So I was chatting with a couple gamer friends, and this is something we used to chat about from time to time back in FFXI too... And I say Golden Saucer for lack of a better term... It's basically like a Casino, Arena, Arcade, and general fun and games style place. Anyways, skim through the bullet points and maybe something will catch your eye, and feel free to toss out any ideas you have as well, or why you think it would be a bad idea.

As far as I know, I've never seen an MMO really put anything like that in, at least not in a way that's worth mentioning... But then you look at these little flash games, simple apps, and novel websites that draw in millions upon millions of players/viewers/gamers consistently, and think... Well, it can't be all bad.

I've seen people in MMO's running Casinos, where they use nothing but a pile of gil and a simple /random feature, and it draws in a lot of people... Chocobo breeding and racing in FFXI was a pretty niche thing, but I met plenty of people who swore it was great, and I even dabbled in it a bit myself... It was barely interactive at all though, and felt rigged, but it still amused plenty of people... And of course, who doesn't like a good game of cards, roll of the dice, or even a PvE and/or PvP arena? Well think of how much fun it could be, if you rolled all of that stuff up into one place, and then really went above and beyond on fine tuning it.

And before anyone says that it would be out of place in this game, I can totally see room for a lore friendly version of all those things rolled up into one place. So far, these are the general ideas that seem like they'd fit in:

- Cards... The old FF card games, and some new ones that resemble or play similar to other popular card games, perhaps even using traditional cards. Some would be games of skill, some of chance... People have proven time and time again that they love cards... From the century old versions, to the massive thriving online card games.. From humble games of fun played between friends, to multi-billion dollar industries such as casinos. Cards are fun, and they are more than versatile enough to be utilized in FFXIV, so as to make them a lore friendly, fun, and social experience that plenty of people would spend plenty of time on to justify their existence in the game.

- Chocobo racing, which would compliment chocobo breeding. Make it a little more interactive than it was in FFXI, and give it both PvE and PvP brackets, and I think a lot of people would play it... Also, enable players to place bets on races or tournaments, similar to how it worked in FFVII. Tons of room to expand on that too.

- Casinos, or some variation of it. Gambling basically. Perhaps with NPC's, perhaps player run Casinos with some sort of in game mechanic to allow fraud/scam proof play. Maybe it would be placing bets on certain events, matches, games, etc, or perhaps a simple roll of the dice, like an expanded version of those Jeuno game tables from FFXI. So many possibilities for it.

- PvE Arenas... Again, they could take so many forms... Maybe it would one player going up against progressively tougher monsters, or a survival style match... Or maybe a party, or even alliance to take on even mightier foes. Maybe have set PvE matches, or maybe make them random... Sometimes you'll get a horde of aggro Dodo's, and sometimes a clan of human mobs. Even a rare random NM match might happen. Would probably be a prohibitive cost on them, which would be even steeper on the higher tiers... Something like Beastmen seals perhaps? Or maybe just tokens of some kind, purchased in the "Golden Saucer", or whatever you want to call it. And maybe it would have special tiers of fights that are only accessible through certain dropped items, like tokens or missives or something.

- PvP Arenas... Now, I'm not one for PvP myself, although the occasional friendly match is fine... So I definitely wouldn't advocate this one awarding any great gear, putting focus on PvP like other MMO's do... Think of it more as a refinement of the PvP in FFXI. There could be anything from one on one duels, to sports like team based events. Maybe you could fight for stakes that you'd bet, or maybe just for fun or glory. Still, sounds like a good thing to have, and that's coming from someone almost entirely focused on PvE content.

- Novelty games... Anything from whack-a-dodo to the old 3 card monte. Again, plenty of novel ideas you could come up with that would be lore friendly. Maybe not everyone would appreciate that style of game, but what's the harm in having a few novel mini-games stashed away in the corner, eh? :P

- EvE games... You know, like that little thing they had in whitegate back in FFXI... Not sure what it was called, but it was like pokemon or something. 2 players could capture monsters somehow, again, not sure how, and then pit them against each other in battle. Really don't know the specifics, but hey, seems fun.

- Dropped tokens... Like the garrison items in FFXI, except expanded. Maybe some tokens would be redeemable for a prize, and maybe some would allow you to battle a special tier fight in the arenas. Some might prove useful for the chocobo breeding, or maybe those pokemon thingies. Point is, it would be a great way to get players out into the world, to all sorts of places that would normally be totally deserted... We all know how MMO players tend to congregate around certain "optimum" things, and fall into ruts of repetition and such... Well, dropped items could be a great remedy to this. Some people might hate the idea of farming anything, but a lot of times it can be fun or relaxing to do solo, with some clear goal or prize... Other times, it might be it's own PvE event, involving many players and lots of tough or strategic fights or such. It could also be used to liven up the gatherer classes too. Or, maybe they would just be super rare random things.

- Prizes!! Think of the prizes!... Anything from gil, to costume belts... Things you'd expect as novelty event awards from holidays, to a silly hat or stuffed chocobo... And plenty of fireworks and consumables like that... Okay, maybe that's not all super lore-friendly, and I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't like the game to be filled with silly amusing things, but it already will be just from the holiday stuff... Is there really so much wrong with just a few more? :P

- Aside from all the fun and amusing things it would offer the players, a place like this would also be a powerful tool for the developers as well. Too much gil on the server?... Well, a simple little golden saucer event would fix that in a jiffy, people would be begging you to let them spend more of it on gil sinks... Too many items of a certain type floating around? Simple, add a traveling merchant who shows up only now and then, that will trade GS tokens for those certain types of items... Similar to how the guild points in FFXI were acquired from trading in gear. A couple quick lines of NPC dialog, and presto, 100% lore friendly... Turns out that merchant hit it big on the tables, and wants to restock his far away shop with his newly acquired, limited stock of tokens. That's just a couple of ideas too, I'm sure the developers would be able to get tons of utility out of that place.


So to conclude, imagine a city sized place like that. Maybe you'd have to get a ticket through a quest, or maybe it'd be open at level 1. Wherever they'd want to go with it really. The point is, it would be a great place for fun, games, and socializing with your fellow adventurers, friends, and linkshell mates. Maybe the prizes would have actual practical use, or maybe it would just be gil and novelty stuff. There's definitely potential no matter what they'd want to do with the game, and yet, I've never seen anything like that in any MMO... But why?

That pretty much covers most of the stuff my friends and I were chatting about. And over the years, everyone I've mentioned it too seemed pretty open to the idea, and thought it sounded fun... So does anyone else think that would be a good thing to have around? Or perhaps have more ideas to toss on the pile?... Or is this just another bit of really long winded feedback that would be terrible if ever implemented? Keep in mind, I'm not suggesting they get to work on it right away... But maybe down the road, when they have a shorter to-do list, put a couple people on a team and get something going.

And yes, I know this is a rather lengthy post... But hey, it's not gonna bite your eyeballs or anything. :P