Bland NPCs. How will they save a doomed plot?

[Majidah]

So I was watching this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVYhc...feature=relmfu

Watch it.





Done? Okay.

In a previous interview Yoshi-P admitted something along the lines that he currently felt that there were no particularly likeable NPCs when asked which one was his favorite.
It seems to me that currently the circle of knowing (Yda, Papalymo, Y'shtola and Thancred) are the biggest characters in the plot and after watching the distant video I felt like they were lacking on every aspect.

(I will now reference XI, but you can take pretty much any FF character for comparative)
Prishe was liked or hated since the minute she laid eyes upon you. Aldo? Come on, I'm sure we all raved like school girls to know more about his past.

I think the only character in FFXIV that stands to FF quality regarding character design is the detective and his assistant, but they aren't even part of the main plot!

Having the main storyline SO tied to these lukewarm characters makes me really fret for the future of XIV's storyline.

Even the main evil characters don't seem to compare (compare the legatus vs the first moment the duke of jeuno talks to you, with his little brother roaming the room. See what I mean?).
The best I can say currently about the "judges" is that they have cool armors and remind me of darth vader.

I don't think there's been a Cid with less personality in any FF for that matter.
And don't get me started with the no personality leader of the whatever its called organization that gives you the path companion.


So where I'm going? Well, everything's getting fixed, but what about the plot? How can you fix something so tied to characters that bland?

Seriously, I want to hear ideas. The plot is one of FF's major sell points to me at least.

[Ricky]

I think they did well with the GC leaders but we only see them for a very short time, lots of lost potential there

[Brannigan]

The old main scenario does suck. The GC quests have me liking the imperials, at least. Nael (the white guy) is a decently good crazy villain but I'm pretty sure we're going to kill him in 1.23. That will leave us with Gaius (darth vader) who could be pretty cool if he's given more screen time.

They also introduced the sultana of Ul'dah in one of the Immortal Flames quests. The job quests have a lot of good characters too.

If they add a bunch of main scenario quests (like have the current level 46 one happen at 25, and then have a lot of new ones all the way up to cap) then they'll have plenty of time to flesh out characters.

[Majidah]

The old main scenario does suck. The GC quests have me liking the imperials, at least. Nael (the white guy) is a decently good crazy villain but I'm pretty sure we're going to kill him in 1.23.

Death is a good cleanser... Maybe dalamud could land on the circle of knowing lol

They also introduced the sultana of Ul'dah in one of the Immortal Flames quests. The job quests have a lot of good characters too.

Haven't seen this, what quest?

[Felis]

Haven't seen this, what quest?

There might be blood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POUeomqDzkE

But it's a sidequest, not a GC quest.

[Cichy]

There might be blood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POUeomqDzkE

But it's a sidequest, not a GC quest.

Best CS in the game right here

[HiirNoivl]

I liked Yda and Papalymo. Yda was cute. My favorite part was with Papalymo fainted when he found out that he could have ended up as so much confetti littering the twelveswood.

Y'shtola is as dull as dishwater tho. Thancred is not much better.

As for the above mentioned Imperials, I find Stupid Evil and Derp just as unlikeably one dimensional. Supposedly there's some sort of conflict between the two, but it's not interesting at all.

Talking beneath the moonlight makes them seem more like lovers than rivals.

...

[Altanas]

Its surprising minor characters are often amusing with a distinct voice. Momodi (uldah starter npc) is one of these.

The problem with the main plot npc's lies in the fact that they are members of the circle of knowing -

a) they know too much already. Contrast this to other FF's where most good guys were just as much in the dark as the player and events unfolded and we had all those "ah ha / so thats why x happened" moments

b) they all appear to be level 99 already. see r46 mission, we as players have no desire to cheer them on, theres nothing at stake as they have always been "uber" since mission 1. Contrast this to other FF's where allies got their asses handed to them and so we watched the characters grow and develop into the finale.

c) its boring that the npcs all come from the same group (circle of knowing). Contrast this to COP where all the allies came from different parts of the world and different factions with different world views and motivations (Shikaree sisters / Louverance / Tenzen / Prishe / Selteus / et al - the in game lore practically doubled as all these characters and mention of other regions was introduced).

d) as a result, Yda, Papalymo, Thancred, Yshtola have all taken on the role of the same character within the story. Fair enough if the stories were nation specific, but as they merged that was a no no. It would be like watching star wars and every ally was obi wan.

e) we know practically nothing about them, we dont have any quest lines to find out their background. we have the Echo but dont think "hold on a minute lets find out who these people are lol". contrast this to any other FF. my favourite parts of other ff's have often been the sidequests finding out a characters past and secrets


And the Path of The Twelve lady has to be the blandest NPC in any RPG. She doesnt even have a unique model. Further the whole concept of the Path of the Twelve with all their rules make the whole concept of the Echo seem dull. Whats the point of having such a power if we cant abuse it. What is the point of this faction? It seems wholly unncessary.

[Majidah]

And the Path of The Twelve lady has to be the blandest NPC in any RPG. She doesnt even have a unique model. Further the whole concept of the Path of the Twelve with all their rules make the whole concept of the Echo seem dull. Whats the point of having such a power if we cant abuse it. What is the point of this faction? It seems wholly unncessary.

I've been secretly hoping that the blondie is actually this evil mastermind. I mean, she can't be THAT bland. There MUST be a reason. I HOPE.

[KiriA500]

In a previous interview Yoshi-P admitted something along the lines that he currently felt that there were no particularly likeable NPCs when asked which one was his favorite.

This interview was clearly done before Hildibrand was added...!



<3