FFXIV: Do Better

[ForteNightshade]

I keep seeing people say that Yoshi P is trying to create "a game for everyone", but that couldn't be further from the truth.

A game for everyone implies that everyone would have something to enjoy, but with the dev team's motto of 'accessibility above all', they're only catering to one very specific type of player.

With every job following this design choice, there is not a single job for the people who want more engaging kits with a higher achievable skill ceiling. And no, harder content does not equal the engagement of more complex jobs, so the "go play ultimate" comment is inherently flawed.

People are forgetting that what Yoshida says is often PR. I don't doubt for a second he means "everyone" when he says that, except you need to read between the lines. His version of "everyone" is a game accessible for anyone. It's no different than the rating system: E for Everyone. He's technically not lying but specifically wording it in such a way to have plausible deniability. Yoshida does this quite often and he's usually fantastic at it, his Ultimate comment notwithstanding.

Everything the OP said, for example, about making things "better" omits the phrase "for the OP." Interestingly, said OP also seems to get a free pass for referencing a claimed "invisible many other people."

It should go without saying people are going to speak to their own personal gripes with the game. The difference, something you continuously ignore in all threads discussing job design, is your side of the equation has been and remains repeatedly catered to at all avenues. Neither, Taurus, myself or any other who has voiced criticism towards the simplification of jobs is asking for every job to suddenly be made into a complex mess. What many of us would settle for it options. We have four healers, for example. Why do they all have to play similarly to one another? Why does Astro have to be smashed down into budget White Mage? Because some people complained they like the pretty card aesthetic but Astro was too complex! Instead of being told to play White Mage, a job tailored for their preferred playerstyle, the dev team capitulated into making Astro easier--robbing those who enjoyed its original complexity.

The same thing happened to Dark Knight all the way back in Heavensward. They wanted to play the cool, edgy tank (or pretend it was a DPS) not the "lame, holy knight". So Dark Knight needed to be grinded down in the name of accessibility. Bard lost every ounce of nuance it had in Stormblood despite the fact they were releasing a new Prange that could fill the less complex void for players. Nope! They needed Bard to be simple so everyone can play it.

Thus far, the dev team has gone out of its way to break any form of optimization players do that isn't in line with their one rotation fits all. Nonstandard Black Mage? Dead. Warriors delaying Primal Ruination to double up under buffs? Immediately killed off. Viper? Remains to be seen.

[Dogempire]

Back in my day, if you didn't like a game, you just stopped playing it and played other games that you like more as you moved on with your life.

These days, things are different, apparently.

Eh, your suggestion is impractical and akin to "If you see a murderer in your house, don't call the police, just accept it's the murderer's house and move to a new one entirely." People don't want to pick up their things and move on if they can help it, so to tell them to suck it up and go elsewhere is placing the fault on the player instead of the company.

Not to mention there's people who have slowly been watching the decline of the game like a slow-moving trainwreck, telling SE to get off the tracks while they stubbornly ignore the crowd of people and continue to stand in front of the slow train until they're crushed.

[lolnotacat]

Back in my day, if you didn't like a game, you just stopped playing it and played other games that you like more as you moved on with your life.

These days, things are different, apparently.

I'm assuming that was also back when games were shipped, that was it. They couldn't be patched or updated. Oh wait, I remember lots of people still providing feedback even back then. That's why Street Fighter II had a million different iterations.

[SieyaM]

the ability to do the job you signed up to a roulette with. tanks that know what a mitigation is, healer that can heal and not just dps while the party dies around them. at any level over 50, I would say thats something that should be learned. if they cant, well, they can easily save $15 a month then... or play a different job.

I would say nearly everyone I meet in roulettes meets these criteria. Are you seeing a lot of tanks losing aggro or not using mitigation tools, or healers letting party members die?

[ZephyrMenodora]

I'm assuming that was also back when games were shipped, that was it. They couldn't be patched or updated. Oh wait, I remember lots of people still providing feedback even back then. That's why Street Fighter II had a million different iterations.

SF2 had different iterations because they were capitalizing on their game design and engine, something they still do today. They made bank first releasing the bosses a playable characters, then the New Challengers, and then one last hurrah with Hyper Turbo. They released 4 iterations because it made them money reselling the game with just a few new perks each time. It had little to do with feedback. What were people doing back then? Sending them letters?

[lolnotacat]

SF2 had different iterations because they were capitalizing on their game design and engine, something they still do today. They made bank first releasing the bosses a playable characters, then the New Challengers, and then one last hurrah with Hyper Turbo. They released 4 iterations because it made them money reselling the game with just a few new perks each time. It had little to do with feedback. What were people doing back then? Sending them letters?

Those iterations were a result of feedback. People liked the game and engine and wanted more. And yes, people sent letters but there were plenty of events the designers would go to and actually talk to the attendees. They even had them occasionally in the US.

[ZephyrMenodora]

Those iterations were a result of feedback. People liked the game and engine and wanted more. And yes, people sent letters but there were plenty of events the designers would go to and actually talk to the attendees. They even had them occasionally in the US.

Putting fighers in the game that you didn't let people play, and then later selling a whole new version where you get to use them, is pretty simple. How much feedback do you think they needed with such a business plan?

Feedback pre-internet was nothign like it is today, and they certainly didn't release 100s of versions as you claimed based on specific feedback from any individual. Really basic like "more fighters = good" is just basic business sense. And sales numbers were the feedback that people were having fun.

I also never met a single person that figured out writing a letter to a game developer in the early 90s over balancing or the minute arguments we have here.

[anna-steele]

im havin lots of fun i love final fantasy

[Equitable_Remedy]

Eh, your suggestion is impractical and akin to "If you see a murderer in your house, don't call the police, just accept it's the murderer's house and move to a new one entirely."

I cannot stress enough how much not liking a videogame and murder are not the same thing, and it's not just a difference of degree.

[Kes13a]

I would say nearly everyone I meet in roulettes meets these criteria. Are you seeing a lot of tanks losing aggro or not using mitigation tools, or healers letting party members die?

more than a few. mostly tanks no using any mitigation, and healers mainly just dpsing, seems only after some one dies they remember they have a heal...