Thread: 1UP.com's new interview with Yoshida regarding 2.0

Originally Posted by Avraym

Also did the author seem slightly arrogant? To quote him:

"Michael Vreeland
Freelancer Michael Vreeland has the dubious distinction of being uniquely qualified to cover Final Fantasy XIV, as he's basically the only person in the media playing it, and also the only one that also played Final Fantasy XI."

I agree that i'd rather read interviews from a current and informed player than someone who had no idea about FFXIV. But still, seems like a pompous/arrogant statement to make.

I know I'm going to regret this, but...

I am the author.

I have to say, this really surprised me. How can it be arrogant for me to say I have a "dubious distinction?" That turn of phrase specifically means it's probably not something one would or should brag about. It's like having the world record for dirtiest underwear, or something.

I don't think one could or should "brag" about playing this game or any game, really. But I'm especially not sure how or why anyone would "brag" about playing an unpopular game. And when I wrote that, I was trying to be self-deprecating, because when I tell people that I'm playing FFXIV, they kind of give this pitiful look.

Saying "the media" was probably a bit broad - correctly or incorrectly, I generally make a distinction between sites like Massively, RPGFan and the kind of sites and magazines I've written for, like 1Up, EGM, etc. I'm not sure how NeoGAF fits into this at all, though, since that's a forum and I'm really active over there.

Anyway, glad people seem to have enjoyed the interview, and I guess I'll be more careful with my blurbs in the future.

Originally Posted by Yumi_Hibiki

but i didnt like the attitude of the guy to be honest, calling the game dead right of the bat which is just not true, interrupting yoshida one time with a needless snarky remark (which wasnt completely accurate either)
and i really wonder why he chose pics from the 1.0 launch when we just got nice new material
it just rubbed me the wrong way...

Sorry, but by any logical standard, this game is dead. Or maybe undead? And it certainly was dead when Yoshi-P took it over. Even now, though, it is bleeding money, and the only reason you are playing it now is because against all odds Square decided to try and save it, instead of shutting the servers down after a few months, like most other companies would.

And... interrupting him? You weren't there.

It was a pretty conversational and light-hearted interview. He's a pretty open guy, and there were a number of jokes that weren't transcribed or wouldn't have worked.

For example, after his intro spiel about the three pillars, I nearly fell off of my single-legged stool, and I said it needed two more pillars, and everyone had a good laugh.

And then there was when the NA producer, Yasu, was attacked by some kind of large insect, which I deemed a chigoe. He hid in the corner and nearly knocked the TV over while the PR guy killed it. Everyone had a good laugh after that.

They also showed me 2.0... or at least tried to. I said I really wanted to get as many questions asked as possible, so was pretty focused on that. When Yoshi-P was running around that forest area, I looked at it a bit, and he was like "Oh, he's looking!" and we all chuckled, and I went back to asking questions and getting answers.

The attempts to ascertain the entirety of my being from a few questions in an E3 interview is pretty baffling.

Originally Posted by Griss

But why didn't they slip the new shiny screen shots into the article? It sends a strange message, Hey guys this game is picking up steam in its turn around. Here is some eye candy that you saw two years ago to help get you excited.

I'm just a freelancer, and not the guy that actually put the article into 1Up's system. I sent them the new screens and asked them to use them, so we'll see what happens. But E3 is an insanely busy time for these guys, so I wouldn't blame them at all if they never got a chance to fix it.

Originally Posted by Ravidrath

I know I'm going to regret this, but...

I am the author.

I have to say, this really surprised me. How can it be arrogant for me to say I have a "dubious distinction?" That turn of phrase specifically means it's probably not something one would or should brag about. It's like having the world record for dirtiest underwear, or something.

I don't think one could or should "brag" about playing this game or any game, really. But I'm especially not sure how or why anyone would "brag" about playing an unpopular game. And when I wrote that, I was trying to be self-deprecating, because when I tell people that I'm playing FFXIV, they kind of give this pitiful look.

Saying "the media" was probably a bit broad - correctly or incorrectly, I generally make a distinction between sites like Massively, RPGFan and the kind of sites and magazines I've written for, like 1Up, EGM, etc. I'm not sure how NeoGAF fits into this at all, though, since that's a forum and I'm really active over there.

Anyway, glad people seem to have enjoyed the interview, and I guess I'll be more careful with my blurbs in the future.

You have nothing to be worried about. I was able to see the self-deprecating humor just fine. Let this guy have his own stupid opinion. And ignore the forum haters in general.

