The “little” game that could: Naoki Yoshida talks about Final Fantasy XIV
The world of Final Fantasy XIV is enjoyed by many players: the game has drawn people from all over the world to explore the land of Eorzea. With Heavensward just around the corner, Naoki Yoshida (AKA Yoshi-P), producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV, took a moment to speak with dot429 about the Ceremony of Eternal Bonding and the latest expansion, due out June 23.
dot429: Why did you decide to allow in-game marriages?
Naoki Yoshida: FFXIV is an online game in which players explore a virtual world, another reality. Just like in the real world, players meet and separate. Part of the game is being able to live in the world of “Eorzea,” and perhaps some players will grow to feel a stronger affinity for this world.
I’ve received many letters from players that have met their significant others in game and then went on to get married in real life. The game is not simply about fighting monsters, but also about playing as if you’re living within it. As such, we wanted to allow two adventurers who met to participate in a ceremony to exchange vows and called it “The Ceremony of Eternal Bonding.”
dot429: When you allowed same-gender couples in the game to do the Eternal Bonding ceremony, the consensus from the players was split. Some thought it was great and other thought it had no place in-game. How hard was it to make the decision?
Naoki Yoshida: The ritual of “marriage” and how it is perceived in the real world differs depending on an individual’s morals, education, and local laws or customs. What is considered right or wrong differs from each individual’s personal beliefs. I think it may take a few more millennia before there’s a uniform sense of values.
When we considered the introduction of eternal bonding, I felt that each person should be free to practice their own values. The system should not be something that’s tied to the stipulations of real life. With the idea that “In Eorzea, we should support all forms of love,” we decided against referring to this as “marriage.”
The Ceremony of Eternal Bonding is a ceremony in which two adventurers exchange vows of love, regardless of race or sex. We would like for the community to view this as something different from marriage, and not argue over whether it’s right or wrong. Players and NPCs that live in Eorzea are all free. It would make us, the development team, happiest for everyone to enjoy creating their own stories.

Naoki Yoshida, Producer and Director of Final Fantasy XIV
dot429: As a long term-player of Final Fantasy XIV, what does Heavensward have to offer the end-game players?
Naoki Yoshida: What will be awaiting everyone in FFXIV’s first expansion, Heavensward, is an epic story that matches expectations as the latest installment in the Final Fantasy series. Expect to see more content than a stand-alone RPG, including great story, character growth, exploration using flying mounts, a new crafting system for the Disciples of the Hand, and much more.
Particularly, after players have completed the main scenario quests and seen the end credits, there is a ton of content, including the new high-end raid dungeon “Alexander,” new PvP content, building an airship with your Free Company and exploring the skies with “Exploratory Voyages,” battles against the formidable new primals, Ravana and Bismarck, and more.
Before players are able to complete everything, we’ll have our first major patch update, Patch 3.1. I would like to challenge players to take on the immense volume of content that’s coming!
dot429: I read that one of your favorite MMOs is Dark Age of Camelot. Do you think that has informed some of your design decisions in Heavensward?
Naoki Yoshida: Not just Dark Age of Camelot, but many of the MMORPGs I’ve had the opportunity to play have largely influenced Heavensward. From the high-fantasy world design and values, the concept of role playing, how to avoid common mistakes made with an MMORPG, and the importance of player hierarchy, there were many things I learned from playing.
dot429: Player membership is over four million players registered worldwide. That’s quite an achievement for a game that was initially panned by critics. When you were brought on to Final Fantasy XIV back in 2010, did you ever expect the game to gain its current popularity?
Naoki Yoshida: The answer is neither yes nor no. When I was assigned to be the producer and director of FFXIV, I felt that Square Enix’s reputation and the trustworthiness of the Final Fantasy brand was dangerously low. The goal that the development and operations teams and I set for us to achieve through restructuring FFXIV was placing the top priority on regaining the trust of the fans and gamers, rather than being successful from a business standpoint.
Square Enix admitted their mistake, took on the challenge of regaining trust, and never gave up; showing that was the most important thing for their future. The only thing we, as a team of developers, can do to show our utmost effort is to create a fun game and deliver it to everyone. As a result, this game became something that an incredible amount of people worldwide are playing. I am extremely happy about that. I also want to show my utmost appreciation for the development and operation teams, and most importantly the players who have continued to support us throughout the years.
That being said, I never thought the servers would not be able to handle the amount of people rushing in when A Realm Reborn launched, so I’m sorry for all the trouble that was caused... At that time, the screams were not of joy.
dot429: Heavensward is largely about a crusade against the Dravanian Horde and is going to make Coerthas more traversable, especially by air. Are there any plans to have other areas open for air travel like the Floating City of Nym?
Naoki Yoshida: The flying mounts that will be implemented in Heavensward can only fly over the areas surrounding Ishgard, as well as remote regions under the dragons’ rule, and the mysterious floating continent.
The Floating City of Nym falls under the A Realm Reborn field, and unfortunately you will not be able to fly over that area. A major reason behind that is because we didn’t create data to enable flight in the original field areas.
Rather than allocating the resources to change the ARR areas, I thought players would be happier if we created new fields and content. I think we’ll keep players from flying over ARR areas for a while. I do intend on adding some kind of update to the ARR areas in the future. When that happens, I’m sure the secrets of the Floating City of Nym will start to unravel, so your patience is greatly appreciated!
dot429: You’re good about listening to and implementing player feedback from the forums. Has it been difficult to weigh the player’s wants with your plans for the game?
