That is quite the journey through mmos! I have played Lotro for a couple of years as well and I still have fond memories of the environments, music and attention to detail of the tolkien universe. It has definitely dated a lot and the quality, as well as the monetization ruined it for me after the second expansion. Afterwards I played WoW for a couple of years, did some semi high-end raiding and that was all the appeal to me, until the realization kicked in of me being in an eternal hamster wheel loop of only playing to acquire better gear, which would already be obsolete in 3 months and repeat. I tried out ffxiv after quitting shadowlands in 2022 and I am still in love with it. It's not perfect, but no one can deny the love and care the devs put into the game and I am feeling very at home. I have found many friends here, as well as a new appreciation for good story and narratives, in fact so much so as to making me reread a lot of tolkiens works, after not reading a book for well over ten years.
Oh wow. I've heard from others that LOTRO has some serious monetization issues. So sad. I'm not too hopeful about Amazon making a good LOTR MMO either... I'm glad that you're finding some happy gaming in FF14 as well. I definitely came away from the narrative feeling more inspired and encouraged!
Another chieko vid, nice Did you choose the grumpy sticker face to reflect your attitude for a lot of modern big budget writing or some other reason? Since you place a big emphasis on relating to your character, do you think the graphics update for 14 is going to increase that for you, or result in "this is not how i thought you'd look like" or something
Ah yes. The grumpy sticker face. Good question. I am generally pessimistic about a lot of things. I often describe myself as being a closet idealist. LOL. But you are correct that the state of literature, films, and gaming does leave me feeling annoyed and grumpy. XD Neither, I imagine! I'm excited but not relieved, curious but not worried. I'm actually very curious but not like over the moon...? I mean, I was happy before the graphical update announcement, and I don't play FF14 with visual mods. For me, graphical fidelity aren't the be-all-and-end-all, but the feeling that I made this and I am connected to it is crucial. It's weird, right? I might have to think about how to describe my sentiments more clearly, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't need perfect graphics, but I do need enough customization options to make my avatar feel like a person I'm invested in. Another way to think about this: why have I sunk over 1700 hours into FF14 but only managed to play BDO for 4? BDO probably has set the standard for character customization and graphical fidelity... so, I can definitely say that while both are important, they aren't the fundamental reason for investment. However, they still count. Kinda like the cherry on top. And I think FF14 (for me anyways) has enough flavor and spice to get me invested in my character on a physical level, beyond the narrative investment. I'm starting to think I'm a bit strange... but Yeah. I am excited to see how my catboi is going to look! At a pinch, I have a spare fantasia from my Level 50 quest back in ARR, so I can tweak him if he needs a bit of tweaking. To be honest, the graphical update for catbois looks solid. I think the Viera noses are freaking the bunpeople out, so they may have to do some fantas. Do you play FF14? If yes, what do you play as--and are you pumped for the graphical update in 7.0?
@@chiekokurokumo a nice long response! You'll be pleased to know they'll give a free fantasia especially because they know ppl might not like how their char looks with the update! And since you asked, i am one of the many unfortunate souls who had to endure WoW's decline before moving over to FF, my very first character was a catboi, but unlike you, idk something intangible was "off" about them, so i went female au'ra, felt scammed by how short they were, then went Bunboi in EW, i like their slender figure more somehow to catbois. The graphics were never that big of a deal for me tbh, as i am an appreciator of art direction over graphical fidelity, so im way more excited about the 2dye slots for gear, thats going to be massive!
You would love WOW Classic, the underlying story and initial exploration I think would be enough drive to get you to "see whats around the next corner" but the game might be a bit too jank and slow. I think FF was probably a better choice with the transmog options and deep narrative story. I wish you could have experienced the original LOTRO. It was probably my favorite MMO of all time until they ruined it (IMO) and turned it into a mobile game. The original lotro was more like wow with no pay to win or "pain points" to get you to spend. and the story and acting and just integrating well with the movies which had just come out. it was epic. what they did to that game to ruin it is unforgiveable and sad.
