Quote:Hello Mr. Naoki Yoshida,

Let me introduce myself, my name is Jérôme Lallemand. I’m the webmaster of the finalfantasy14.eu website and i’m here to represent all the fans from the french community.

Since your arrival as the director, we can see everything changing rapidly and it’s impossible not to notice your implication into the development of Final Fantasy XIV. We would like to thank you and your team for all the efforts you are putting into the “revival” of the game.

Naoki Yoshida :

Well, it should be me, thanking you for playing the game because playing the game itself is very hard work, but we really appreciate you playing final fantasy 14 for us and the Final Fantasy 14 team and the whole development team and Square Enix really appreciate your help.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

I’m going to ask you some questions, i will start with the ones about the game itself and then we will talk about the forums you are planning on creating.

Allright, let’s get started!

Who are you?

Naoki Yoshida :

Nice to meet you, my name is Naoki Yoshida, producer and director of Final Fantasy 14. I have been working on several games in the past, but as a developer I have 18 years career for the game industry. For 14, it still has a lot of issues we need to solve and also there is a lot of updates I'd like to implement in the game, so what I'm really trying now to do is make sure all changes are done in a speedy manner and also properly. So I really appreciate all your support.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Do you play FFXIV?

Naoki Yoshida :

Yes, absolutely.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Do you know why you have been chosen by the CEO of Square Enix to be the Final Fantasy XIV director?

Naoki Yoshida :

First of all, it is a bit difficult to answer by myself, I have been working on several large projects in the past, and also at least in Square Enix I have a reputation for game design quality and leadership for the game.

Saori Hill : I forgot to mention this earlier, but the most important part is he is a hardcore MMO player. He really loves MMOs.
Because it is difficult to answer Sage Sundi would like to answer why he thinks Naoki Yoshida has been selected.

Sage Sundi :

Because of this project, not telling you the players but the development team wants to talk about problems and raise issues, he really has approachable personality so people can come to him and talk to him, and he will listen properly. He can really see the big picture, but also details as well, he's like a computer, he can do everything by himself, that's why at the moment he is both producer and director. He can see the whole picture and the small details at the same time. This is someone we really need for this project.

Naoki Yoshida :

In addition to that, I can work without sleeping.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Your letters, you are at your third one, are always welcome with lot of excitement within the finalfantasy14.eu’s community. It’s a very good initiative and everyone can feel closer to the developement team. Actually you mentionned in your second letter that some people blamed you for being too familiar, on the contrary we think that it makes you more sociable, like if we were talking to one of our friends. Is that what you wanted us to think? That the community is like a big group of friends or even better, a big family?

Naoki Yoshida :

Because we want players to enjoy MMOs for a long time, and we want them to look forward to get into the world and also look forward to the new content updates, it is very important for the players and the development team to communicate all the time. If the players are thinking something then maybe the development team can make sure we can implement something unpredictable which will give surprises to players. Also, if there is something that the players are really requesting then we can make sure that can be implemented so listening is very important. Just point of view, yes it can be like a family relationship but in a way it is more like a fellowship. More than a friend, it is really like a strong bond between the players and the development team. Sundi always tells him that I can write in a more friendly manner, but some players may think that he's too casual, because 14 is a very difficult situtation they think stop being too friendly by focusing on the game, so some people take it in different ways.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Thank you and please try to keep going in that approach, it’s really a benefit to have someone in who we can trust and to see a real person that takes contact with us.

How do you see the future of Eorzea and more particularly the high level areas?

Naoki Yoshida :

Of course we do want to implmenent high level content, but before that we want to make sure we have a proper battle system in place. If the battle system is not working, then you can't enjoy the high level content. So at the moment, we are also making a lot improvements to the user interface, but at the same time we are working on the content and making sure once the battle system is ready, then we can implement high level content as well. It won't be in the near future, maybe around spring time hopefuly, you can see more end game content.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

When do you think FFXIV will really be operational?

Naoki Yoshida :

Because he is a hardcore player, it is really difficult to be satisfied with a MMO, he really wants to put a lot of things in the game. And also Sundi was saying because it's a MMO, it's never going to be completed, there's always going to a lot of additional stuff added to the game. But at the same time, around spring time, he really wants to make sure there's going to be a route or stream from the early stage and the end game content, so people enjoy the beginning and the end, going through this stream.

