different, not everyone will be pleased by the game (which is major well no dip) and that's fine too.

that wasnt my point, my point is they are so focusing on story elements that they are ignoring the fact that its still a game, not an novel.

[AmpelioB]

I'll say though, I like the glam you have on your character. Do you have any lore for your character so far?

[Raoabolic]

that wasnt my point, my point is they are so focusing on story elements that they are ignoring the fact that its still a game, not an novel.

To be fair, the game markets it's story VERY heavily so it would be silly to dismiss the story, warts and all.