Developers of MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV about the past patch 6.2, the future patch 6.25 and the work of the scriptwriting team

Square Enix hosted the 73rd Letter from the Producer Live broadcast of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. During the stream, Game Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida and Global Community Manager Toshio Murouchi shared details of the upcoming 6.25 patch, reflected on the previous 6.2 patches, and talked about the writing team’s work. This article contains all the most critical information in russian (the terrorist state).

Reflections on patch 6.2

• In Patch 6.2, the Storm’s Crown challenge featured Barbariccia, but why did you introduce the archfiends in that order? According to Yoshida, this was done to create a sense of tension and interest in what might happen next.
• The mechanic where players get trapped in hair proved challenging to develop; they wanted to convey to the players that they needed to stay inside the circle and not go beyond its perimeter. Probably the players first tried to do this before they found a solution.
• Version 6.2 also added Pandaemonium Abyssos. Yoshida was surprised that Lahabrea had voice lines during his playtest and that the game’s recent success helped increase the budget for voice acting, which is usually expensive.
• Feedback on the phased release of the Savage difficulty version has been generally positive, and Yoshida thanks the players for providing feedback. They feared that the crafting equipment would not sell, but the data they have gathered shows that sales are on the rise.
• Yoshida again asks for feedback on the phased release, but this change is preferred and could be continued at the next level.
• The team’s data on performance after adjustments differs from what the players may collect. Potency changes are planned for 6.25, with a few more for 6.28. Skills will not change until version 6.3.
• Crystalline Conflict has been a popular new PvP mode since its release, with quest adjustments planned for 6.28. Paladin Guardian skill will be adjusted.
• Speaking about Sanctuary Island, Yoshida said that overseas users play at different paces while Japanese players try to optimize the gameplay.
• Foreign players usually visit their island once every few days, while Japanese players visit it every day and fill their factories with tasks.
• The team anticipated that players would want more customization options for the island, so they want to try and let you add outdoor housing – although they can’t confirm when that will happen.
• Yoshida admits that the emoji system of fashion accessories like the umbrella dance is odd as they use the same resources as regular emotes. Developers want to revise this system, but it will take time.
• Ever since the team developed Ultimate Raids, which rewards flashy weapons with flashy effects, more and more players have asked for the ability to disable the impact from other players locally. The feature is quite complex, but the team will keep this request in mind as we work on the update and improve their designs.

What’s coming in patch 6.25

• The release of the patch will take place on October 18, Tuesday.
• The patch includes some further Hildibrand adventures, weapon upgrade quests – Manderville’s Weapons, tribal quests – Omicrons, Variant, and Criterion dungeons.
• The expansion of the North American data center is scheduled for November 1.
• The new Dynamis data center includes four new worlds – Halicarnassus, Maduin, Marilith, and Seraph. Why only four worlds for Dynamis? Yoshida anticipates that the launch of 7.0 will require implementing the remaining 4.
• The housing lottery will start on November 5.

Introduction to the work of the screenwriting team

• Special guests include Natsuko Ishikawa (Senior Script Designer), Daichi Hiroi (Lead Script Designer), and Banri Oda (Senior Script Designer).

• Hiroi is also the author of almost all of the 100,000+ characters of Japanese text implemented at the launch of Manderville Gold Saucer, which he remembers with pain.
• The encyclopedia of Eorzea III is under development.
• Ishikawa has also taken on more responsibilities, including oversight functions between the various teams contributing to the script.
• What does the writing team do in Final Fantasy XIV? It turns out a lot!

• If we consider role-playing quests as examples of their work, the first step is the concept development stage. Profession quests are previously available in the game needed to put the player’s class in the spotlight and provide motivation to level up other professions. They created these stories.
• A new proposal following the profession quests called for adventurers to “gather in the pub on First in pursuit of fearsome enemies.” A sketch of what was implemented in the Shadowbringers expansion.
• Role-playing quests allowed for an expansion in the lives of Albert and his allies, and the team found this preferable over the previous quest format.
• Concept and synopsis developed, as well as references (for example, Ark Angels from FF11 is an inspiration for Warriors of Darkness/Cardinal Virtues).

• Hiroya’s writing team is working on patch stories between expansions; the implementation team handles the actual in-game scenarios, including placing NPCs, setting emotes, etc. The global team was the same for the entire company, but now there is a specific one for Final Fantasy XIV.
• The story of Final Fantasy XIV is centered around the Warriors of Light, while the Warriors of Darkness existed hundreds of years ago in the First. So how do you picture it? Instead of telling, they showed – and the “role-playing” function was developed and implemented for this purpose.
• The outfit of the Warriors of Darkness has also been changed in various scenes to show that they are progressing during their travels. As they make a name for themselves, their equipment improves.

• To inspire players to complete each role-playing quest, they were created as a puzzle that unfolds throughout all four stories. Each role has its piece of the puzzle.
• The truth is revealed when completing the final role-playing quest after completing all role-playing quests.
• At the writing stage, role-playing quests are entrusted to different authors. Oda notes that the healer’s role-playing quest was undesirable due to its difficulty, so he contributed.
• First, the plot is built, then the scenes are storyboarded, and then the quest’s text is written. Usually, writing the text is entrusted to scriptwriters interested in a particular quest/scenario.

• Ishikawa notes that he writes the text in Notepad and not in Word or Excel, as it is convenient to transfer it to other editors.
• When creating a story, the project is first drawn up, the team gathers, the details are entered, then the script leader conducts a review, and then the team/story leaders check everything.
• The text is then discussed, written, and reviewed by the writers/leaders, followed by a storyboard reading and implementation meeting.
• Then the quest’s text is compiled, a reading meeting is held, and the script and story are rechecked, after which they move on to implementation in the game.
• The implementation team, as mentioned earlier, implements elements of the quest into the game. The global team is moving into localization with ethics reviews. Further refinement is based on feedback and adjustments from the group. Yoshida makes additional adjustments.
• After the error checking is completed, role-playing quests are implemented into the game!
• Now let’s move on to Pandaemonium. Hiroi comments that he wanted Lahabrea back as the story hasn’t fully fleshed out his character yet. The key word in his story is “family.”
• The decision on bosses for Pandaemonium is made jointly with the content development team.

• Every team overlaps with the writing team as they determine the boss settings, map, music, and more.
• Hiroi can’t say much about where Pandaemonium is heading, but he wants players to ride a rollercoaster of emotions.

Announcements

• Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2023-2024 is back! It will be held in Las Vegas, London, and Japan.

• The winners of the Grand Prix of the Reaper and Sage weapon design competition have become known.

• Once again, a furniture design competition will be held; details will be posted on The Lodestone website.

• Correction to FINAL FANTASY XIV Shawl product description – Amaurot: This is not 50/50 polyester and cotton. It is 50/50 polyester and viscose.

• FINAL FANTASY XIV: ENDWALKER – EP2 is out now. Includes music introduced in patch 6.2.
• The ENDWALKER vinyl record is out on December 3, 2022.
• FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestral Arrangement Album Vol. 3 comes out December 7, 2022.

• The All Saints’ Wake Seasonal Event returns on October 19.