Hmmm... maybe I should uninstall retail and try Classic instead... Your sentiments about LOTRO appear to be echoed by others here. Seems like it went downhill. Sad. :(
That's some journey, - Guild Wars 2 is ok if you can also buy the 10 Living-World stories, but not at the level of Final Fantasy. Also, most of its story is 'open-world'. - Wow, has overstayed its welcome. It stole and copied so much from other media, including other MMOs, that it deserved a good nap in the trashcan. It could have redeemed itself if it improved on the ideas and concepts it stole but I guess that would have been too much. They also never had the nuts to connect the story properly. Too many heads pulling in different directions. And with the new writers, it became mild, boring, and lame. You have to be ambiguous when you create stories for games since the market always changes and you will need to adapt to it. Retcons don't sit well with fans. Also, they got away with the payment mode because other games were doing it and it brought more to the table. - I am surprised that you played EVE. There is a narrative but not a story - unless you take into account the quest text. It's mostly Player-Driven-Narrative like in most sandboxes, but it's the only one that succeeds at it. - ESO has mass-produced voice acting. It's as if the devs did not care about the experience they were creating. Some of the VO are delivered so badly that it makes you wonder why they even bothered. - LOTR has an outdated design and there is barely anybody still playing it. - SWTOR has an awesome story if you play the Empire. Republic: Play lightside = boy-scout / darkside = mean (Boring) Empire: Play lightside = asshole / darkside = maniac (Drama, Conflict, Hope) - Final Fantasy had a nice rebirth that made it into the product it is today ❤❤❤❤❤ Nice PC! My mother also did not like video games but now that I work in video games she wonders if she did wrong by not letting me play them. I told her that if she did not do her part when I was little, then I would not be here. There are many 'Gamers' in my company but not many are game designers.
Yeah... some of those MMOs... I dropped after a couple days. I do feel sad when I see the potential of an IP being wasted by poor management or predatory monetization. Your mom sounds like she'd get along with my mom. My mom has also come to have some respect for more thoughtful video gams. Interesting last comment you made there... In your opinion, what are some key aspects or skills required for game designers (vs. gamers)?
@@chiekokurokumo As a Gamer, you tend to have favorites. As a GD, you need to be the parent of all your children. As a Gamer, If you are having an amazing time playing a game, then you feel that you are amazing. As a GD, I think to myself "Is this game fair? I keep killing people repeatedly while using the same strategy/weapon. This may need to be nerfed. I need to make sure that nobody can abuse it." - In Rainbow 6 Siege we removed the ability to play the same operator again the second round, as people got too good with a single one and they would dominated the match. - We also made some operators slower, without telling the players, because window snipping was a thing. Imagine shooting 2 opponents from one side of the house and then moving so fast you got to kill the other 3. As a gamer you would thing that you just got good and you deserve the wins. As a GD I see you as a threat to the community and the life of the game. If a small group of people dominate every match then it's not fun for the rest of the players, and they will stop playing. This is bad for the game. Gamers thing of games as a medium of expression. Like a playground or a stage. GD think of a game as a project that needs to make money so that they can make other projects. Nobody is gonna invest money in your passion project that is artistically amazing if it does not make money. GD don't make games for themselves, they make 'products' based client requests which in turn are based customer needs. Clients are either a partner company that provides the money or the will of the shareholders expressed through the board of director. Yes, there might be some games which are made by a small group of passionate people, and they end up succeeding, but they are one in 10.000. There are so many good games that miss the mark and become shovelware that it's sad. Example: The 'Among US' game was launched in 2019 but became a hit in 2021 because everyone was stuck at home and one way to interact with people was through games like it. Where is the game now? What happened to the VR version of the game that came out 1 year ago? The opposite is a game I don't like but the majority do: Fortnite. It was successful from the day it came out and it's now doing so good that brands are paying for ad-space in the game world. This game is gonna be with us for at least 5 more years.
@@chiekokurokumo Also, As a GD you will start hating games. The moment you see the internal workings of a dissected unicorn is the moment that all of the magic goes away. This does not seem to affect the artists working on the game, or the writers, but it does affect the GD, the LD, and the programmers. The closer you are to the guts the worse it gets. The QA has the hardest time with this. They see the mistakes of all the departments and they have to struggle through the mud, muck, and guts just to make sense of the game's mechanics. Imagine trying to find a bug through 10 other bugs that aren't fix all while playing with 3fps, and having a deadline to uphold. Also, each department has it's own request for you to do.
![[Final Fantasy 14 Analysis] ARR - Opening Sequence](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Go-rVMBCd70/mqdefault.jpg)
![[Final Fantasy 14 Analysis] ARR - Opening Sequence](/img/tr.png)
Pog shes back
That is quite the journey through mmos! I have played Lotro for a couple of years as well and I still have fond memories of the environments, music and attention to detail of the tolkien universe. It has definitely dated a lot and the quality, as well as the monetization ruined it for me after the second expansion.
