Miss the good old days

[bic12]

I was talking to a friend today and was asked what I played for fun. Told him I used to play FF14, it was a big part of my young adult life. I bantered with people, chatted in Idyllshire, "ragebaited" before that was in the common lexicon, had a blast clearing the early Ultimates, screamed when I cleared...

What went wrong? I always thought it was this game. To be sure, this game has been going downhill in many respects. But I don't know if it's that anymore. I think we're just living in an age of malaise, especially in the United States.

I figured, when you look at how completely nonsensical the Endwalker/Dawntrail story was, that's partly because we can't imagine that kind of society in real life anymore. Really, people just giving up their centuries of hatred because you offered them a steamed bun? That's ridiculous. It wasn't just because part of FF14's writing went downhill. I think it's also because this game is now situated in a very different culture and climate.

And the Heavensward community I remember will never come back anymore, because it was a slice of Internet culture that will never come back. It's not that people grew up, it's that the Internet writ large is no longer a somewhat insulated pocket of culture. Even if you avoid all the politics and current events in FF14, you'd surely feel its oppressive force, suffusing the game culture through every nook and cranny.

I mean, can you imagine anything like the VA drama happening during HW? I certainly can't.

But I don't know if we could ever go back, because we've reached a point where nothing short of a war or revolution will purge this malaise. You have to have an optimistic society and culture for people to feel good about playing average or "OK" games. I'm not sure Americans will ever see that in this century.

[IttyBittyShark]

i commiserate with you deeply and think of similar things often. i miss how everything online was fifteen years ago. i really miss how everyone playing FFXIV was back in ARR-HW days. it makes me really sad that it's something that will never happen again, but i'm glad we got to experience it.

[0blivion]

"VA drama" I think you mean a targeted transphobic and racist hate campaign, actually!

[Striker44]

What went wrong?

Nothing, just the natural changing of things as time passes. The core demographic of MMO's shifted from teenagers, college kids, and young adults to middle-aged people with families and full-time careers. It is partially that people "grew up." I remember the early WoW days sitting in XR shouting to make a party for Wailing Caverns, then walking over to the dungeon, and spending up to 2 more hours to clear it. It was an absolute blast! I also couldn't even begin to imagine wanting to do that today. My playtime is much more limited, so I much prefer the "shoot in and out" style of roulettes and group finders.

The other part is the social space. Back in the "golden age" of MMO's, being online in the MMO world was the newest and most convenient way to communicate with others online. Now we have smartphones, social media, apps, etc. that are all much more effective at the same tasks.

Put those two parts together, and we went from MMO games and worlds being created with the intention that people would be spending hours upon hours a day there, effectively living a second life through the game to a place where people need to actually feel like they're making progress and accomplishing something even in short stints of time while they keep in touch with people through a myriad of other means.

it makes me really sad that it's something that will never happen again, but i'm glad we got to experience it.

Same. I feel bad for the people who are going through the same stage of life now that I was 20 years ago, and those who went through it with me but just never moved on and are still stuck in less "mature" selves. I feel like if you look at a lot of the "complaints" FFXIV gets these days, it comes down to a refusal to accept that times change and things are not the same as they were back then, and so game developers need to adjust accordingly.

[maidgil]

..I figured, when you look at how completely nonsensical the Endwalker/Dawntrail story was, that's partly because we can't imagine that kind of society in real life anymore. Really, people just giving up their centuries of hatred because you offered them a steamed bun? That's ridiculous.

I think, largely, I have to disagree with most of this post but this especially. I know for a lot of people Endwalker especially was hit or miss but I got completely different vibes than you did. I mean, the Garleans and their whole thing was that they very much didn't give up any centuries of hatred. Neither did the rest of the world. They're bitter and spiteful and bite at any hand proffered. Of which there are notably few, as stated by people on all sides. They refuse to let go of their superiority to the point of letting them and their fellows die to uphold and enforce it. Which I feel like is a very relevant type of political plot line today.

I think where Dawntrail falls flat for most people is that it is a representation of the optimism you say is a problem. I've got my own gripes with the story, but I think it's one that sits best when compared to the ones that came before it and is thought about deeply. Its best points are the ones that aren't explicitly fed to the player, which does make it harder for the player base en masse to grapple with it. I liked the messages of resilience, unity without conformity, anti-complacency, the importance of the past for the present, and how ignorance isn't the solution to the problems that come with living.

Overall, there are plenty of people who still experience what you wrote about in the first few sentences. I constantly banter with people in duties, afk in spaces where others hang out and watch/join in conversations, go through emotional roller coasters when clearing higher level duties for the first time, and all that follows. I think as much as FFXIV is reliant on other people it is also reliant on you. While it's not a perfect one to one give and take, you gotta give what you want. I find my best times on here are when I go all in. If you approach it with that pessimism you will only ever find things to be pessimistic about. You gotta make your community and happiness in FFXIV as much as you do anywhere else in the world.

Honestly your current life state does also leak into it. I find I'm at my happiest in this game when I'm also active elsewhere. Malaise and not being optimistic is easy to fall into. And while this is a video game forum and not a therapy one, I say being active in your real life community to an extent as much as you can and finding ways to make yourself feel like you are doing something for what you feel is right goes a long way to making even MMO's feel 'good' again.

[Exmo]

Have you tried not being American?

[SKAshe]

Have you tried not being American?

This hits way too hard

[Astronis]

You've gotten older, and so has the frontier that was online. I miss what used to be, too. I wasn't here, in this game, but the online world used to be a much different (and better, and wilder) place.

There will be another frontier someday.

[Enkidoh]

Trolling the forums and game ain't what it used to be eh? That's the thing about reputations... they tend to catch up to you eventually.

[CCheshire]

My pal Titanman's 100th alt has returned to us now, I see.

Are you sure I still see you doom posting every other week? If this game is so terrible, why come back to join us on this paid forum for years for an MMO that you have written many times you dislike alot and have threatened to quit? I'll see you in 8.0 too, I guess.