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Target Audience for FFXIV: ARR
gessekai332
Member UncommonPosts: 861
After playing this game since the closed beta until now, I feel that I have discovered the audience that this game was intended for: Gamers who enjoy a bit of everything.
Box of Chocolates example:
It is for people who understand how to pace and enjoy themselves if they are given an expensive box of assorted chocolates, not for people who get so super excited that they shove everything down their throat all at once, nor for people who only eat that one specific kind of chocolate from the box and throws the rest of the box in the garbage.
OK, So in less abstract terms:
Its not for: ultra hardcore dungeon grinders. Its not for power leveling content locusts. Its not for solo-only players.
It IS for: players that like to do a little bit of questing here and there, enjoy a good story, do a dungeon run every now and then for a bit of team-oriented gameplay, do some crafting/gathering , hunt monsters for mats, chat it up with some randoms during a FATE party, raise and buy gear for a pet, try a new class or two, enjoy being part of a GREAT community, and find some new fishing areas when I want to kick back an relax.
As of now I have been playing almost nonstop since early access and I have a lvl 50 BSM and lvl 40 paladin. I can tell you right now if i go into casual mode i would still like it the same amount. I've been doing a little but of everything and I like it. If i am getting burned out of a specific aspect of the game I do something else, I dont force myself to keep going just because I feel its the most efficient way of my time. What use is doing something just because its efficient if you burn yourself out? Its not like rushing to end game is going to make you richer, because it will actually make you poorer instead.
The game essentially has everything- for the audience it is intended for.
Most memorable games: AoC(Tryanny PvP), RIFT, GW, GW2, Ragnarok Online, Aion, FFXI, FFXIV, Secret World, League of Legends (Silver II rank)
Comments
Nailed it!
I have to say it's a nice fit for me. At launch i was on a staycation and literally played the chit out of it. "Back to reality" In one week i can play about what i was doing in one day (on average 10-16 hours).
Your synopsis rings true, it's a what do i feel like tonight and select from everything you mention.
First let me say I really am enjoying the game, so I'm not flaming. The launch was a pain but we're beyond that.
I agree with your premise, although with a expensive box of chocolates, people being slaves to human behavior will often slip every so often. I think sometimes this whole "we try and satisfy most every player" makes it easy for players to overindulge in everything.
In Final Fantasy XI, after level 15 initially it became hard to level and travel alone, which made it more important to group with people. Getting your sub job was a big deal, and getting your airship pass was process which made it very satisfying. Mages started teleporting services to make gil, and rare items were really rare. Granted FFXI went a little overboard, but getting your airship pass or your second job now is just like a 10 minute exercise in 14.
I know this isn't the Final Fantasy of old and I know that with the current MMOs it's all very casual. But I work and maybe can spend a couple of hours a night and I make pretty fast progress. I wish FFXIV had a little more of XI that made things a little more challenging and rewarding.... making the foil on the chocolate a little harder to open.