Curse

Eorzea and Vanadiel: the eternal lands that grow with their inhabitants
Dengeki’s Osho sat down with Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and asked him about the past and future of FFXI and FFXIV.

Online and off, party play is the heart of the RPG
Dengeki Osho (DO): I’m sure this must be the busiest time for you right now, what with FFXIV’s service just beginning, but we’d like to ask you about FFXI and FFXIV. First, however, we thought we’d talk about the original Final Fantasy series a bit. You’ve been with FF since the beginning, along with having your hand in a lot of other RPGs, correct?
Producer Tanaka (PT): That’s right. It’s a bit daunting to think that the first one was released over 20 years ago. I also helped with a few action games for a time, but most of my work was done on RPGs.

DO: Did you like RPGs when you started working on them?
PT: I used to play Wizardry and Ultima with Sakaguchi (creator of Final Fantasy –Manly), and that’s what lead me into the video game industry, so I guess that’s where my roots are.

DO: You were in charge of the battle system in the original Final Fantasies, right?
PT: Actually, I handled everything not related to the story. (He laughs) I left the scenario to Sakaguchi and the others, and basically just did the parts I wanted to do.

DO: The game system has changed with every FF since the first one, but the job system that started in FFIII left a lasting impression on a lot of people and was even used in FFV and FFXI. What made you want to keep using this system?
PT: In online or single-player RPGs, the basis for play lies in the party. Each member of the party has their own role to play, and this system wraps those roles up nicely as a “job.” You could say that this is what defines Final Fantasy as a game.

DO: In the DS version of FFIII, the balance of the jobs changed a lot with the addition of new abilities. Was this influenced by the feedback you got from FFXI?
PT: That’s right. In the original FFIII, many players would constantly change their jobs and aim to make “elite class” jobs, like ninjas or scholars.

DO: It got to the point where you pretty much needed those classes in the last fight, if I recall correctly.
PT: Also, in FFXI, the job a player used became their identity. Players he liked using the warrior would try to build their warrior to the strongest it could be. When we ported FFIII to the DS, we used that idea and made it so classes like warrior and could fight at the same level as ninjas and scholars.

DO: Many FFXI players, myself included, were very attached to the job they decided to focus on. The Armoury System in FFXIV is quite different from this system. Could you remind us how these systems are different?
PT: In FFXIV we made it a point not to use the word “job” at all in the system. Gladiators and conjurers are “classes,” and the idea is to take abilities learned from these classes and put them together to create your own job.

DO: Even at the beta stage, it seemed like many people were trying a lot of different ability combinations.
PT: In FFXI, the support jobs for certain jobs became really fixed, like the warrior complimenting the ninja as a sub job. We wanted the players to have a bit more freedom. Furthermore, the use of this system allows for different play styles while solo or in large groups, and strategies will change depending on the abilities available. We wanted it to be a system that wouldn’t pigeon-hole users into certain roles. If a player wants to be a full-out attacker, they can set all their abilities to attack abilities. If a player wants to be purely heal-based, they can remove any aggressive abilities. For this reason, we’d like users to be able to save ability sets, but at this time it’s not yet possible. We’re hoping to add that in an update.

DO: So we’re looking at a very different system than FFXI. In FFXI, a player’s identity was mostly decided by their job choice, like someone who was very dedicated to their paladin. What do you think will become a person’s identity in FFXIV?
PT: We’re working on making “companies” in FFXIV a tighter-knit system than the linkshells of FFXI. Though there is more flexibility in the growth system than there was in FFXI, the sense of community and the sense that you are a part of a greater whole in your FFXIV group will start to define your role, and through that, your identity.

DO: The company system was not in place during the beta version, so it’s the system that most people are wondering about…
PT: We can’t tell you about it yet since it will be introduced in a patch after the retail version is out (he laughs). First we’d like people to get into their linkshells, and then start getting more people under the same flags, working like a guild or clan system.

DO: When you say it will work more like a guild system, you mean it will serve more of a purpose than just a means of communication, like the linkshells were?
PT: Linkshells are taking care of in-game communication, so we also need to take care of out-of-game communication.

DO: By using the web?
PT: FFXI players used outside forums to talk strategy and other things, but this time we’d like to provide that for them through the Players’ Site.

DO: So, the style is a bit different, but it would be something similar to a social networking site, and will be different than the way FFXI was connected with the web.
PT: We’re trying to make this game different from FFXI in many ways, and that’s something I’m looking forward to, as well. (He laughs)

Continue to read part 1 and 2!