Article Series: Can FFXIV: ARR create “A Genre Reborn”?Follow

We look at more than just IP

As has been stated before, they tried to redefine everything and we got 1.0. I'd rather they take what works for other MMOs, then tweak it over the months to make it their own. I know "WoW Clone" gets tossed around a lot, but there really are a lot of similarities that can't be ignored. It doesn't have to be a negative thing through, I like the idea of their taking the best of every MMO and including it.

What it boils down to is "are people having fun?" and I know I, and a lot of others are. Hell even my wife, who's never played an MMO in her life (had no idea how to WASD) was starting to get antsy between tests during Phase 3. That's my own personal indicator of how good the game is

This game won't ever goes FTP if SE keeps their word about content and being a higher quality game compared to the other models.

TLDR: SE meets the three criteria of content and they can avoid the notion of F2P regardless of all the prophecies the mmo players have foreseen.

The only F2P approach I could tolerate would be Eve Online's PLEX system. Basically, subscribers get an extra month for every month they pay for. They can either use that extra month for themselves or they can put it up for sale in exchange for in game currency. So players can play the game free if they buy up those extra months subscribers put up for sale, and to come up with the in game currency, they'll have to take up activities not unlike those that RMT rely on.

To me, that sounds like grinding something 24/7 and basically not enjoying the game because the cost of upkeep is fairly steep.

I agree with you in principle, but to what extent does this sentiment inhibit the enjoyment of that group of elite hardcore players who want there to be items that take a ton of grind work? While I'm certainly not in that category of gamer by a long shot, I still believe in providing content for those out there who are.

I think so much development goes into appeasing the less "hardcore" player that sometimes the extreme types are forgotten.

This game won't ever goes FTP if SE keeps their word about content and being a higher quality game compared to the other models.

TLDR: SE meets the three criteria of content and they can avoid the notion of F2P regardless of all the prophecies the mmo players have foreseen.

You don't have to avoid F2P to be able to support adding large amounts of quality content and planning that content to be relevant for a long time. A game being F2P is completely independent of those factors. The only caveat to that is that the content that you do intend to introduce via cash shop needs to be attractive enough that people feel it's worth their dime so that enough people are interested in it and you earn enough to cover the costs and turn a profit.

The main issue I find with what you have stated here is that there is very little in FFXIV that separates it from other games. The FATE system and the duty finder, their two most recent additions to the game, are ripped directly from other games that are F2P. I'm not saying that those are the only things XIV has going for it, but the question to ask here; a question I have asked on these boards before is: What is it that sets FFXIV apart from the other, free options?

Most people looked at the question and put their shields up immediately saying things like "We don't need the game to be innovative, that's how we got the miserable 1.0 in the first place". While I agree for the most part, it still doesn't satisfy the question. What is it about FFXIV: ARR that is going to keep people paying a subscription fee when the majority of the same features are offered elsewhere?

I think I understand why Yoshi wants to go with the sub model, but his reasons don't all line up with what is actually happening with games that are successful in F2P.

You don't have to avoid F2P to be able to support adding large amounts of quality content and planning that content to be relevant for a long time. A game being F2P is completely independent of those factors. The only caveat to that is that the content that you do intend to introduce via cash shop needs to be attractive enough that people feel it's worth their dime so that enough people are interested in it and you earn enough to cover the costs and turn a profit.

The main issue I find with what you have stated here is that there is very little in FFXIV that separates it from other games. The FATE system and the duty finder, their two most recent additions to the game, are ripped directly from other games that are F2P. I'm not saying that those are the only things XIV has going for it, but the question to ask here; a question I have asked on these boards before is: What is it that sets FFXIV apart from the other, free options?

Most people looked at the question and put their shields up immediately saying things like "We don't need the game to be innovative, that's how we got the miserable 1.0 in the first place". While I agree for the most part, it still doesn't satisfy the question. What is it about FFXIV: ARR that is going to keep people paying a subscription fee when the majority of the same features are offered elsewhere?

I think I understand why Yoshi wants to go with the sub model, but his reasons don't all line up with what is actually happening with games that are successful in F2P.

