Global Alpha Test Start Date

[SkyeWindbinder]

If you want to make games, you may want to know what the role of those that make games entails. It normally doesn't include any babysitting. That's the job of community managers, and occasionally of the Game Director/Producer, if he so wishes.

Participation by developers to forum discussions and similar is normally not part of their job description. If they do it, it is because they want to.

And yet again another that second guesses other people's motives, and insults them because they dare to be disappointed.

The internet is truly a wonderful place.

lol I'm aware of what jobs are out there as far as making games. And to tell you the truth, I've always wanted to be a writer/level designer for games. My statement was simply that it would get a bit annoying to have to do PR and deal with a bunch of crybabies that are simply angry that they didn't get what they wanted and are throwing tantrums on forums because of it. I'm sure Yoshi could be doing something better besides soothing a bunch of crybabies, like maybe working on the game. But, you do what you have to do for PR, I guess.

And really, you need to lighten up. You took my post a bit too much to heart. Me thinks you doth protest too much... hmm...

[Abriael]

lol I'm aware of what jobs are out there as far as making games. And to tell you the truth, I've always wanted to be a writer/level designer for games. My statement was simply that it would get a bit annoying to have to do PR and deal with a bunch of crybabies that are simply angry that they didn't get what they wanted and are throwing tantrums on forums because of it. I'm sure Yoshi could be doing something better besides soothing a bunch of crybabies, like maybe working on the game. But, you do what you have to do for PR, I guess.

Yoshi's a smart man. I'm quite sure that if he could do something better, he'd be doing it. He does what he does exactly because he knows that a certain degree of discontent is not unjustified.

And really, you need to lighten up. You took my post a bit too much to heart. Me thinks you doth protest too much... hmm...

if people didn't "protest", we wouldn't have ARR.

I do pinpoint serious PR troubles, because at the moment the game isn't under too much of a spotlight. If something like this big lapse in communication happened nearer to release, when the eye of the media will be aimed at SE for every little mistake, this would be all over the net already, with the potential of doing serious damage.

People like Brian Ashcraft from Kotaku and many others would jump on the chance to throw some more mud at the Final Fantasy franchise like a bear throws himself at a pot of honey.

It's not like a lot of the gaming media doesn't already look at SE with a certain amount of negative bias. Can they really afford to take chances and give them ammo on a silver platter?

[SkyeWindbinder]

Yoshi's a smart man. I'm quite sure that if he could do something better, he'd be doing it. He does what he does exactly because he knows that a certain degree of discontent is not unjustified.

I'm aware of that. Doesn't mean he doesn't get tired with all the whining every now and then from entitled malcontents, but he does have a lot of patience. Have to admite that.

if people didn't "protest", we wouldn't have ARR.

I was actually referring to the way you immediately went on the attack after my first post, almost as if you thought I was directly talking about you. Which if you weren't one of the people whining about not getting an alpha invite, it really shouldn't have concerned you so much...

I do pinpoint serious PR troubles, because at the moment the game isn't under too much of a spotlight. If something like this big lapse in communication happened nearer to release, when the eye of the media will be aimed at SE for every little mistake, this would be all over the net already, with the potential of doing serious damage.

lol I think you're blowing things a bit out of proportion. This is about alpha and people not being happy that they were not selected to get in. That's what it will always boil down to. I know, because I have not read one post from a person who has gotten into alpha that has "concerns with lack of communication". Abd regardless of what communication there is or isn't, there's always going to be someone who's going to complain and whine, like those who believe that being long-time players of FF14 should get them access to alpha alone.

It's not like a lot of the gaming media doesn't already look at SE with a certain amount of negative bias. Can they really afford to take chance and give them ammo on a silver platter?

The media is going to try to trash FFXIV at every given turn anyway. How alpha is done really doesn't matter. In the end, what matters is if the product is good. And trust me, Yoshi is already working on that end.

[Abriael]

I'm aware of that. Doesn't mean he doesn't get tired with all the whining every now and then from entitled malcontents, but he does have a lot of patience. Have to admite that.

When you do his kind of job, you take the good with the bad. He has to face criticism, but also a lot of praise. It's not all that bad.

I was actually referring to the way you immediately went on the attack after my first post, almost as if you thought I was directly talking about you. Which if you weren't one of the people whining about not getting an alpha invite, it really shouldn't have concerned you so much...

If you weren't intent on calling people "crybabies", "whiny" and all that, without knowing them or their motives, I wouldn't have chided you. Maybe you didn't notice that your choice of words was confrontational to begin with.