Naoki Yoshida: I feel that if the feedback pertains to the overall interface, usability of the Duty Finder, level of difficulty for content, game balance for obtaining items, and length of gameplay, they should be seriously considered and implemented. Players’ opinions regarding these matters are very important in terms of building the world of FFXIV.
On the flip side, freedom of gameplay, content hierarchy, whether or not to implement a token system, and converting content into instances are all design-based on elements outside of personal opinion, such as gamers’ lifestyles and how much time people can allocate toward entertainment, so it’s more difficult to incorporate these kinds of feedback.
Please don’t assume that submitting your feedback isn’t worth the time or effort. FFXIV aims to be a fantasy world theme park, so we will think long and hard to come up with a plan to take on the challenge of creating overarching content as a response to feedback. Making these a reality may take some time, but we do intend on providing you with a response!
dot429: Many players have been asking for more support roles like Red Mage and Blue Mage. Do you think it’s possible for there to be support roles in the game?
Naoki Yoshida: This question is the most difficult out of all of the questions you’ve asked!
We’ve received lots of feedback from around the world with regard to new jobs. Red mage and samurai are particularly popular requests. With a job that is simply a support role, raising its effectiveness would force the job to become mandatory in a party. On the other hand, if the support power was weakened, it would be difficult to contribute to the party. Therefore, that type of job is very difficult to balance.
If we were to ever implement a red mage job, I don’t think it would simply be a support role. In terms of the blue mage, I think it may be great to make it a special job geared specifically toward solo play, almost like a unique type of playable content in and of itself. In any case, I am not able to definitively reply about the next new job at this time, but regardless of what job we do implement, I promise you that players will be surprised and enjoy playing it!
dot429: I noticed that the storyline is taking a more political bent. I enjoyed the ending of ARR and that politics between city states are more evident. I also like where the Ascian storyline is going. It also seemed like the Garlean Empire plotline finished up. Will we see more of the Garleans or is that plotline finished?
Naoki Yoshida: With Patch 2.55, we experienced the Season One finale of FFXIV; now Season Two will start with the release of Heavensward. Things that were a mystery during Season One will unravel, so please keep your eyes peeled for the brand new story! How the three city-states interact with each other, as well as the politics and tactics behind them, are definitely something to pay close attention to.
With regard to the Garlean Empire, of course their influence is still present in Heavensward, and you will sense their involvement in situations to come. A new emperor will rise with a burning ambition to unite the land, so the Warriors of Light should beware...
dot429: Aside from the Wandering Minstrel that was modelled after you, which NPC is your favorite?
Naoki Yoshida: There is an NPC named Keitha who loves and cares for the chocobos at Bentbranch Meadows. I am very fond of her values (and her looks!). In terms of main characters, my favorite is Alphinaud. He’s an upper-class type and a strategist, and you can sometimes see how full of himself he is. He is now faced with a major setback, and is just beginning to truly grow as a person. An idealist like him may seem foolish at a glance, but that’s also because he is young. I am extremely excited to see his growth.
Dot429: Three new jobs are being introduced in Heavensward: Dark Knight, Machinist, and Astrologian. What was the impetus behind their inclusion and design?
Naoki Yoshida: Each time we implement a new job, we always set a goal to make sure we prepare a special system or gameplay element that is only available to that job. At the same time, we lay the basic concept of when the player begins to master the job, there is room for them to devise their own playstyle.
The dark knight is different from other tanks as they draw “dark aura” from magic, and by freely manipulating it, they can strengthen themselves and raise their attack power. They wield their greatsword, and strongly reflect elements of dark fantasy from their animation to their visual effects.
The machinist was highly anticipated, even during the original FFXIV. Players around the world were calling out, “Hurry and add a gun-wielding job!” Not only does the machinist use guns, but they also utilize and control various pet-like mechanical turrets. In particular, they will be able to raise their damage by using a cast time with gun attachments, similar to casters, or can also unleash a combo by reloading special bullets. So players will need to quickly react, based on the situation. If you want to shoot things up, I would recommend this job.
Last but not least, the astrologian was designed with Ishgardian culture in mind. As a healer who uses astromancy, they read the movements of the stars and moon. Their weapon, the star globe, was never-before-seen in any other MMO. I would love for people to try it at least once. Astrologians are able to switch between sects, allowing them to change from pure healers to barrier-generating healers. They also have a deck of Divining Cards that they can draw from to aid allies. For all of the jobs to be equally attractive, we will make adjustments until the very last minute before release. We hope players can enjoy them to their heart’s content!
Dot429: If you could choose any race from Final Fantasy XIV, including the Au Ra, which race would you be and why?
Naoki Yoshida: No matter what MMO I play, I choose the smallest race available. In FFXIV, I play a Lalafell. That’s because I love PvP, and when you go into PvP content, small characters are hard to click on with a mouse. Plus, you can easily hide behind trees and other objects.
In regard to the new race in Heavensward, I really like the look of the male Au Ra (and find that the design goes best with the dark knight job). After Heavensward is released, I think I’m going to secretly use a Fantasia to change into an Au Ra. (laughs)