[quote=FilthMcNasty]It won't even take that long. We'll know by or shortly after the first expansion how it is going to play out.

When a game is released, developers and players look for two things: Does everything work? And, is it enjoyable to play? Once those two requirements are met, developers can then look towards the future and start releasing content for longtime players and personalizing their game (though XIV already has it's own personality, look at the Armory System and Limit Breaks). No matter what your model is, P2P, F2P, or B2P, every MMO has this as their first goal.

This is not a launch or release. It's a re-launch or re-release. I'm completely willing to give ARR a shot to win me over as a game that I will enjoy, but this game was released 3 years ago. It's not at all unreasonable to expect an expansion worth or more of content, especially when Yoshi himself went off on quite a long explanation as to why ARR will still maintain a subscription model specifically because it will allow them to bring in more content than the F2P competition..

The loudest alarm is the disparity between the large amount of players coming into the game with many or all classes and jobs at level cap and the influx of new players. As you said, releasing content in a timely manner is a delicate balance that needs to be maintained. I'm curious how or why you think this isn't an alarm when it's an obvious issue facing ARR on re-launch.

Clearly you're optimistic about the game, even overly optimistic I'd say; that is your prerogative. I'm not going to tell you not to be excited about it. However, if you're so willing to ignore easily identified problems such as the one I just mentioned, perhaps it's you who needs to smell the coffee.

It's exactly this. Innovation is only good if it solves a problem the genre has (or didn't know it had). But difference for the sake of difference and expecting that will produce a WoW-killer is like throwing a dart blindfolded while going for a bullseye surrounded by killer beehives. FFXIV 1.0 lost its way because it simply forgot about the player experience being the most important aspect. The industry has evolved tremendously since the days of EQ, so offering a game that completely ignored the last decade of MMOdom was pure madness.

It's exactly this. Innovation is only good if it solves a problem the genre has (or didn't know it had). But difference for the sake of difference and expecting that will produce a WoW-killer is like throwing a dart blindfolded while going for a bullseye surrounded by killer beehives. FFXIV 1.0 lost its way because it simply forgot about the player experience being the most important aspect. The industry has evolved tremendously since the days of EQ, so offering a game that completely ignored the last decade of MMOdom was pure madness.

I'd like to point out that there are valid reasons for wanting and seeking innovation. The MMO genre is well established at this point and a lot of the conventions have gotten a bit stale. There are usually good reasons why they have become the conventions, and changing them just for the sake of change is likely to result in a worse game, but a game developer isn't worth much if he or she isn't at least looking for ways to shake things up in ways that are as effective or ideally more effective than the convention.

One example of this is questing. I find myself barely doing side quests in FFXIV, and ignoring guildleves as much as possible because frankly they're the same boring concepts I've come to expect from 5 years of playing WoW specifically and MMOs in general for 15+. Seeing yet another filler quest from an NPC with an exclamation point over his head does not excite or compel me. I really enjoy the story and even the class quests, but that's because I'm generally getting to see a decent narrative with cut scenes and character development, and getting some nice abilities as rewards. They don't feel like filler.

FFXIV had a huge opportunity (and may still have one) with guild leves. The original concept with guild leves seemed to suggest that they would be somewhat modular, that you would sort of earn the ability to customize your goals, group sizes, and rewards more as you went on. You can KIND of do this now by choosing the level of the leve and choosing from a list for each hub, but you're inevitably going to repeat the same leves a lot, and maybe never find the one that fits exactly what you're in the mood for. IF they could ever revisit the leve system and really make it crackle and pop, that's the kind of innovation that would add a lot of value to the genre.

Similarly, I'd love to know if there was an underlying reason for the armory system. What were the imagined advantages of tying class to weapon directly? Is this something they did differently just for the sake of being diferent, or is there some emergent depth or compelling gameplay that's going to justify what otherwise seems like a narrow design decision? I felt like the job system in FFXI was very different than anything that's ever been done in MMOs before or since (although Rift probably comes closest to duplicating it). That's innovation for the sake of better and novel gameplay, and I love it. I don't love the armory system (though I do love being able to play every class on one character). Is this a system they could develop further to differentiate ARR in a very positive way? I'd love to find out.