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FFXIV: The MMORPG You Either Get Or You Don't
geldonyetich
Member Posts: 1,340
I'm noticing something really funny when I look over at the Metacritic rating right now:
User Reviews: 30 positive, 64 negative, only 2 mixed.
Critic Reviews: 2 positive, 2 negative, zero mixed.
I can mirror this over on American Amazon: 29 reviews at 4 stars or greater. 53 reviews at 2 stars or less. Only 6 reviews in the middle. (This is mirrored somewhat in Europe amazon, but Japanese Amazon is far more negative.)
So this is turning out really interesting: It seems that, for most people, they'll either really like this game or they'll really hate this game. This extends even to the professional reviewers.
Though all agree that the game is in need of improvement, some have a perspective of looking forward and seeing that improvement is inevitable while others have the perspective of looking at the present and judging the game on its current faults.
Though all agree that the interface is generally ponderous, some have the perspective that you can work through this ponderousness and still enjoy the game, while others feel that the GUI is completely unacceptable.
Though all agree that the game does not make a lot of information/direction readily available to the player compared to most MMORPGs, some have the perspective that this makes the game a lot more interesting than ones that simply give you everything while others have the perspective that making the players work to get information/direction is generally unacceptable.
So, in the end, I think the conclusion is clear: Final Fantasy XIV is a game you either get or you don't. [Edited to remove last two sentences that caused excessive facepalming.]
Comments
Not that I agree with most of what you are saying, but that last sentence is way out of place.
What does any of that have to do with this game being ahead of it's time?
I couldn't disagree more.
There's nothing to "get". It's a poor game that fails to live up to FFXI's complexity and oldschoolness. SE's idea of taking XI and making it more casual did nothing but piss off the casuals and annoy most of the hardcore from XI. SE is out of touch with todays gamers, be it casuals or hardcore, and clearly have lost their direction.
As it stands FF14 is a game that people seem to either love or hate the bad thing being is the heavy lean towards hate, for devs this is probably not going to be looked at as a good thing and others may try to avoid doing what they percieve SE to have done wrong with this game. I feell like as long as a game releases and works there is going to be a market for it it's up to the devs to figure out if they will serve that market like CCP has done with EVe or forsake it like SOE did with the SWG vets.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
Simply put, when something is enjoyed by some but not enjoyed by everyone yet, it is often a sign of innovation at work.
I will not deny that there is a higher tendency for the game to be hated than liked. However, the really interesting thing is that this isn't overwhelmingly so.
If the game was universally hated by all except wierdos, we'd be looking at something like 95% hate, maybe a few people rating it more charitables, only a few oddballs ranking it 5 stars.
Instead, it's more like 60-65% hate, 35-40% liking at a very high rating.
The professional critic reception heavily reinforces this. Even objective critical reception is extremely mixed.
That the servers have largely been full to capacity since release heavily reforces this as well.
A great deal of people find value in the game, not just a few wierdos. So it doesn't really matter if there's a higher tendency for people to hate than like it. The point remains solid that this is a game you either get it or you don't, the only thing the higher tendency indicates is for every 2 people that don't get it, 1 person would. If you get a 750k players to try the game, that 250k hang around isn't bad numbers at all.
It is sometimes a sign of innovation, you certainly can't say it is often since there just as many if not more passing fancies as innovations.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
Replace get with like, remove the 'ahead of its age stuff' (there is no way you can know that) and I will agree with you.
I do not like this game and there is nothing for me to get.
Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!
OR it's just a complete failure. Even the worst movies in history have a small following of folks who liked them. Still doesn't change the fact that the movie bombed. This can be applied to any form of entertainment or product.
Innovation is a completely separate factor and goes to show that innovation alone is not what moves people to enjoy something or not.
Geldon my man, I've seen you posting in forum after forum defending this game and you have every right to. Let me have a friendly discussion using you're own points. And yes I spent around 100 or so hours in the game since the CE released so I know firsthand what is in FF I don't need to lean on reviews.
* According to your own numbers, 2/3 of the people of Amazon had a negative opinion of the game, and it was even more negative in the games homeland of Japan where it's assumed they can't miss.
*Your first bulletin speaks of the improvements we all know the game needs, why should we have to pay for an incomplete game that isn't ready to release and cling to a hope it will improve by the time 2011 is over? This is 2010 for goodness sake and SE has about 20 years of game development on their hands, expecting to pay for beta for a year is truly disgusting and unaccessable for such an accomplished company.
*You bring up the fact the inferface is horrid and leaves you pondering what the hell were they smoking? You CAN get around it inconveniently everytime you want to open a menu if you want, but why should we have to bend over backwards to enjoy a game or get to a menu? Again, it's 2010 and the interface seems optimal for a SNES game of 1994, not a "next gen" pc game of 2010. It's one step forward and two steps back here.
