A Storyteller’s Point of View on Final Fantasy XIV

[kindar1]

Eggs over Queasy (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/w...gs_over_Queasy)

Here we are tasked with fetching eggs because Galfrid is short-handed. Once we deliver them, we find out the reason they are needed.

Story-wise, this is a simple, but well-built quest. We have something to do, a reason as to why us, instead of the NPCs who should be doing it, and on delivery, we get more story building.

Surveying the Damage (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/w...ing_the_Damage)

The person we delivered the eggs to sends us to retrieve items a soldier left behind when trouble occurred and they fled. Again, on delivery, we get more story-building.

This quest only works, on a storytelling level, because we’re already there. This is a ‘you know, since you’re here, can you help me out?’ situation, but if I’d left the instant I concluded the previous quest, which I know I did the first time, and returned later, I’d be left with a ‘why didn’t you send anyone before now?’ sense, especially since there are other guards there.

A Soldier’s Breakfast (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/w...%27s_Breakfast)

With the items delivered, we are tasked with thinning some of the creatures that are causing problems. We return with the news we carried through the mission, and are congratulated as well as told to take an egg we have collected to another person.

Story-wise, my only problem here is that with how quickly the creatures respawn in the game, there is no way killing 3 of them means her companions will be any safer when they go meditate.

We deliver the egg and are told how brave we are to have taken on those creatures. Another case of 'tell and not show', because there was nothing in fighting the creatures that felt brave or difficult. I basically stood in place and shot them. The only reason I stepped aside when they prepared their special attacks is because I need the practice with that.

Anytime the narrative doesn’t support the action, it pulls me out and can lead to me questioning why I play.

Addendum

As of the time I am posting this, my subscription has expired. The only way this affects me is that I will not be able to play beyond the last MSQ level 59 quest.

So, the story now has until I hit that point to convince me to buy a subscription.

I want to make sure it’s clear. This isn’t a ‘keep playing because things will get good eventually’ situation. Just about everyone who’s talked with me about the game has told me that already. No. When I hit that last quest and I’m informed that, unless I get a subscription, I will not know what the next quest entails. I must be at the very least sufficiently curious about what’s to come, that I’ll want to spend the money.

[Jojoya]

Addendum

As of the time I am posting this, my subscription has expired. The only way this affects me is that I will not be able to play beyond the last MSQ level 59 quest.

Actually, it means your journey has ended unless you choose to subscribe. Once an account has been converted from the free trial to a paid account, you must be subscribed to continue playing on that account.

You would need to create a new account under the free trial and start with a new character if you wished to continue without paying. If I remember correctly, SE has temporarily stopped selling gift game time codes while they implement a store update so that would not be an option to reactivate your account if someone wanted to buy you game time as a gift. I think they're tentatively set to resume at the end of this month.

Also, the free trial includes all the level 60 content through patch 3.55 so you wouldn't get stuck at the level 59 MSQ. Your MSQ journey would finish with the patch 3.55 lead in to Stormblood.

[AmpelioB]

Addendum

As of the time I am posting this, my subscription has expired. The only way this affects me is that I will not be able to play beyond the last MSQ level 59 quest.

So, the story now has until I hit that point to convince me to buy a subscription.

I want to make sure it’s clear. This isn’t a ‘keep playing because things will get good eventually’ situation. Just about everyone who’s talked with me about the game has told me that already. No. When I hit that last quest and I’m informed that, unless I get a subscription, I will not know what the next quest entails. I must be at the very least sufficiently curious about what’s to come, that I’ll want to spend the money.

This is something that bothers me, you boast about your writing credentials yet you are only judging by story aspect, you are not taking in consideration the gameplay or social elements of it, in this addedum you speak like it's some kind of comic book or novel where you are only in for the story and even taking it as a game you are solely treating as some kind of single player game, when it's intrinsic of the social elements and they cant bend the story to deny you of using these aspects just because whatever is happening in the MSQ is urgent.

you have also said you "cant criticize on gameplay" like, sure you may not be some game designer but you are still a player and a consumer. sure your commentary won't be deep but i'm pretty sure at level 30 you can speak at least something, principally even some skill from the classes tie back to the lore.

also talk about botany and carpentry, thats nice.

[kindar1]

Anything I've ever read?