And being confrontational against people that are already discontent does nothing else than making the situation worse. It does SE or Yoshi no favors when they try to douse the flames and those that think they are on their side throw more fuel on them instead.

lol I think you're blowing things a bit out of proportion. This is about alpha and people not being happy that they were not selected to get in. That's what it will always boil down to. I know, because I have not read one post from a person who has gotten into alpha that has "concerns with lack of communication". Abd regardless of what communication there is or isn't, there's always going to be someone who's going to complain and whine, like those who believe that being long-time players of FF14 should get them access to alpha alone.

The problem isn't just that people didn't get access to the Alpha. I couldn't care the less about that.
It's that people that had active accounts got passed in favor of people that didn't, while the form clearly stated in all available languages that only those with an active account were eligible.

This is a serious lapse in communication and a potential big PR blunder. People that are discontent about it have a degree of justification in that. It's also the kind of thing the press LOVES to cover, if given the chance. An off-hand accusation of false publicity is great to drive the controversy and the hits on the many websites that don't have journalistic integrity as their most prominent value. And there are many of those and, unfortunately, they're popular.

The media is going to try to trash FFXIV at every given turn anyway. How alpha is done really doesn't matter. In the end, what matters is if the product is good. And trust me, Yoshi is already working on that end.

The fact that they already do it isn't really a good reason to provide them with more ammo, isn't it?

[SkyeWindbinder]

When you do his kind of job, you take the good with the bad. He has to face criticism, but also a lot of praise. It's not all that bad.

Again, I already know this. But even Yoshi is human. I'm sure the whining can at least get to be annoying. But as I said, he does have a lot of patience. And as you said, it's really not always bad.

If you weren't intent on calling people "crybabies", "whiny" and all that, without knowing them or their motives, I wouldn't have chided you. Maybe you didn't notice that your choice of words was confrontational to begin with.

And being confrontational against people that are already discontent does nothing else than making the situation worse. It does SE or Yoshi no favors when they try to douse the flames and those that think they are on their side throw more fuel on them.

The fact that I made my statement against people who's motives are more than clear when they're whining tells me that you obviously are the one who doesn't understand motives. And you're quick to jump the gun, which can land you with egg on you face really fast. People whining about not getting an alpha invite and how they should have one because they have been long-time subscribers of FF14 have motives that are not only transparent, but they literally STATED THEIR MOTIVES right there!! lol So really, I have no idea what you are even trying to get across.

It's THOSE types of people that I was speaking of. The entitled whiners who cry about not getting an alpha invite for reasons that make sense only to them in their little world. And I'm not trying to help Yoshi or anyone else. I'm merely stating how annoying those kinds of people are with their consistent QQing. And you got ticked off real quick. Which you really shouldn't have, unless... you're one of said people...

The problem isn't just that people didn't get access to the Alpha. I couldn't care the less about that.
It's that people that had active accounts got passed in favor of people that didn't, while the form clearly stated in all available languages that only those with an active account were eligible.

And THOSE posts I have absolutely no problem with whatsoever. Legit concerns, yeah, I can get behind those. It's complainers, whiners, and QQers who are simply butthurt they didn't get into alpha that are getting sickeningly repetitive.

This is a serious lapse in communication, and people that are discontent about it have a degree of justification in that. It's also the kind of thing the press LOVES to cover, if given the chance. An off-hand accusation of false publicity is great to drive the controversy and the hits on websites.

Again, you are making it out to be more serious that it really is, lol. It's only really that serious to people who are merely angry that they didn't get into alpha. The worst that happened is that a few people didn't get in to test, which includes me, by the way. And again, sites are going to trash FFXIV, no matter what. Yoshi sneezing the wrong way will bring about harsh criticism for this game. So, really, people not getting into alpha is just getting stretched out of proportion.

The fact that they already do it isn't really a good reason to provide them with more ammo, isn't it?

Actually, if you're going to make a game, you can't tread on eggshells about what a few reviewers might say. Especially sine you know they're waiting to trash the game anyway. These people already have their ammo. They're loaded, and ready to shoot. All Yoshi and his team can do is do what they plan to with the game, how they plan to do it.

[Shougun]

Actually, if you're going to make a game, you can't tread on eggshells about what a few reviewers might say. Especially sine you know they're waiting to trash the game anyway. These people already have their ammo. They're loaded, and ready to shoot. All Yoshi and his team can do is do what they plan to with the game, how they plan to do it.

