A radical proposal for future content.

[Super_Bee_Brian]

Here's the thing, everyone...

JRPGs are fun, but are inferior to Western and European RPGs if we're talking about the ROLEPLAY aspect in particular.

How about this... We "westernize" future content by giving players a choice. That's essentially the strength of Western RPGs. CHOICE.

Let's make future content like Skyrim! Give us the option of siding with Garlemald! Give us options to deviate from walking the straight path! In other words, let's emphasize the RP aspect of this RPG!

Your thoughts?

Like I said, this is radical.

[Maka8295]

The reason I personally like J-RPGS is because there is no choice. I like to be part of a well thought out narrative, like reading a book. I don't feel its possible to make a narrative as compelling when adding branching paths. Also as someone who always tries to read all the dialogue and really understand whats happening in the setting/world, having different possible "worlds" were the protagonist makes different decisions is kind of a nightmare for me personally.

TLDR: I personally think it would detract from Eorzea as a whole, there would need to be multiple canons considering how influential our character is.

I'm all up for having different responses to certain questions and such though, like having our character react differently, but not outright changing the events taking place.

[SendohJin]

no, thanks. XIV is mostly a game of inclusion. sometimes i get annoyed i can't use GC gear without the hassle of switching companies. don't want to make choices that will lock me out of stuff and if it doesn't lock me out of stuff the choices don't matter enough to exist anyway.

[Divinemights]

No, thanks!!
There is Skyrim online already.
I prefer FF14 to be the only JRPG online MMO and enjoying it.

[polyphonica]

It won't work because almost all the content in this game is driven by the story, and a lot of it you play together with other players. For instance, you encounter certain dungeons as you level, and you play them together in a four-person party. (Likewise with trials in eight-person parties.) But if you made some radically different characterization choices, you wouldn't even be on the same side as other players, so you couldn't party with them for the encounter or it wouldn't make sense. The amount of branching possibilities would only increase over time, and therefore the production value of the story content would go down (since the amount of content would have to increase dramatically to account for all the different choices player characters could make).

They can provide a certain degree of choice on the fringes (minor touches that don't fundamentally change the result), but the main story has to basically be on rails so that everyone is on the same side when completing content together. This focus on a linear story is also a big part of what makes Final Fantasy what it is over the years, so I don't think they will ever change it in a game like this.

[Enla]

You mean like those meaningless dialogue they shoehorned into the narrative that give us the illusion of choice without actually affecting anything? You can't do that for a constantly updating MMO for the reasons others have described. Instead of a straight line that all the players are kept on you basically will end up with something unmanageable before too long. The reason it works in Skyrim, badly mind you because there story there honestly suffers for it, is because you're alone and the TES series has /always/ been about wiping away the accomplishments of the last hero before they move onto the next installment. Why do you think there's so much time between Oblivion and Skyrim? Why do you think they sent the Nerevarine to Akavir? Why do you think the ENTIRETY of Daggerfall and it's multiple endings were listed as occurring during a 'Dragon Break', where basically all the choices that could have happened /did/ before collapsing back into the reality we currently have? If they didn't do this there'd be no way to continue onto the next installment, pure and simple. (I will say though, kudos to Bethesda for penning the Dragon Break concept. It's a get out of jail free-card if they use it sparingly.)

Or to put it more bluntly. This is what FF14's current storyline looks like: (It's simple, but it gets the job done and allows the writers to tell a more engaging story without having to worry about potential variables.)

This is what it will look like if they implement what you propose: (Taken from atlasobscura where they wrote an article about choose your own adventure stories. Except this is just the narrative map for /one/ such book. Amplify this by however many expansions there are, the jobs you can take, the side quests, and you can see how much of a mess it'd be to write for.)

It's an interesting idea but it's anathema to how MMO's currently work sadly, and especially so to how FF14 works. If it still interests you however, I do believe Crowfall is attempting something similar and might scratch that proverbial itch if it ever releases.

[ErryK]

With the constant excuse of 'our team is too small to do so and so', it's unlikely we'll get anything of this caliber.

[Sigma-Astra]

The reason I personally like J-RPGS is because there is no choice. I like to be part of a well thought out narrative, like reading a book. I don't feel its possible to make a narrative as compelling when adding branching paths. Also as someone who always tries to read all the dialogue and really understand whats happening in the setting/world, having different possible "worlds" were the protagonist makes different decisions is kind of a nightmare for me personally.

TLDR: I personally think it would detract from Eorzea as a whole, there would need to be multiple canons considering how influential our character is.

I'm all up for having different responses to certain questions and such though, like having our character react differently, but not outright changing the events taking place.

Playing off of this idea, I'm in agreement and perfectly content with the storyline itself staying static instead of branching out in loads and loads of family tree branching nonsense. What would be great though, is including more diverse reactions from NPC's based on either our race or job class and acknowledging what we are and what were playing as more often. For example, if you were playing a Xaela during the Azim parts, it would be nice if the Xaela of that region interacted and acknowledged you a bit more often for being a Xaela...like if you're talking with Sadu at that point and she sees that you are also a Xaela BLM, just some little tidbits or casual conversation would be nice reflecting that she notices. The same thing could be said if you were playing a Raen and visited Sui-no-Sato for the first time as well.

[Renato]

I just brought up the idea of branching storylines in another thread. And I understand why people are so against it. I'm not saying it should be like Skyrim which literally gives you the freedom to do anything you want but give the player (as the main character of this story) more to do other than be an errand boy/girl for other characters.

This is a huge problem especially seen in SB where we are pretty much just along for the ride. If this can't be done in the main story, at least make it an option in the job quests or sidequests scattered in the world map. Something like that would give players a reason to actually do that content.

[InkstainedGwyn]

SWtOR does it already, it's not that radical. But because of all of the previous reasons mentioned in this thread, it's still an illusion. You can deal with x person (or planet, or-) in ways A or B, but in the end, all lead towards them disappearing (A = kill, B = help, they 'go underground'). Maybe these choices still have a low-level effect - maybe certain NPCs will hate you and refuse to work with you, but they're never vital to the story.

If all you're looking for is the flavour differences, that's okay, though I harbour no illusions that XIV will ever go down this route, and even if they did, it would be much the same as it is. You decide whether Lyse or Raubahn leads Gyr Abania? Both are still removed from the MSQ chain and all it effectively does is determine who sits in the chair and who stands next to it. In the end, they can't keep a functioning multiplayer game and leave it that open-ended. But in the end, even a single-person game can't handle thousands of potential choice configurations, and in then are still going to give you a handful at best of potential endings.