Statistically, the answer is no. the link to my website is in my Basic information, since I don't know what the policy regarding posting links to 'business' is for the forum.

[kindar1]

Close to Home (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Close_to_Home_)

This quest gets us familiar with some locations, the Aetheryte, the market, and one of the hand of war/magic guild, in my case, the archer. As with most starting quests, little danger is involved. Story-wise, Mother Miounne is upfront about the purpose, to give us a grasp of adventuring… I question the wording. We are also told to seek the Smiths should we need advice. We are also encouraged to help anyone who needs it in town.

The Aetheryte

Upon touching the Aetheryte, we get a cut scene explaining the use of the Aetheryte and encourage to attune to as many as we can. The one story detail that pops at me is how we are spoken to as if we don’t know where it is, after we have touched it.

The Market

Here we speak with Parsemontret, who for the price of 1 eel pie tells us about the market. While the interaction teaches us the mechanic of handing items to NPCs, the bluntness of ‘give me a bribe’ is a tad offputting.

The Archers.

So, I was sent to the archer from the start.

Here we speak to the receptionist, and get backstory on archery in the region. Other than the NPC acting like she can’t see my bow, therefore treats me as someone who doesn’t know archery exists, the storytelling is adequate

We return to Mother Miounne, are thanked for being an adventurer who is there for the population, and expresses hope that we will be there to help in the coming struggles.

One interesting note with the ending. She thanked me for helping some citizens, which I did not do. I think that is a slight flaw in the narrative.

To the Bannock (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/To_the_Bannock)

I had to do the first Archer quest to get to level 4 and activate this quest

We are sent to speak with an acquaintance of Mother Miounne on the off chance he has a use for an adventurer. Once there, we get more information on the strife the Calamity brought to the Twelveswood. And the quest ends with s reminder to listen to the people and their requests.

Passing Muster (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Passing_Muster)

Here we are inspected to ensure we are properly armored.

I had to take a side quest to afford to buy the pieces of armor I needed to meet the requirement. It was the one to go looking for recruits that didn’t show up for training, and while this falls under game mechanics more than storytelling, I’m not a fan of how they are identified with an icon that can be seen from any good vantage points. It makes finding them a little too easy.

I passed muster and concluded the quest.

[AngelCheese77]

Close to Home (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Close_to_Home_)

This quest gets us familiar with some locations, the Aetheryte, the market, and one of the hand of war/magic guild, in my case, the archer. As with most starting quests, little danger is involved. Story-wise, Mother Miounne is upfront about the purpose, to give us a grasp of adventuring… I question the wording. We are also told to seek the Smiths should we need advice. We are also encouraged to help anyone who needs it in town.

As you play FF14, please keep in mind that it was mainly written in Japanese. What you see in the language you play in, can be a loose translation, a translation that might have changed from the original intent, or even changed entirely because it needs to fit better into the language it was translated to. So much of the wording and information c an seem odd or just worded wrong.

The Market

Here we speak with Parsemontret, who for the price of 1 eel pie tells us about the market. While the interaction teaches us the mechanic of handing items to NPCs, the bluntness of ‘give me a bribe’ is a tad offputting.

Characters have personalities. I'm sure you know this when it comes to books. So you will find the same here. So it shouldn't be that much of a surprise for an NPC that works through bribery.

The Archers.

So, I was sent to the archer from the start.

Here we speak to the receptionist and get the backstory on archery in the region. Other than the NPC acting like she can’t see my bow, therefore treats me as someone who doesn’t know archery exists, the storytelling is adequate.

It is written as such because later on, you unlock the ability to take on multiple classes. Meaning, you start as an Archer, but after a point in the MSQ (Main Story Questline) you are allowed to go and learn to be a Marauder or a Lancer. So it makes sense the NPC asks if you want to be an Archer in a neutral way.

We return to Mother Miounne, are thanked for being an adventurer who is there for the population, and express hope that we will be there to help in the coming struggles.

One interesting note with the ending. She thanked me for helping some citizens, which I did not do. I think that is a slight flaw in the narrative.

Hm, I never noticed that. Maybe because I assisted other NPCs along the way. Interesting.

