Quote Originally Posted by Lyth View Post
Daichi Hiroi just needs to know that he is writing interactive fiction, not a play for his old theatre company.

That means player involvement and player engagement. Don't treat the players like passive spectators for a proxy main character. Throw in player choices, ask them what they think (even if it's only to crack a joke or offer an insight based off of completed optional content). Convince your players to 'clothe themselves in the fiction,' as Ishikawa put it. She understood this better than anyone else, which is why prior expansions were so memorable.
Honestly, I don't think this is a problem.

The WoL was a sidekick to Hien during the second half of Stormblood and, as I understand it, Hien is liked by a big part of the playerbase.
On the other hand, with all the issues all the other characters had (Bakool Ja Ja suddenly changing gears from one scene to the other, the rather subtle hint to Zoraal Ja's drive, Koana's sister complex), everyone but the main character we're supposed to be a sidekick for seems more interesting and seem to actually develop as a character, albeit at a poorly planned pace seemingly.

Meanwhile, Poochie just keeps being the oh so quirky character the universe revolves around and only needs to lift a finger to get her way, or rather, use us to get her way and she's just not a compelling character or even entertaining to see.