-Understanding the successful relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV-

[Zantetsuken]

Yoshi P discusses the relaunch of FFXIV into ARR.

Watch it HERE

For those interested, there are some great insights into why certain decisions were made in both XIV and ARR.


Some thoughts:

- One thing I found incredibly interesting was that when FFXIV 1.0 started to charge subs (after the F2P 'apology' era) the amount of subscribing players actually Tripled.

- I was shocked to learn that in 1.0, a single flower pot used almost the same amount of texture and shader resources that a player character did! Whoever was in charge of engine resource management for 1.0 wasn't doing their job.

I really do respect Yoshi's intentions with the game. The problems that I have with ARR's design (Linear Gear system, Theme-park approach, overly scripted content, lack of exploration, cheap fan-service, toxic culture, etc.) are largely the result of the development team having to chose the absolutely safest and shortest route to accomplish a successful relaunch.

I've been a long time fan of the FF series, a 7-year veteran of FFXI, a strong supporter of FFXIV from 1.0α-1.23 and a subscriber of ARR since β. But I recently canceled my auto-renewal due to the fact that ARR just doesn't provide the gaming experience that I am looking for. (specifically: discovery, exploration, danger, and a more authentic fantasy experience)

Although I don't play anymore and I plan on quitting the game for good when my sub has run out, after watching this video, I hope the future for ARR will be less constrained than its relaunch was -- and as MMOs are perpetually growing and changing games, ARR may evolve into something I'd want to play again some day.

At any rate, check out the video and share your thoughts on it when you get a chance.