Naoki Yoshida has been leading Final Fantasy 14 for longer than most Minecraft players have been alive. An odd comparison, but a valid one. In all his years at the helm, he's never bowed to community pressure to hit the brakes on all those glamor restrictions, preferring to maintain fairly strict standards on what can and can't be worn by each of the game's many-glorious job classes.
For PC players, this wasn't such a problem once the Mare Synchronos mod hit the scene, as fans could bypass the system entirely, showing off whatever clothes they wanted to anyone who ended up installing the same mod. Alas, those days are over now, as the creators were forced to call it quits earlier this year.
Something big rocked the FF14 scene this past Halloween. As of the upcoming patch 7.4, most glamour-related restrictions will be cut. We will all wear what we feel like, whenever we feel like it. What has changed? Why did Yoshi-P's heart grow three sizes during that festival?
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Live and let live
As part of a more extensive chat with Famitsu (thanks for the spot, PCGamer), Yoshida reiterated his personal stance on Glamour, which is that he wants to maintain an immersive quality while playing the game. Letting everyone do what they want, where they want, can screw things up a bit; For his personal satisfaction, he conforms to various restrictions. To be honest, I completely understand; I often do the same.
“With that in mind,” however, Yoshida explains that he's been “playing various other companies' titles and checking their specifications.” Here is where it gets real. “I have come to the conclusion that as a player it is better to stick to my own personal principles, but now is not the time to force the players. […] I also play FFXIV privately, and since I play my character as a Black Mage, I don't think I'll glamorize Night Gear. These are my own roleplaying rules, so I decided arbitrarily.
“However, I reconsidered and thought, 'My character is the most beautiful and cute in the world. I want to wear more clothes.'
Yoshi-P believes it. Cleverness reigns supreme. “It's fine for me to be particular about my own style, and I'm sure there are many others who feel the same way,” he says, “but that doesn't mean the system should restrict the inspiration of people who dress particularly well.” Something of a life lesson, then, and a welcome one for hundreds of thousands of Eorzeans.
Interestingly, Yoshida goes into the Famitsu interview to immediately address the issue of mods – again, the Mare Synchronos Saga comes to mind. “While I'm tolerant of modding culture, I believe that tools that disrupt business are absolutely unacceptable,” he says. “They violate the basic rule of modding, which is to gain the trust of the company and have fun within that framework. Going beyond that is no longer part of the culture.”
Wherever we as individuals think such lines should be drawn, Naoki Yoshida's words are law. It's good, at least, that the law has now been bent by the director himself to allow for a more open and rich glamor experience.
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