Afterwards I played WoW for a couple of years, did some semi high-end raiding and that was all the appeal to me, until the realization kicked in of me being in an eternal hamster wheel loop of only playing to acquire better gear, which would already be obsolete in 3 months and repeat.
I tried out ffxiv after quitting shadowlands in 2022 and I am still in love with it. It's not perfect, but no one can deny the love and care the devs put into the game and I am feeling very at home. I have found many friends here, as well as a new appreciation for good story and narratives, in fact so much so as to making me reread a lot of tolkiens works, after not reading a book for well over ten years.
Oh wow. I've heard from others that LOTRO has some serious monetization issues. So sad. I'm not too hopeful about Amazon making a good LOTR MMO either... I'm glad that you're finding some happy gaming in FF14 as well. I definitely came away from the narrative feeling more inspired and encouraged!
Its cool to hear about your gaming background as a starting point for this series. I look forward to future videos :)
Thanks!
Great video. An interesting journey indeed! You've come so far.
In part, thanks to you! Tho... when I get back, we should play some ER again... >.>;
Another chieko vid, nice
Did you choose the grumpy sticker face to reflect your attitude for a lot of modern big budget writing or some other reason?
Since you place a big emphasis on relating to your character, do you think the graphics update for 14 is going to increase that for you, or result in "this is not how i thought you'd look like" or something
Ah yes. The grumpy sticker face. Good question. I am generally pessimistic about a lot of things. I often describe myself as being a closet idealist. LOL. But you are correct that the state of literature, films, and gaming does leave me feeling annoyed and grumpy. XD
Neither, I imagine! I'm excited but not relieved, curious but not worried. I'm actually very curious but not like over the moon...? I mean, I was happy before the graphical update announcement, and I don't play FF14 with visual mods. For me, graphical fidelity aren't the be-all-and-end-all, but the feeling that I made this and I am connected to it is crucial. It's weird, right? I might have to think about how to describe my sentiments more clearly, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't need perfect graphics, but I do need enough customization options to make my avatar feel like a person I'm invested in. Another way to think about this: why have I sunk over 1700 hours into FF14 but only managed to play BDO for 4? BDO probably has set the standard for character customization and graphical fidelity... so, I can definitely say that while both are important, they aren't the fundamental reason for investment. However, they still count. Kinda like the cherry on top. And I think FF14 (for me anyways) has enough flavor and spice to get me invested in my character on a physical level, beyond the narrative investment. I'm starting to think I'm a bit strange... but Yeah. I am excited to see how my catboi is going to look! At a pinch, I have a spare fantasia from my Level 50 quest back in ARR, so I can tweak him if he needs a bit of tweaking.
To be honest, the graphical update for catbois looks solid. I think the Viera noses are freaking the bunpeople out, so they may have to do some fantas.
Do you play FF14? If yes, what do you play as--and are you pumped for the graphical update in 7.0?
@@chiekokurokumo a nice long response!
You'll be pleased to know they'll give a free fantasia especially because they know ppl might not like how their char looks with the update!
And since you asked, i am one of the many unfortunate souls who had to endure WoW's decline before moving over to FF, my very first character was a catboi, but unlike you, idk something intangible was "off" about them, so i went female au'ra, felt scammed by how short they were, then went Bunboi in EW, i like their slender figure more somehow to catbois.
The graphics were never that big of a deal for me tbh, as i am an appreciator of art direction over graphical fidelity, so im way more excited about the 2dye slots for gear, thats going to be massive!
You would love WOW Classic, the underlying story and initial exploration I think would be enough drive to get you to "see whats around the next corner" but the game might be a bit too jank and slow. I think FF was probably a better choice with the transmog options and deep narrative story. I wish you could have experienced the original LOTRO. It was probably my favorite MMO of all time until they ruined it (IMO) and turned it into a mobile game. The original lotro was more like wow with no pay to win or "pain points" to get you to spend. and the story and acting and just integrating well with the movies which had just come out. it was epic. what they did to that game to ruin it is unforgiveable and sad.
