Attending the first offline FFXIV event

Leading up to showtime, a big screen kept cycling some FFXIV screenshots while speakers looped the game's version of the iconic Final Fantasy Prelude.  Press seats were along the sides and in the way back.  I had gotten myself a seat up near the front, but lost it when I went outside to meet Sage Sundi.  In the end, I spent almost the entire presentation sitting on the floor up front taking pictures, so no big loss!

The presentation opened in a very subdued manner, with a string quartet playing a very well received rendition of "Answers" from the pre-release trailer.  The entire room was black, save for four thin spotlights illuminating the players beside the stage.  Once their performance came to a close, the Final Fantasy theme blasted and the stars of the show began coming on stage.

First up were Producer Hiromichi Tanaka and Composer Nobuo Uematsu.  Before an Eorzean backdrop, they chatted a bit, rehashing some key topics regarding the game.  Uematsu composed the complete score to FFXIV, which is the first time he has done so for a Final Fantasy title since FFIX about 10 years ago.  They also discussed Tanaka's frequent trips to the doctor, something the veteran producer has made a topic of in his Twitter feed.  The two men chalked it up to stress and noted how everything is really coming down to the wire now: the Open Beta ends next week and the Collector's Edition and general release version follow very soon after.

After Uematsu made his exit, Tanaka got together with the MCs and welcomed out the other developers involved with the game.

This Talk Section took up the bulk of the event.  In fact, it was pretty much the event itself. Each developer took their turn explaining key information related to the particular aspect of the game they handle.  In a way, watching this really made FFXIV feel "complete" as their sign outside claimed.  It was the first real event for the game, just like VanaFest for FFXI.  There were some performances, questions were read and answered, developers each offered some comments, and at the end, they all gave a parting comment to the players.

The only thing missing was more swag -- definitely could have used more swag.

Now, this finely crafted set of equipment pictured above was the one part of the show that people viewing the Live Stream were not allowed to see. It was a TV commercial for FFXIV starring Toma Ikuta that will begin airing next week in select areas around Japan. Pictures were forbidden, but the commercial has been uploaded to the Japanese FFXIV site.  Just follow this link and you can watch the 15/30/60 second versions of the spot, as well as some behind-the-scenes clips.  Square Enix describes their vision behind the commercial as follows:

In this commercial we capture the Final Fantasy XIV player's avatar, the "adventurer," as they set off on a journey.  In order to convey the feel of the world of Final Fantasy XIV, we painstaking designed unique equipment and costumes to match our vision.

The equipment worn by Toma Ikuta is something into which we invested particular care, and it was being fine-tuned all the way up to the day of the shoot.  Ikuta himself was mesmerized at how authentic it looked and admitted to taking many pictures of himself with the armor equipped.

As a Final Fantasy fan himself, Ikuta gave an incredible performance, and together with a fantastic staff, produced an amazing piece of work.  We hope you enjoy it.

 

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So, there you have it.  Eorzea Prelive.  I spent more time wrestling pictures through ZAM's news editor than attending the actual show, but it was a real blast.  There were a lot of great things to see, a hefty helping of information for fans and the promise of more to come.  There was a lot of quality packed into one night.  I hope you enjoyed reading all about it and checking out the photos, too.

Don't forget to stop by the ZAM Forums and discuss!