Depth Vs. Complexity

[Atoli]

I love Extra Credits but let's think about this logically. There is literally NO WAY to create a giant world with dozens of different things to do without SOME amount of complexity.
Complexity isn't bad, it's just important to keep it at a reasonable rate to the depth gained from it.

Let's take chess as an example. The (basic) rules are easy to learn for everyone.
Sure, there are dozens of supercomplicated things about it if you REALLY get into it but let's not go there.
Basic rules for basic play are easy to learn. But!
What you can do is also very restricted. You are bound to a small chess board with nothing to do but to beat your opponent or get beaten.
With modern MMORPGs there is so incredibly much to do that it's simply not possible to keep the complexity at a level as low as basic chess rules.

And it doesn't need to be. As said in the video, the amount of time the player has to embrace that complexity is what matters.
I think FFXIV does actually a good job at that by now; it slowly spreads out new concepts over the first few hours-days of playing. Also, it's very forgiving with trial & error.
You can mess around with different options, new systems, etc. as much as you want without getting penaltized for it.
You can always change your playstyle, your equipment, your skillset or your stats throughout the game.
Normally the rate at which you grow is equal to the rate new complexity is dumped on you so you can enjoy the depth 'unlocked' by bearing more complexity.

Let's take new skills as a example. Originally there were just SO many skills (like 40 per class) that the complexity was overwhelming. Knowing all their symbols, which to combine, which are useful in which situation etc. required a great deal of "memory" or "thinking" of the player. Getting ~2 new skills per level also left the player with no time to actually figure out these things, it just kept piling up.
Sure, if you knew all your skills and their effectiveness against XY, you had a great deal of strategies to choose from - which could beasically be refered to as 'depth', but the high complexity also confused most players a lot and made it an overall not really enjoyable experience.
Since the battle system revamp, the amount of different tactics got a little bit smaller, but only by a margin.
Having only 16(?) skills per class in comparison to 40 or 50 made it A LOT easier for players though; less symbols to remember, one new skill every 4 levels (enough time to get used to it), it all decreases the strain on the player a lot, basically reducing complexity by far without taking away from the depth too much.
That's exactly what EC was talking about - less complexity, more depth.

Concerning that, FFXIV has come a great way from the mess it once was to what it is now.
Sure, it' still far from perfect, but what I've seen about ARR so far seems to go into the right direction (no alpha invite though so no hands-on experience I could judge from).
Now about hidden stats & Co., I'm not gonna go into that.
Most people don't care anyways and those who do actually seem to enjoy sitting at their desks with complicated formula for hours upon hours to figure things out.
So basically, it probably has it's place in the game..somewhere..

TL;DR
FFXIV once was incredibly complex for the relatively small depth gained from it, which changed considerably to present day and seems to get even better looking at ARR.
Having SOME complexity for a game is fine, as long as the learning curve is enjoyable