Hmmm... maybe I should uninstall retail and try Classic instead... Your sentiments about LOTRO appear to be echoed by others here. Seems like it went downhill. Sad. :(
That's some journey,
- Guild Wars 2 is ok if you can also buy the 10 Living-World stories, but not at the level of Final Fantasy. Also, most of its story is 'open-world'.
- Wow, has overstayed its welcome. It stole and copied so much from other media, including other MMOs, that it deserved a good nap in the trashcan. It could have redeemed itself if it improved on the ideas and concepts it stole but I guess that would have been too much. They also never had the nuts to connect the story properly. Too many heads pulling in different directions. And with the new writers, it became mild, boring, and lame. You have to be ambiguous when you create stories for games since the market always changes and you will need to adapt to it. Retcons don't sit well with fans. Also, they got away with the payment mode because other games were doing it and it brought more to the table.
- I am surprised that you played EVE. There is a narrative but not a story - unless you take into account the quest text. It's mostly Player-Driven-Narrative like in most sandboxes, but it's the only one that succeeds at it.
- ESO has mass-produced voice acting. It's as if the devs did not care about the experience they were creating. Some of the VO are delivered so badly that it makes you wonder why they even bothered.
- LOTR has an outdated design and there is barely anybody still playing it.
- SWTOR has an awesome story if you play the Empire.
Republic: Play lightside = boy-scout / darkside = mean (Boring)
Empire: Play lightside = asshole / darkside = maniac (Drama, Conflict, Hope)
- Final Fantasy had a nice rebirth that made it into the product it is today ❤❤❤❤❤
Nice PC!
My mother also did not like video games but now that I work in video games she wonders if she did wrong by not letting me play them. I told her that if she did not do her part when I was little, then I would not be here. There are many 'Gamers' in my company but not many are game designers.
Yeah... some of those MMOs... I dropped after a couple days. I do feel sad when I see the potential of an IP being wasted by poor management or predatory monetization. Your mom sounds like she'd get along with my mom. My mom has also come to have some respect for more thoughtful video gams. Interesting last comment you made there... In your opinion, what are some key aspects or skills required for game designers (vs. gamers)?
@@chiekokurokumo
As a Gamer, you tend to have favorites.
As a GD, you need to be the parent of all your children.
As a Gamer, If you are having an amazing time playing a game, then you feel that you are amazing.
As a GD, I think to myself "Is this game fair? I keep killing people repeatedly while using the same strategy/weapon. This may need to be nerfed. I need to make sure that nobody can abuse it."
- In Rainbow 6 Siege we removed the ability to play the same operator again the second round, as people got too good with a single one and they would dominated the match.
- We also made some operators slower, without telling the players, because window snipping was a thing. Imagine shooting 2 opponents from one side of the house and then moving so fast you got to kill the other 3. As a gamer you would thing that you just got good and you deserve the wins. As a GD I see you as a threat to the community and the life of the game. If a small group of people dominate every match then it's not fun for the rest of the players, and they will stop playing. This is bad for the game.
Gamers thing of games as a medium of expression. Like a playground or a stage.
GD think of a game as a project that needs to make money so that they can make other projects. Nobody is gonna invest money in your passion project that is artistically amazing if it does not make money.
GD don't make games for themselves, they make 'products' based client requests which in turn are based customer needs.
Clients are either a partner company that provides the money or the will of the shareholders expressed through the board of director.
Yes, there might be some games which are made by a small group of passionate people, and they end up succeeding, but they are one in 10.000. There are so many good games that miss the mark and become shovelware that it's sad. Example: The 'Among US' game was launched in 2019 but became a hit in 2021 because everyone was stuck at home and one way to interact with people was through games like it. Where is the game now? What happened to the VR version of the game that came out 1 year ago?
The opposite is a game I don't like but the majority do: Fortnite. It was successful from the day it came out and it's now doing so good that brands are paying for ad-space in the game world. This game is gonna be with us for at least 5 more years.
@@chiekokurokumo
Also,
As a GD you will start hating games.
The moment you see the internal workings of a dissected unicorn is the moment that all of the magic goes away.
This does not seem to affect the artists working on the game, or the writers, but it does affect the GD, the LD, and the programmers. The closer you are to the guts the worse it gets. The QA has the hardest time with this. They see the mistakes of all the departments and they have to struggle through the mud, muck, and guts just to make sense of the game's mechanics. Imagine trying to find a bug through 10 other bugs that aren't fix all while playing with 3fps, and having a deadline to uphold. Also, each department has it's own request for you to do.