The Merchant's Tale: A Social Commentary on the Playerbase by the Devs?

[Hastatus]

Did anyone else catch on that The Merchant's Tale is a clever social commentary on those players who do and do not complain about rewards? It's a video game inside a video game. A shiny weapon, a carpet mount, a housing trophy item...the Maiden was unimpressed because these are not what matter. A simple dirty plate is a memory of a journey, an experience lived. My dirty plate will be when I stopped beside the vast beautiful field of grapes and looked upon their massive number of polygons and I understood how much of an improvement the DT graphics update has been. Thank you Devs!

The 'blinders' for clearing all routes: the cherry on top!

[Carin-Eri]

I, personally, was amused at the dialogue choices during the pre-dungeon cutscenes... the moment we're given two options to select when discussing the story, and one of them is "so I'm not the main character?"
Couldn't help but think back to all those discussions pertaining to "main character syndrome" during 7.0.

[HammAndCheese]

Grapes in this game are like cows on a road trip.

"Omg GRAPES"--Me when I see grapes in FF14
"Omg COWS"--Me when I see cows on a road trip

[Jeeqbit]

This is how I see the game, personally. I am creating memories. The nature of the reward is kind of irrelevant, but helps me get there regardless. For example, I have a giant collection of parasols and facewear I'll never use. They are moreso just memory crystals of my time doing the content, to me.

Yoshi-P once said he doesn't understand attaching memories to rewards, because that isn't common in Japan. It was in reference to our tendency to fill our inventory with currencies and not delete them. But part of the reason to not delete things like totems or Savage books is that a memory is associated with them.

So whether it is a totem, a book, a parasol, a facewear, a mount, a minion, it's just an achievement to me.

[Turtledeluxe]

I think Yoshi P and fans overthink this and it's not a black and white situation. Rewards can be the reason someone does content they otherwise would not have done, and by extension, the reason memories end up being made in the first place. It's not deep, crazy or philosophical, and we can look at all manner of MMOs to see this is a thing. Quest is funny and all, but whoever wrote it is being manipulative and trying to make you feel bad for basic expectations.

[GraceHorizon]

Ya know, that may or may not be an intended subtext, but it’s a fun one! And definitely it was a mix of playing for rewards and playing for fun for me, with playing for fun predominating during most of my time in FFXIV. I overleveled like crazy while I was coming up through the MSQ because I enjoyed duty roulettes, and during most of the past 3 years I kept enjoying them. I used to even do “Wondrous Tails the hard way” where I wouldn’t unsync anything if I could avoid it (a challenge because I refuse to engage with EX Trials at level) because I found it fun. That’s changed over the past six months or so as I’ve finally started getting tired of this game’s vast library of old combat duties, my friends have fallen away from the game, and the remaining players I encounter have been increasingly sour hardcore players.

To be quite honest, if this variant dungeon had come a patch earlier, I would have been all over it like catnip. It’s beautiful, charming, and the potsherd glam is gorgeous. It sounds like the Advanced version might even be an example of the kind of midcore content that’s been missing from the game, but I’ll never know because I don’t have enough friends left who play regularly and have made it through the MSQ to put together a premade party and try it out. As it stands, it came too late for me, but despite the lack of a mount reward and the excessively long boss fights I regard it positively.

[ZephyrMenodora]

I, personally, was amused at the dialogue choices during the pre-dungeon cutscenes... the moment we're given two options to select when discussing the story, and one of them is "so I'm not the main character?"
Couldn't help but think back to all those discussions pertaining to "main character syndrome" during 7.0.

I noticed this immediately, and was definitely put off. I of course picked that option to see my PC was not joking and started sulking like a child.

It's a bit insulting to the players who actually care about the story and spend time providing feedback, IMO.

[Astronis]

I noticed this immediately, and was definitely put off. I of course picked that option to see my PC was not joking and started sulking like a child.

It's a bit insulting to the players who actually care about the story and spend time providing feedback, IMO.

That's a shame. I picked the bodyguard option because, as it turns out, my WoL actually is a mercenary bodyguard when he's not Warrior of Lighting, so it fit. Sucks the other option came across poorly, though. (I feel that way whenever I pick options to dunk on Y'shtola and the game acts like my WoL is scared by her reaction. He...isn't. Not even a little bit.)

[Daralii]

When it comes to dialogue options, the WoL's characterization is just whatever is most convenient to the writer in that moment. I'm at the point where I wish they didn't exist outside of the MSQ, where at least we usually get some small degree of inconsequential freedom.

[honest_psycho]

Did anyone else catch on that The Merchant's Tale is a clever social commentary on those players who do and do not complain about rewards? It's a video game inside a video game. A shiny weapon, a carpet mount, a housing trophy item...the Maiden was unimpressed because these are not what matter. A simple dirty plate is a memory of a journey, an experience lived. My dirty plate will be when I stopped beside the vast beautiful field of grapes and looked upon their massive number of polygons and I understood how much of an improvement the DT graphics update has been. Thank you Devs!

The 'blinders' for clearing all routes: the cherry on top!

>be Yoshi-P
>promise better rewards for content
>releases new variant dungeons
>doesnt add more, but even removes rewards
>"This is a good thing, actually!"

Unbelievable, do you want the game to keep getting worse???