FF14 director Naoki Yoshida spoke with Famitsu about how the MMORPG has gotten too stress-free as of late. Read on to learn why he thinks as such and what he plans to do for the game’s future!
FF14 Has Gotten Too Comfortable and Stress-Free
Yoshi-P Thinks They "May Have ‘Overdone It’ a Little Bit
Final Fantasy 14 Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida, better known as Yoshi-P, recently took part in a sit-down interview with Japanese video game publication Famitsu that was published on March 11. Alongside him was WFS Game Designer and former Square Enix employee Shota Shimoda, who previously worked under Yoshi-P during his tenure at Square Enix.
The interview touched upon a lot of subjects between the two game developers, but the most striking information to come out was how Yoshi-P currently feels about the state of FF14. The critically acclaimed MMORPG has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and held a monumental 2-day FanFest in the legendary Tokyo Dome back in January.
These milestones gave the director a moment to reflect on the game for the past 10 years and noticed how much they have made the game more accessible for players.
"We have tried to make the game more comfortable and stress-free for players, but looking back over the past 10 years, I think we may have ‘overdone it’ a little bit. There is always stress involved in a game, and handling it is extremely difficult..."
He likens the situation to a side-scrolling game, where if the player had no places to fall and instantly lose, there of course would be no stress, but it would also lack any enjoyment. He further states that for FF14, he seeks to "return this[stress] part of the game to its original state a little bit in the future." His idea is that with the return of challenging content, players will be required to overcome them and receive a better sense than ever before. At the same time, he also looks forward to the future and seeks to provide this same level of challenge for the next 10 years, as they are currently designing various games.
Shimoda chimes in and agrees, saying how game developers "place the balance between stress and return is very important for game design, and if you just keep easing the game, it will become tasteless." He adds that it’s also important to have a good relationship with the fanbase, and that it could be done by being transparent with any ‘challenging’ changes being made, and " why it is necessary to improve the game so that they understand."
Yoshi-P acknowledges transparency being significant and points out that players will be even more disappointed by ‘challenging’ changes if they are never announced. Lastly, he clarifies that it’s not all about making the game harder at every point.
"Moreoever, we are not talking about ‘increasing the difficulty level.’ So, we need to give a clear explanation and say, ‘So please try it. And then give us feedback!’ and we will communicate with you. I think again that there is no answer, no goal, and no end in sight. "
Note: All quotes and inferences from this article were translated from the Japanese article using DeepL.
Source:
Famitsu | Shota Shimoda of WFS and Naoki Yoshida of SQEX talk about making games!
DeepL Translator
