Final Fantasy XIV has a huge team working behind the scenes, striving to make the popular MMORPG even better with each new update. We spoke with a handful of the game’s key developers at PAX Australia to learn more about their lives and how they all balance their tasks.

It’s no secret FFXIV players absolutely love the game, and the same goes for the developers working on it. Through consistent communication in the form of live letters, fans became familiar with the faces of the team.

We had the chance to speak with the director Naoki Yoshidalead writer Natsuko Ishikawa and quest designer Saki Takayanagi to learn about their work-life balance, what happened in Endwalker’s most iconic quest, and much more.

Walk to the end

As for the game’s story, we had to ask Takayanagi how the team went about developing the game. that Endwalker’s iconic quest, which resonated with so many fans at the end of MSQ.

To achieve this memorable stunt, the quest implementation scene worked in collaboration with Ishikawa who was writing the main storyline for Endwalker.

“We wanted to incorporate this as a sort of theatrical moment that plays out in the quest, and from an implementation standpoint, it was something we hadn’t done before,” Takayangi explained.

“I heard that Ishikawa had several meetings with other people in charge of developing the quest and was involved in many discussions about how to implement this.”

Of course, why did the team implement it? Well, because the title of the expansion was Endwalker after all.

Square-Enix

Endwalker was full of twists and turns.

Despite the effectiveness and emotion of the Endwalker quest, Yoshida shared how this unique form of storytelling led the developer to consider extending the release date.

“I was there to see the implementations from the sidelines, and it was a situation where we didn’t have time. There wasn’t enough time left in the program and Ishikawa was really exhausted. She had to go through this process of trying to choose which lines to put in,” Yoshida recounted.

“And because of all that going on in the background, I was there wondering, ‘Should we extend the development deadline for another two weeks?’ And in that regard, I was doing my own walking,” he laughed.

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines

And of course, the team is no stranger to deadlines and the enormous workload that comes with them looming ever closer. So we asked developers if they had any strategies to overcome the dreaded “crunch time” and ensure they could continue.

In the director’s case, he loves snowboarding, so anything related to the subject would constantly help him lighten his mood. Always a foodie, Ishikawa shared her enjoyment of sweet snacks, this was particularly the case during her trip to Melbourne, where she found many treats on offer.

Takayanagi’s response was a bit curveball, with the quest designer actually using the game itself to relax during tough times.

“In my case, I’m constantly, constantly looking at Midlander hashtags, because I love Midlanders,” the developer admitted coyly.

Yoshida must have mentioned the office shenanigans that would happen whenever Takayanagi was caught.

“Whenever she’s tired, she tends to bring out the hot guys. She breeds some really nice Midlanders, and they’re all placed in the game. So when Ishikawa notices, she’ll tell him, “Hey, go do your job properly!” »

Twitter: FF_XIV_FR

The developers of FFXIV were present from start to finish at the PAX Australia show.

Reconciling professional and private life? What work-life balance?

Moving on from the topic of critical moments, we talked more about how developers manage to maintain a decent work-life balance. To which almost all three admitted they didn’t have one.

“So I don’t have a work-life balance. When it comes to making games and creating something new, it’s actually my hobby, so it’s completely mixed with the work I do for my career,” Yoshida explained.

“Because there is no clear distinction between my work and my hobby; everything is mixed, I don’t really have a conception of the work. Playing games is both my job and my hobby.

However, Yoshida still enjoys snowboarding as a separate hobby, but confessed that even when snowboarding, he still thinks about certain things, meaning there really is no boundary or distinction clear.

Of course, the director was keen to point out that all three of them didn’t represent the entire team very well and reassured us that not everyone was like them.

“There are people who take the time to enjoy their private lives, but we are not like that. Please don’t think we’re all like that. Of course we want to do our best to give you the best game possible, so for us we take time, we travel the world, we see different things, we talk to a lot of different people and we are very lucky to ‘be present. this position.

“It’s not necessarily true that the more time you spend on something the better it will be, but for people like us who want to create something great for our players, there is a tendency for people to finish like us.”

Jump to Eorzea

Even though all three developers spend most of their time working, that doesn’t mean they didn’t put time into the game they created. Yoshida in particular is known for his love of the Black Mage, so we asked if any other jobs fit all of them.

Outside of Black Mage, Yoshida mentioned that he does other professions, but he didn’t want to go into too much detail on his favorites in case the community thinks he gives them more buffs than the others.

However, the director did mention an interesting note about the fight team, stating that they intentionally changed jobs with each expansion, arguing among themselves about who plays what.

“So, for example, a team member could say in this expansion, ‘I’m going to play Dragoon so not everyone plays Dragoon,'” Yoshida explained. “The reason behind this is that when it comes to combat content, the developers of the combat content and combat systems want to get a sense of what real player feedback is from a real-world perspective.”

Ishikawa explained that they were riding the Bard as the main, while having fun with Dark Knight for the tanks. The story’s author, however, didn’t really like healers, which was the complete opposite of Takayanagi, who only played the role of a white mage, saying that they “just wanted to help a lot of different players.”

As usual, Yoshida made a funny comment about how he’s the exact opposite. He’ll be there as a dark mage in a raid, constantly going all out, eating AOEs, and giving healers a hard time.

Square-Enix

Yoshi-P certainly has his favorites.

Iconic objects

FFXIV being an MMORPG by nature means that while playing, the developers evolve among the player base. Of course, they would be invaded if they revealed their true identities, so no one really knows what their Warriors of Light look like. And like Yoshida’s iconic Lalafell, we had to ask them if they had any iconic pieces of gear or accessories that could make them stand out from the crowd.

Like his Lalafell, the Director has a key accessory that could reveal his identity to players.

“In my case, I have a stationary servant that I will use, as I have very strong memories attached to it. Also for my private character, where I play Black Mage, I have very particular character settings, and if I were to delve into more detail, players might find out that it’s me.

Ishikawa’s gift is that she is playing in a race that is not very common, especially in Japan. Depending on the writer, she says it’s probably the least or second least played race and is a combination of their race and gender. Likewise, Ishikawa didn’t want to give any more details in case she blew her Warrior of Light’s cover.

Square-Enix

The developers didn’t want to reveal their secret identity, which is understandable.

Despite Takayanagi’s love of male Midlanders, the quest designer constantly changes races, so there was little risk in giving more information about their WoL.

“My favorite Midlanders that I have, I have a nickname that I call him by… But right now, I’m playing a male Roegadyn. And in particular, on Island Sanctuary, I can just sit and watch a male Roegadyn work all day.

Yoshida wasn’t one to go without a quip, however, claiming that he already knew what kind of outfit Takayanagi wore on their Roegadyn, to which Takayanagi cheekily responded, “The rewards for Island Sanctuary are simply so awesome. »