For those who don't know him, Raph Koster is a game developer most famous in the MMO space for his work on Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies. He has some great insight when it comes to design elements, whether or not one necessarily agrees with his point of view.

His latest blog post resonated with me on a particular level, and I felt I ought to share it for FFXIV's players and developers alike. Although the meat of the post attacks the traditional auction house system, he finishes with a quote that I think rings true particularly for those of us who remember Final Fantasy XI with fondness: "Every inconvenience is a challenge, and games are made of challenges. This means that every inconvenience in your design is potentially someone’s game."

Personally I hope that Yoshi-P will keep this in mind as development continues on 2.0. I can't say that I'm asking for a return to the brutal inconveniences of FFXI, but neither do I want to see Eorzea become as lacking in challenge and subsequently, character, as some modern games have become.