I'm not in the game review industry (actually you are talking to someone who is.. *pokes Abriael*) but I highly doubt they purposely attempt to trash games. Having read a lot of reviews they more often then not give games better credits they they deserve (opinion). That isnt to say a game never gets a bad review and you thought it was excellent but that makes sense because of course its still opinion.. But game review sites attempt to capture the essence and importantly what their audience will find useful reading.

[SkyeWindbinder]

I'm not in the game review industry (actually you are talking to someone who is.. *pokes Abriael*) but I highly doubt they purposely attempt to trash games. Having read a lot of reviews they more often then not give games better credits they they deserve (opinion). That isnt to say a game gets a bad review and you loved it because of course its still opinion but again.. game review sites attempt to capture the essence and importantly what their audience will find useful reading.

Perhaps,vbut I have read more than my fair share of highly questionable reviews by some of these reviewer sites (cough, IGN, cough). And it's cool that Abriel is into that kind of profession, but he seems to have hair-trigger judgment that can be hazardous in his line of work. lol

[Abriael]

I'm not in the game review industry (actually you are talking to someone who is.. *pokes Abriael*) but I highly doubt they purposely attempt to trash games. Having read a lot of reviews they more often then not give games better credits they they deserve (opinion). That isnt to say a game never gets a bad review and you thought it was excellent but that makes sense because of course its still opinion.. But game review sites attempt to capture the essence and importantly what their audience will find useful reading.

Oh, some do, believe me. No one that I would bear working with, of course (if any of my writers did something of the sort in any way that I could detect, I'd have a serious talk with them and the rest of the editorial team, and it could easily lead to termination), but I could name a large number of people that openly think that Square Enix deserves a "lesson", and that spare no chance in trying to administer it.

of course Square Enix isn't alone there. Electronic Arts is another good example. Many journos, even highly respected ones, have this warped idea that they're the vigilantes of the industry, and they need to "punish" the evil corporation of their choice with their almighty pen, instead of dedicating themselves to actual reporting.

Of course there are a whole lot of fair, intelligent and relatively unbiased (relatively because absolute lack of bias doesn't exist in any form of journalism. Anyone that tells you he's unbiased lies, and he knows it) ones, but if you look attentively, you'll easily be able to spot the rotten apples.

[Abriael]

The fact that I made my statement against people who's motives are more than clear when they're whining tells me that you obviously are the one who doesn't understand motives.

Quite the contrary. Having been in basically every major MMORPG beta since Ultima Online (and many minor ones), I understand people's motives very well. They're hardly as easy to identify and as black and white as you believe.

Some people are just butthurt. Some people are disappointed because they genuinely want to contribute to the development of the game, some people simply air their frustration not because they have some kind of grudge or because they feel entitled, but because as part of a community, they think in a rather naive way that other people will express their support instead of shooting them down. There are a lot of different motives and a lot of shades of grey.

People whining about not getting an alpha invite and how they should have one because they have been long-time subscribers of FF14 have motives that are not only transparent, but they literally STATED THEIR MOTIVES right there!! lol So really, I have no idea what you are even trying to get across.

Nope. That isn't stating a motive. That's stating a belief. And that belief has been created by Square Enix themselves, as the fact that active subscribers were the only ones eligible to the alpha was clearly stated in the application form. When a developer tells paying customers A and then does B, it's not unjustified for the paying customer to be disappointed and voice that disappointment.

And you got ticked off real quick. Which you really shouldn't have, unless... you're one of said people...

See what I mean, you're doing it again. You're second guessing my motives without knowing anything about me.

I got ticked off because I know that a certain amount of disappointment is quite justified in this situation, given the communication blunder, and I find people so ready to jump to the throat of people that are already (rightfully) disappointed rather distasteful.

It happens with every testing. People are always very ready to attack those that are already disappointed, making everyone's disappointment worse. It's bad and it really paints the community in a sad light.

And THOSE posts I have absolutely no problem with whatsoever. Legit concerns, yeah, I can get behind those. It's complainers, whiners, and QQers who are simply butthurt they didn't get into alpha that are getting sickeningly repetitive.

I'm sure there are people that are just "butthurt", but I don't know their percentage, nor you do. So I don't necessarily assume that everyone that complains belongs to that group like many here are doing, nor I go ahead and second guess their motives.

Again, you are making it out to be more serious that it really is, lol. It's only really that serious to people who are merely angry that they didn't get into alpha. The worst that happened is that a few people didn't get in to test, which includes me, by the way.

Nope. It's serious to anyone that knows that a company giving their customers wrong information often can lead to serious issues.

