How will we stand out?

[Lux_Rayna]

Going over what we've seen for ARR. We've taken a lot from other standard MMO's. WoW-esque gameplay and interface are some of the biggest changes we're facing right now, but how will we show off what separates this game from what people already have? How do we keep from being labeled World of Fantasy?

I want this game to succeed, but we can't do that by making the same mistake that nearly every other MMO has made sense WoW's creation. Copying without sufficient innovation to draw an audience.

Main draws so far:

• Job system that lets you change on the fly without having to make a whole new character
• New summoning system, details are a little fuzzy at the moment
• Brand name (references, lore, story, etc)
• Limit Break
• Chocobo raising and fighting
• Combat (Position, Combo system)
• Visuals

I think any concern you might have is pretty unfounded. Just by brand name alone FFXIV is an alien compared to its competition. Factor in the fact that it was converted from an RPG, unlike most modern MMO's these days, and its universe is entirely different than anything else, you never have to worry about it standing out.

The only thing conventional in FFXIV is the new UI. Everything else is basically entirely different. Oh and we get an Auction House..and mail. I hardly consider that reason for concern.

[Gramul]

I think any concern you might have is pretty unfounded. Just by brand name alone FFXIV is an alien compared to its competition. Factor in the fact that it was converted from an RPG, unlike most modern MMO's these days, and its universe is entirely different than anything else, you never have to worry about it standing out.

The only thing conventional in FFXIV is the new UI. Everything else is basically entirely different. Oh and we get an Auction House..and mail. I hardly consider that reason for concern.

The brand name wasn't enough to keep people in 1.0 or SWTOR. Original world wasn't enough for AION. Other games have auction houses and Email. I don't think it would hurt to talk about what makes this game worth playing over others.

[Kallera]

The brand name wasn't enough to keep people in 1.0 or SWTOR. Original world wasn't enough for AION. Other games have auction houses and Email. I don't think it would hurt to talk about what makes this game worth playing over others.

You're absolutely right, now how about a nice game of chess? been around for centuries and the graphic engine's top notch.

[Gramul]

You're absolutely right, now how about a nice game of chess? been around for centuries and the graphic engine's top notch.

Chess is a game with base pieces and a set of rules that have remained constant over hundreds of years.

Final fantasy is an RPG series with various games of varying quality where the only connecting factors are shared magics, monsters, and a handfull of side characters.

Brand name won't keep people playing a WoW clone when they have the original readily available. Let's not fool ourselves, and prepare to be a draw in the industry beyond its name.

[Kallera]

Chess is a game with base pieces and a set of rules that have remained constant over hundreds of years.

Final fantasy is an RPG series with various games of varying quality where the only connecting factors are shared magics, monsters, and a handfull of side characters.

Brand name won't keep people playing a WoW clone when they have the original readily available. Let's not fool ourselves, and prepare to be a draw in the industry beyond its name.

Apparently "shared magics, monsters, and a handfull of side characters" isn't enough for you.

Why are you here again? What possible thing outside of the MMO genre are you looking for?

By the way: Chess Variants, about as numerous as card games, existed for 100s of years.

[Gramul]

Apparently "shared magics, monsters, and a handfull of side characters" isn't enough for you.

Why are you here again? What possible thing outside of the MMO genre are you looking for?

By the way: Chess Variants, about as numerous as card games, existed for 100s of years.

They arn't good enough for many people.

I'm here because I want this game to suceed and thrive, and it won't do that if people think it's just another typical MMO with a new skin.

So why exactly are you trying to protect this game from the truth? Do you want it to be just another average WoW clone? Do you want it to be a speck in the FF canon?

Do you not want me here? Would you rather I not look for reasons for people to be interested?

I don't see how this topic could hurt anyone.

[Kallera]

They arn't good enough for many people.

I'm here because I want this game to suceed and thrive,

NO ONE plays ANY game for this reason. It has already succeeded by being released.

Why are you here? There is a reason you play the game NOW, and not later, what is it?

[Estellios]

The brand name wasn't enough to keep people in 1.0 or SWTOR. Original world wasn't enough for AION. Other games have auction houses and Email. I don't think it would hurt to talk about what makes this game worth playing over others.

Brand name couldn't keep people playing those games because those games sucked.

They're hitting a lot of nice nostalgia things in 2.0 and if the game turns out to play great and be a lot of fun then people will stay.

[Lux_Rayna]

The brand name wasn't enough to keep people in 1.0 or SWTOR. Original world wasn't enough for AION. Other games have auction houses and Email. I don't think it would hurt to talk about what makes this game worth playing over others.

Well you asked what would make it stand out, not what would make it more playable. There is a rather large difference between the two.

If you're asking what would make someone play FFXIV over other games, there's no way of knowing. Like you said, originality wasn't enough for Aion. Generally speaking what becomes "hot" is almost entirely random. In WoW's case it was combination of brand name and something more casual-friendly. What's next after that? Idk. Only thing you can do is change as much as you can, keep the conventions that seem important, and hope for the best. Didn't work out for Aion, who knows what will work for FFXIV, or if anything will. Predicting this sort of thing is basically shooting blind.

[Gramul]

Well you asked what would make it stand out, not what would make it more playable. There is a rather large difference between the two.

If you're asking what would make someone play FFXIV over other games, there's no way of knowing. Like you said, originality wasn't enough for Aion. Generally speaking what becomes "hot" is almost entirely random. In WoW's case it was combination of brand name and something more casual-friendly. What's next after that? Idk. Only thing you can do is change as much as you can, keep the conventions that seem important, and hope for the best. Didn't work out for Aion, who knows what will work for FFXIV, or if anything will. Predicting this sort of thing is basically shooting blind.

If you nitice, I've listed Brand name as a main draw in the opening post. My idea behind this thread is to find as many draws and original features as possible so I can have grounds for telling other people what they can take from this game that they can't from anywhere else.