To the Bannock (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/To_the_Bannock)

I had to do the first Archer quest to get to level 4 and activate this quest

I will let you know, FF14 has quests and areas behind what are called "level locks" or "gates". These can be the level of your character, the iLevel of your gear (known as item level), how far you are in the MSQ (Main Story Quest), if you have done particular dungeons or side quests, etc. Don't let it discourage you. Many find it annoying.

Passing Muster (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Passing_Muster)

Here we are inspected to ensure we are properly armored.

I had to take a side quest to afford to buy the pieces of armor I needed to meet the requirement. It was the one to go looking for recruits that didn’t show up for training, and while this falls under game mechanics more than storytelling, I’m not a fan of how they are identified with an icon that can be seen from any good vantage points. It makes finding them a little too easy.

I passed muster and concluded the quest.

Blame that on "modernity" and "inclusion" for MMOs. Back in the day (think EverQuest in 1999), you had to write things down and explore. Now, it's all about handholding and making this easier for players no matter how they play. You get used to it.

[kindar1]

(https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Chasing_Shadows)

Right off the bat, we have a storytelling flaw. We ‘have proven ourselves a friend to Gridania’ by our tireless efforts. And we can now be trusted with sensitive intelligence.

I’ve just stood here, finishing one quest and started this one.

We are told that we are good and important to Gridania, but we haven’t been shown to be so. ‘Show don’t Tell’ is a much repeated rule in storytelling, and I think that here it matters. Instead of trusting we did helped people (which in and of itself doesn’t prove we are trustworthy). We should be given minor tasks and missions where we show we can be trusted to do what we are told.

We get a cut scene that starts with some words I like the least in games like these. ‘Time is of the essence’. Unless the mission is on a timer (few are) then time is not of the essence and the NPCs shouldn’t act like it is.

We are told there is a suspected link between the suspicious character and the Ixali activities. We are sent to investigate, told that we might need to act covertly to catch this character.

While one of the function of this quest is to get us to interact with an item. On a storytelling level, the problem with it is that there is no story here. We interact with the sword, people show up, including author inserts, there is a fight, basically the end. There is no need to ‘do’ anything story related.

We aren’t part of the story; the story happens around us.

After the fight we get a cut scene telling us again we’re special, and given what sounds like the plot of the story. Assemble a crystal to banish a darkness.

The strangers leave. I take the sword and return to Galfrid.

Here we have the first clear indication that we can speak, and yet, our dialog doesn’t show up.

My big problem with this quest is that it’s supposed to be something only I could do, but how could any guard fail to see a sword in a stump? In a story, events have to happen for a reason supported by the narrative. Nothing in the narrative support that I should be the one to resolve this issue. There was no subterfuge involved, no mysterious person to find. Just a sword in a stump anyone passing by could have seen. And guards have been passing by, since they made a report about that area.

[VelKallor]

Here we have the first clear indication that we can speak, and yet, our dialog doesn’t show up.

Silent protagonist.

Btw.."went and'?

[Kes13a]

*snip*

while to some extent I agree, you have to be aware that the game has been around for 12 years.

they have changed the original arc to make it shorter for new players. this is going to cause issues with your attempt to critique the story, since its not the same as it was. in fact, they removed 13% of the ARR quests, lines of dialogue that used to be part of quests were removed to shorten the quest chains themselves. at this point, especially in ARR, you are being handed a book with entire paragraphs, pages and chapters that are simply removed to make the experience shorter because players complained it was too long.

while your attempt is interesting, I feel its conception is flawed from the start

[ReynTime]

while to some extent I agree, you have to be aware that the game has been around for 12 years.

they have changed the original arc to make it shorter for new players. this is going to cause issues with your attempt to critique the story, since its not the same as it was. in fact, they removed 13% of the ARR quests, lines of dialogue that used to be part of quests were removed to shorten the quest chains themselves. at this point, especially in ARR, you are being handed a book with entire paragraphs, pages and chapters that are simply removed to make the experience shorter because players complained it was too long.

while your attempt is interesting, I feel its conception is flawed from the start

That's not his problem. He's giving his perspective as an author who just started. Just leave him be, it's not like FFXIV will have whatever reputation you people think it has tarnished because someone dared critique past story arcs. If he feels it improves later, he will give his take accordingly.

And then some people here still have the gall to claim the fanbase is not overly defensive of any negative criticism...