Hopefully, this will be around spring time and then you can really see what it's going to look like. And for this, Naoki himself and all the development team is not sleeping, so please cheer us.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

What do you want to do right now to motivate the current player to play more or better yet, make new people come into the game?

Naoki Yoshida :

For the current players, we really want to make sure we have enough content especially for the mid-level and also the high level content. For the mid-level probably around rank 25 onwards, we really want to make sure there's enough content. Also, as you've seen before on the producer's list, you can see the late content we want to put in, so that's kind of content we really want to make sure to give the current players. At the same time, for the players who have already left and to bringing in new players, we need to make sure the early stages of the game is ready, like the user interface and the tutorials, and making sure understand they are needed for the game, and by showing different quests, players should be able to understand their need in the world of Eorzea. So when the two points are ready, then we can probably have a welcome back campaign and make sure truly enjoys the game once again.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Do you think about going back to a FFXI gameplay style if the game still doesn’t do well in a few months?

Naoki Yoshida :

Because it is a Final Fantasy game, we really need chocobo and airship, even if the game is not regarded by number of players, we need chocobo and airship because it is a Final Fantasy series, so we will bring those content in the game but that doesn't mean we want to bring the same way as FFXI. We will have a unique way of implementing these content to FFXIV, because it is especially for FFXIV. Even for a Bahamut, please look forward to how we are going to do it. It's not going to be same as FFXI, but we are definately going to implement them. We know it's very important, so we want to make sure it's has an original meaning to chocobo and airship.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

What do you think about adding to the game that other MMORPG currently on the market (that are doing pretty well) don’t have?

Naoki Yoshida :

If there are special content which really benefit FFXIV, like for casual or beneficial then we definately use it as a reference, and we can consider how we can implement that in FFXIV, but we don't want to copy everything because that's not going to make FFXIV unique. So, some areas, yes we will certainly observe MMOs, and see if it makes sense to implement in FFXIV, but we will sort of make sure there is unique content in regards to our MMO.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

As the first poll’s result showed, a majority of players want quests. How are they written?

Naoki Yoshida :

Square Enix(Nishida Iwao?), they are working on these new quests and making sure the players can feel that they are needed in this world, and make them exciting to do adventure in the world of Eorzea. So they write these quests, and then we implement them. When we make quests, we make sure what this quest is going to mean so if it is targetting certain level of people, like rank 30 or rank 50 or is this quest going to be for everyone, and also does this quest need to have battle content related, so that is something that we first discuss and make sure it's going to be relevant to the story line. And then, we also have NPC task control, the programming team will make sure if there will be programming in the game. Also, another thing which is very important is to make sure this quest has good reward, so by doing this quest, what does the player get, so the reward is very important when we think about a quest. We need to make sure it makes sense to play that quest to get that reward. And then we create it and add a patch to the game, then release it.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

In your planning, you mention quest related to the main storyline. Are you planning to add some unrelated?

Naoki Yoshida :

This is exactly what we are working on now. From the next patch onwards, I'm sure you will notice there's going to be a lot of quests added to the game. And not only for the main storyline, but also there will be a quest which explains the background of story of the monsters or the NPCs, so you can really understand how Eorzea is working. So you will get a lot of background stories for classes as well, so it should be interesting to look forward to those quests.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

The name, balance and usage of different classes are going to be modified to make them more unique. Have you already planned on adding new classes or are you planning on the current ones only?

Naoki Yoshida :

First of all, we are only thinking of current classes only. The reason behind that is because if we can't have a good balance with the current number of classes, if we add another one, this is going to be unbalanced as well. So we want to make sure there's a good balance first, then if there's something missing we will add a new class.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

What are the changes that players are expecting the most?

Naoki Yoshida :

Opinions vary world wide, but when we really think what is in common, most probably the battle system and the class balance, as long as those two issues are solved, other things can be solved as well. So I think these are the two areas the players are asking to be changed. But we really want to understand what you are thinking and what you think needs to be changed, so once we open the official forum, we would love you to tell us what you think as much as you like.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

What do you think FFXIV will be like when all the changes you have planned will be done? Should we expect a totally different gameplay than the one we have now?