*The game doesn't give you any tips, info, help, or any clue of what to do. More then one of us have walked through the beginning door 2-3x without a message of "you can't do that". We aren't asking to give away the games secrets or make everything accessible, but guiding players in the right direction (especially out of the gate) is key to a guided and interested player. Walking around aimlessly with no purpose of objective is so EQ1 and is out of date. Asking for everything in a game to be easy and gift wrapped is one thing, having the option to seek help and a tutorial is another completely and the best info for help in game is usually players who just suffered through the process themselves. Tutorials and guidence are something that MUDs worked out like Gemstone and Dragonrealms 20+ years ago, and yet they are left out of this "next gen" mmo for reasons that are beyond anyone's understanding. Most new players dont even know what stat to add to because there is no where to look to see what does what without playing in windows mode since you can't minimize, another glaring issue.
Finally, you claim the game is one that people don't get and is ahead of its time. I have bad news buddy and I'll be friendly cuz you seem like a nice guy, it is you that doesn't get it. The game is certainly a step ahead in the graphic department, but it needs a complete rebuilding from the groundup if it ever wants to be successful. Rather then being 'next gen' and 'too ahead of its time' I see it as the opposite, it is too stuck on itself like the developers haven't played a game outside of the FF series since the early 90's. The game is redicuously outdated and behind the times, not in front of it.
the loves are just people who like FF and like the shiney new game and it's graphics and atmosphere, and people who are crusading for the game to succeed.
Give it time and things will go sour with most of them.
Your own supplied data suggests that 2/3 hate it (except for the paid critics *wink* *wink* who are split evenly)... not my numbers, just saying
I'd say its less you "get" it or you don't and more you "like" cumbersome poorly explained gameplay with a clunky interface and next to no content or you don't.
I'm actually amazed at how many people seem to love and defend those very things. All a matter of taste I guess.
As far as ahead of its time goes....... not even going to touch that.
Dem hibbies! Dey be wrong!
I suggest you just move on. You arent gonna convince anyone here of anything. They have their minds made up..no matter how narrow it may seem. Get over it and enjoy it if you like and move on. I dont think WoW is very enjoyable and no post like this or 12 million subs is gonna change my mind.
That is correct. This post is a pretty pathetic attemp to positively spin otherwise horrendous numbers.
EVE would be a case of 'innovation' at work. It is enjoyed by a small number or players, it is pretty unique PLUS it has critical acclaim. FFXIV does not compare in any shape or form.
There are other games that have innovative features, so they do not have to be as succesful as EVE, but those UNIQUE elements have to be THAT GOOD for them to be mentioned. I personally did not like SWG that much, but have to admit that it had a very good crafting system in place etc. I do not see any good sides to FFXIV except graphics. even the class system (albeit somewhat innnovative) does not deliver currently.
"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."
I am amazed at how people cant enjoy the open ended game play with no mom to lead you around. I do agree with the interface tho. Just saying...it works both ways.
The most dislikable aspect of Final Fantasy 14 is that it's Just Another Game. It's also a game with a mediocre interface. The game is just not interesting enough to be able to deal with the interface. Fallout 3 also uses a menu based interface but they designed it into the game as the PipBoy 3000 and that brings the menu interface up to being tolerable.
First, that is not a sign of innovation. Being enjoyed by some and not by many has nothing to do with innovation.
Second, this game is the opposite of innovative. Many supporters of the game refer to it as "old school." I think you have even referred to it that way. This game is FFXI with some more casual elements. Daily quests, grinding, crafting and gathering are not innovative. FFXI already had many of the exact same features as this game.
This is a game that suffers from being behind the times, not ahead of them.
There are just some game mechanic aspects to FF14 that are just complete sht. Its not about getting it or not getting it. Its about SE needing to learn how to make a good game.
I will prob try the game later. Because i think it will be interesting. But there are whole sections of ideas behind their design they just need to scrap.
Yep, OP, you're right. I'm not getting it.
I only wrote, "It's really bearing more of the earmarks of something that may be ahead of its time."
What did you guys think you read?
I can't really tell if Final Fantasy XIV is really going to be an innovative product until history establishes this to be the case. Technology is very difficult to forecast.
One or two good or innovative ideas poorly implemented cannot make up for several tons of bad and backwards ideas and a general lack of content.
Dem hibbies! Dey be wrong!
Yay for UI lag and combat calculations That happen before the ability even goes off! Hip hip hooray for innovation!
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"Chemistry: 'We do stuff in lab that would be a felony in your garage.'"
The most awesomest after school special T-shirt:
Front: UNO Chemistry Club
Back: /\OH --> Bad Decisions
I think I read that you were postulating that the game was ahead of its time.
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
George Bernard Shaw
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Oscar Wilde
For me it's the implication of saying something like it may be ahead of it's time without noting equally it could just as easily be a dud and that's really not your job to relay that because you really enjoy the game so since I don't have any such ulterior motives I presented that side of the coin. Though I do stand by my thought that there won't be many non SE games following the "innovative" ideas presented in this game.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
I think you were reading that too. I wasn't. I was theorizing, not postulating. "Bearing the earmarks of something that may" is very much theorizing talk. If I was postulating, I would have wrote it more like, "FFXIV is definately ahead of its time."
I really don't feel comfortable doing that. Because, under closer examination, it seems to be game that you will like only if you get why it does many of the things the way it does, such as leaving information/direction out of immediate reach of the player.