Also! Top notch interview! Best XIV one I've read in... well, 2 years~~~~

Who were you in FF11, mystery person Andvari?

I loved all the complaints about the interview. You're such an arrogant jerk, Ravi. Calling this game dead or making snarky comments when someone is talking about Battle Regimen. Oh wait. This game is dead. The only reason I or anyone else (who isn't a masochist) even plays this game is the promise of 2.0. No one could say this game is awesome as is with a straight face. And I have to say, a snarky comment is the least you could do in response to the terrible Battle Regimen system. It didn't work. That's not even snarky. It's just a fact.

And, gah, Ravi? Why didn't you post them new 2.0 pics? Didn't you know that none of us have seen them yet!? WE NEED TO SEE THOSE 2.0 PICTURES AGAIN... FOR THE FIRST TIME!?

Definitely the best 2.0 interview I've read. Sounds like it was a fun interview, too!

Don't feel bad about the assholes, it's a rule on the forums that someone has to be an enormous tool and/or misinterpret everything at least once on every thread.

Originally Posted by Hyrist

That's because your wish is locked into a specific setting. Instead of Job locking, which is too restrictive, IMO. Class lock instead. This, coupled with the idea of being able to have multiple jobs per class eliminates that concern.

Meh, it eliminates "Duelle, you suck because you like playing PLD more than DRK and don't even carry a DRK set. Our needs should be more important than your in-game enjoyment" entirely, which isn't a bad thing. Take it from someone to who got burned with dual specs in late WotLK/Cataclysm.

I wouldn't even put it anywhere. Speed Runs should be for timing events in which speed makes sense to the lore/plot of the game and nothing further. Perhaps a timer to prevent from holding up the instance server, but the timer should not have any significance beyond that. - or, as a compromise, have speed runs be one of many factors that cause chest to drop as a point total, as I described earlier.

Timers can be implemented in a way that (while relevant) is non-crucial to the lore of the instance, requires you to know the instance and have sufficient DPS/heals to make it through. The reward for the timed run coule be something nice but not something that gives a massive advantage. The timed run then becomes something to aim for and complete with any group comp with relatively the same amount of effort. (ex: Culling of Stratholme).

It's really something that can be applied to lots of dungeon elements, from hostages that need to be rescued to avoiding some event in the instance that would affect the battles past that point or simply just saving someone who would get captured if you arrive too late.

MP pools, magical stats,etc in FFVI were not equal. They could be MADE to be equal, but the lowest common demonimnator in the game - the Esper system which taught magic, altered stats, etc, has a similarity to the class system, which allows us to socket from any class we learned from.

I disagree, because again any character could cover vital spells provided you took the time to teach them the right spells (stat modification through espers naturally came with teaching said spells and were not entirely separate processes). Mash could do healing as well as Edgar could, as well as Gau could as well as Relm could. Not to mention VI had enough jobs with good damage potential to cover that part of the equation with little trouble.

You're also assuming we're wanting a Tank Party, a DD party, and a Mage party, all with their own support focusing on just them. But with classes that can take multiple jobs, that means they can take multiple roles. AND, it might be better for the group as a whole to not have such a focused center as the end boss may be multiple tough enemies instead of just one. Put simply - we don't know if such a dungeon would follow the conventions you're referring to.

XI's group structure is the last thing I would ever want to use. What I'm trying to avoid is player trends developing where people are expected to have multiple classes/jobs geared and leveled because the dungeon and encounter design demands it.

I may not actively RP, but certain aspects of it are still very important to me; looking at my character as being a particular class/job being one such aspect. Hence why I used to constantly say that in FFXI, I looked at my Taru as "Duelle the Red Mage", not "Duelle the taru with RDM at 99, DRK at 90 and having PLD underlevelled". Being able to say "my character is this job" and being able to play as such in the content that matters without social expectations and dungeon/encounter mechanics getting in the way greatly increases enjoyment of the game, believe it or not. It's largely why I support performance equality between jobs over niche gameplay, too.

In the end, a dungeon built like Phoenix Cave/Kefka's Tower might actually be a good shake-up from the norm - something we really need to be honest.

Difference for the sake of being different hasn't let to much good in the MMO genre. That being said, I'm not entirely against having one dungeon that took that approach, but I will still stress class/job balance is very important in making it properly tick without opening the door for shennanigans like class stacking and exclusion of classes/jobs.

Originally Posted by Ravidrath

I know I'm going to regret this, but...

I am the author.

eh, I think you're brave for stepping forward. Either way, it was a good interview, and perhaps one of the most informative articles of all the stuff that's come out of e3.