Naoki Yoshida :

Some areas we would like to keep as we, for example guildleves has very good potential and people do like it. Well at the moment, to be honest, that's something only thing at the moment the guildleve system, but we do think it's very important and very useful for the players that don't have time. Even if they only have half an hour, or one hour, as long as they go to the aetheryte area or the counter, they can still find something to do and decide I'm just going to one guildleve quest and going to bed. That makes it much easier with the guildleve system. So we think you should keep the guildleve system in the game. At the same time, the battle system doesn't make sense. You don't know the balance of the party, and killing any monsters, that kind of battle system or balance is something maybe we need to make issues or big changes.

One thing I can tell you is that you are going see a difference, Eorzea is not going to be peaceful as it is now.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Have you taken any measure against RMT and botting? It’s easily noticable that they are quite a lot already.

Naoki Yoshida :

We had to stop the STF activity because we have a new team, and started working two weeks ago. And when Sundi is back in the office after this business trip, the team will report to him like what has been done among the STF team. The GMs are also helping the STF team looking into the bot issues, so this area you will see improvements. Before RMT botting, there are also hacking problem. As you may already noticed in the last patch, we have made changes to the billing side, and if we see a difference in the login patterns, then we will block that account so it looks like it's kind of working and of course we will keep an eye on it, but hopefully the compromised accounts will decrease.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Should we expect the PS3 version for 2011?

Naoki Yoshida :

We will definately give you information about how it's going, but at the moment I can't talk about the release date or anything like that, we are just not at that stage yet. But as long as we have a better idea when it's going to be ready or the progress, then as soon as we have information, then I will share it with you, so please look forward to all the information and please forward that to your community as well.

The Forum Part:

Finalfantasy14.eu :

While waiting for The Lodestone’s forums, what ressources do you have to gather player’s feedback?

Naoki Yoshida :

For now, we are visiting all the different the community sites and getting information from all the different community sites, and try to make sure we have a fair view. With the official forum, we do believe that we can have a really open discussion directly with the development team and the players, and we are looking forward to this as well. Forum will open second week of March.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

According to the planning, the official forums will open in March, is it going to regroup both Final Fantasy XI and XIV communities?

Naoki Yoshida :

It's going to be two seperate forums for XI and XIV. So each forum will be linked to each official website. Of course there will be French and German forums as well.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Are we going to be able to leave feedback to the developpement’s team on those forums?

Naoki Yoshida :

Yes, definately. They will reply to those comments as well.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Do you plan on adding different options that will make those forums unique compared to the other ones we can find for other games?

Naoki Yoshida :

The forum will be released in March, it's still a beta forum, a beta version. Of course there will be minimum requirements. If you have any ideas for unique features, we'd love to hear your opinions to make sure we can implement it in the proper forum and can release it in the future.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Is it going to be possible to access it from the PS3’s navigator?

Naoki Yoshida :

Yes, we trying to make sure it is going to be accessible from the PS3 browser, but this is a beta version so there might be issues.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Is the french community going to have their own forum with their own management? Or are they going to be a part of the whole thing?

Naoki Yoshida :

There will be French forum, German forum, English forum, and Japanese forum. All the forums will be seperated, and also you will have your own French community moderator and representative so you will have a dedicated staff for the French forum.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Thank you for your answers to all these questions.

I completly agree with all the work you are putting into the developpement of the game and i personally push every player to try the FFXIV experience until the end but since a few weeks i noticed that the french community is slowly falling apart, even the highest level players with who i planned to continue on playing have decided to stop temporarly or for some, permanently.

Naoki Yoshida and Sage Sundi :

Sorry Sorry Sorry

Naoki Yoshida :

We think it's very important to make sure our current players are enjoying, even the players leaving, the current players can sort of tell them it's fun and enjoyable. So we think once it's ready, then those players can bring back their friends, and we can officially tell them the game you will enjoy it, please come back. First of all, we want to make sure you, and all the players are enjoying the game now, we want to make sure you are having fun and that is quickest way to make FFXIV more exciting.

Finalfantasy14.eu :

Have a good day and thank you for the invitation.