PSLS: I feel like, in games today, a lot of MMO language has left that space, molded into new ideas and almost become the standard for many big releases. A game like Destiny, for example, comes to mind. In turn, do you or the team find themselves reacting or responding to where games are as a whole today when making new Final Fantasy XIV content?
NY: We feel like we are not responding to it. With the individual content that goes into the game, maybe there is some inspiration from recent trends. There might be some kind of impact made by how games are evolving. But we make sure the overall game design is not affected. There is a policy behind that thinking.
If we wanted to take inspiration from a game mechanic from another game, and apply it to some new content or maybe or next expansion, a 6.0, we would have to consider adjusting the overall framework. We would need to revisit how the play cycle pans out, and consider how long players will spend in a particular kind of content. Rather than making those kinds of adjustments, me way as well make a new game outside of Final Fantasy XIV. Beyond that, our longtime players have grown used to the current framework, and if we introduce something that drastically changes the framework, we might risk them rejecting the idea.
Games like Anthem and Destiny are wonderful, and there are certain elements of them we see that may even make us feel envious. But if we try to implement something that is drastically different from our framework, we also run the risk of breaking Final Fantasy XIV so to speak. Rather than trying to implement these things into this game, we would be happy to see a new game that is just as competitive as those titles.
Source.
