Naoki Yoshida interview @Gamescom

[Greaf]

I think you are misreading Yoshida-san and applying a fairly harsh filter to your reading of him as well. I do think he cares pationately about the game and the players. He's very much a MMORPG player, and cares about how things play. I think this is clearly evident in many of the interviews and presentations he's given over the years.

That care and attention translates to sometimes excessive transparency and perhaps attempts to cater to the whims of the loudest forum voices. But because he is open about most things, people on this forum and elsewhere play "Monday morning quarterback" with his every word, and when things do not work out as expected (not uncommon in game development) folks are quick to jump on him about it and use prior interviews against him.

Perhaps if he were like most game producers and really never talked much about the game or what they are trying to do people might be less apt to second guess everything, or be pre-critical about every change before it's even made. On the other hand, if Yoshida-san did that, we would not have the level of communication from the developers that we do currently.

I prefer the current situation and am realistic about how things can change during development. Heck if I was held to every conceptual discussion or prototype I ever made during development, I'd never deliver a thing because I'd be too busy chasing the ephemeral goals created by others' perceptions and expectations.

The interview has been filmed so you can check soon. But I agree from the feeling I had, it's been since 2013 I met him and he still cares about the game and everything else. He really listens to what we've said. Before being "journalist" (we're just a fansite), we're also fan. We care about the series, we care about the game, we want the best for the game. Our disappointment shows that we care. It was my feeling (about the food metaphor), and I suppose a lot of people is feeling the same. Maybe he knows, maybe not, but it has to be said in an interview. He's open-minded and when it comes to that feedback, he's very careful.


He's going to make mistakes. You can't make something perfect. It's ok to do mistakes, as long as you learn about them and change it to make something better. I hope that what we're living at the moment on Heavensward will be that "mistake", because if it wasn't now, it would be in a near future. Better to make that mistake now.