[quioe]And again, sites are going to trash FFXIV, no matter what. Yoshi sneezing the wrong way will bring about harsh criticism for this game. So, really, people not getting into alpha is just getting stretched out of proportion.[/quote]

Actually, if you're going to make a game, you can't tread on eggshells about what a few reviewers might say. Especially sine you know they're waiting to trash the game anyway. These people already have their ammo. They're loaded, and ready to shoot. All Yoshi and his team can do is do what they plan to with the game, how they plan to do it.

When you have a loaded rifle pointed at your face, encouraging the killer to shoot isn't exactly a sensible course of action.

[SkyeWindbinder]

Quite the contrary. Having been in basically every major MMORPG beta since Ultima Online (and many minor ones), I understand people's motives very well. They're hardly as easy to identify and as black and white as you believe.

Some people are just butthurt. Some people are disappointed because they genuinely want to contribute to the development of the game, some people simply air their frustration not because they have some kind of grudge or because they feel entitled, but because as part of a community, they think in a rather naive way that other people will express their support instead of shooting them down. There are a lot of different motives and a lot of shades of grey.

I've been there in nearly every major release of mmos as well. I'm not exactly a spring chicken myself, lol. And I'm very good at understanding people's motives myself. Many are not black and white, in fact it's rare to find some that are. But I'm good with people, and can read between the lines. I've always been good at picking apart people's motives and reasons. It's a gift of mine. Some are disappointed because they wanted to participate in testing the game, many are also disappointed because they don't get an early peek at the game. And I can tell with some observation which is which.

Nope. That isn't stating a motive. That's stating a belief. And that belief has been created by Square Enix themselves, as the fact that active subscribers were the only ones eligible to the alpha was clearly stated in the application form. When a developer tells paying customers A and then does B, it's not unjustified for the paying customer to be disappointed and voice that disappointment.

Beliefs create motives. People who believe that they are entitles to alpha simply because they have been there playing FF14 long before a lot of others have that belief. It motivates them to whine and cry like babies when they're not selected. And again, people disappointed that they didn't get in for the right reasons, I have no problem with. People who think their time playing the game before ARR should get them early access to alpha before those who haven't played as long, that's annoying. And stupid. And it's repeated so very many times.

See what I mean, you're doing it again. You're second guessing my motives without knowing anything about me.

Not at all. I merelt stated that you jumped the gun in your reply, not knowing which kind of people I was referring to. Which you did. OR, you are one of the people I was referring to. n which case, your anger would be predictable.

I got ticked off because I know that a certain amount of disappointment is quite justified in this situation, given the communication blunder, and I find people so ready to jump to the throat of people that are already (rightfully) disappointed rather distasteful.

First of all, getting ticked off was actually quite unnecessary. Predictable, if you're one of the people whining for the wrong reasons, but unnecessary. And proof you took things a bit too seriously. Secondly, I didn't jump down anyone's throat. I merely stated that people whining that they should get into alpha for reasons they themselves worked out in their heads and opinions are just annoying. You took it the wrong way by thinking I stated that anyone who had any kind of concerns whatsoever over how alpha was handled were whiners. You jumped the gun. You jumped waaaaay over the gun, lol. And the conclusions you came up with spurred you to make an angry response. If anyone jumped down anyone's throat, it's you.

It happens with every testing. People are always very ready to attack those that are already disappointed, making everyone's disappointment worse. It's bad and it really paints the community in a sad light.

What ALSO happens with every testing is that some people of said community will whine like entitles brats that they didn't get into testing. And some will make thread after thread crying over why they felt they should have been let in, regardless of how testing was handled. That, too, makes a community look pathetic.

I'm sure there are people that are just "butthurt", but I don't know their percentage, nor you do. So I don't necessarily assume that everyone that complains belongs to that group like many here are doing, nor I go ahead and second guess their motives.

Nor do I. However, those who complain, whine, and grumble over and over in multiple new threads that they created that their status as veterans in the game should net them automatic access no matter what are practically transparent in their motives... er, sorry, "beliefs"... and those are the people I was referring to. No "second guessing" is even needed in such cases.

Nope. It's serious to anyone that knows that a company giving their customers wrong information often can lead to serious issues.

And I still don't think this is one of those cases, lol. Just mho.

When you have a loaded rifle pointed at your face, encouraging the killer to shoot isn't exactly a sensible course of action.

Interesting metaphor, but not really all that accurate, since I highly doubt that some misinformation about alpha is gonna be the death of the game. Again, just my humble $0.02.