Quote Originally Posted by Rydin View Post
SO true... but there is a difference between having a good story and telling a good story
Kind of like how journalist go where the story is, and even if there is an interesting story to tell.. It would be boringly dull if told by Ben Stein

Case and point... FFXII in my opinion had a great story. Dalmasca caught in turmoil... Basch, Ashe, Balthier... All really likeable characters...
But being told from the viewpoint of Vaan (Who had no real business being there in the first place) and narrated by the Marquis Ondore (Who is the video game mix of Ben Steins voice with Charles Dickens overly wordy writing style), the beautiful story that existed was never told in a way befitting it's splendor

Similarly, Eorzea has rich history and lore, but the lack of later story telling content, Coupled with the poor NPC dialogue (I am only commenting on the English, I can not comment on the entertainment value of the Japanese dialogue) lead to a very poor grasp of the story

Most of the side quests that tie into the story repeat the same semi-foreboding mild warning so much that they lose impact.

tl;dr The story is there, it's just being told very slowly...
i agree it has a story, but its too far between. They need to come up with a new storytelling concept that meshes better with an open world, but still delivers an interesting story. Also the story isnt very well tied to any progression. In an offline game you go from place to place, exploring different areas, dungeons, fighting bosses, etc, each part revealing a bit more of the story. In ffxiv, the story seems to just occur in a box, when you reach some landmark based on your level.

They should weave story into level progression, as well as dungeons/adventures. A big problem with the side quests they added is most of them dont tell much of a story (related to the overall world and plotline), and dont give you a better understanding of the world. In offline rpgs, a lot of side stories either have to do with your own progression or finding out more about special events or charachters, this is a more useful side story to the game.

Regardless they need to innovate here, IF their goal is a new market, because ffxi already failed for offline rpg fans by and large. most dont consider it a real FF title, and i doubt they were looking at any MMO really as greatness.

however if they want to hit the standard mmo market, then this strategy could theoretically work