Building the Future of Vana'diel

So, as we head into FFXI's tenth year of operation, what can we expect? The developers at Square Enix's Tokyo office were guarded as always, but let loose a few interesting tidbits to get players excited about upcoming content.

New Challenges, New Adventures

How about new monsters to challenge players? "More will be added to Voidwatch along with future version updates," Ito reveals. "We're going to add a lot of boss-type monsters." Abyssea focused on small teams, but what about large Linkshells that want events to accommodate more of their members? "Large-scale content aimed at Linkshells is something we are actually working on right now," says Ito. Another subset of players still has been waiting for another epic storyline, akin to Wings of the Goddess or Treasures of Aht Urghan. Regarding the next addition to the game, Tanaka states "The major concept of Abyssea was an add-on focused on battle. The add-ons before that had content that focused on story scenarios. For the next version of content, we are considering a new style -- something different from both of these."

A Shift in Focus

Regardless of the new direction, keeping both casual and hardcore players happy is going to be important. For casuals, the process of leveling has changed much in the past year or so, making it much easier for new players to jump in and enjoy a lot of content. FFXI Planner Yoji Fujito explains this shift in design, saying, "Until recently, the adventure of FFXI, the main goal of play, has been getting to the level cap. Now we're coming up on 10 years and not only have Jobs increased, but there is a ton of content to play as well." Essentially, the game has evolved to a state where the focus has shifted from leveling to content completion. Excessive time spent grinding a single Job gets in the way of the meat of the game. Fujito continues, "The biggest danger is that people will be unable to enjoy any of the content we have provided and just give up."

However, this streamlined leveling system works in favor of hardcore players, too. One of FFXI's strengths is in the sheer variety of Jobs available to a single character and the freedom to switch between them. Fujito explains, "Comparatively, it's easier to reach the top level, and this can leave players wondering, 'Now what? 'What is there left to enjoy?' 'What do I strive for?' Players have access to 20 different jobs, so the next step is seeing all the ways these 20 jobs work together and how that can drive new content. That's what has me the most excited."

Graphical Nips and Tucks

On thing that has evolved significantly over the game's lifespan is the hardware used to run it. "PS2 limitations" has been a running joke amongst PC evangelists to explain why FFXI can never significantly change despite being well overdue for a graphical upgrade. "Several months ago we made what we called 'high resolution' improvements to the game, and there are some other ways we plan to implement high resolution graphics into the gaming experience," says Tanaka. "Right now we're testing other aspects of the user interface." However, Tanaka warns that a complete overhaul would be too much to expect with a world of Vana'diel's scale. "If we were to redo every model to support the newest version of DirectX, just with the massive amount of data that has accumulated over 10 years, it would be almost impossible. So, we will continue looking at individual aspects that we can improve graphically."

Surviving in a New Generation of Gaming

FFXI has already built quite a legacy for itself, but now the MMO faces a new generation of MMOs and social gaming. Will a game from the PlayStation2 era be able to survive? Tanaka is confident that it will. "Even now, hundreds of thousands of people are enjoying the game on a daily basis. First, we must strive for nothing less than the satisfaction of all players," Tanaka declares. "Then, just as we relaunched free trials recently, we look to further stimulate the community by enticing new members to join."

MMOs are a huge social experience, so the boom in social gaming and the ability to stay connected with smart phones could provide a big advantage for FFXI. For my part, I suggested apps where the player performs limited functions, such as Chocobo Breeding, Auction House management or Gardening. As Tanaka reveals, Square Enix actually had similar intentions during the game's inception, but ran into some trouble. "Before the iPhone, we had a plan to connect with mobile phones in Japan. This was 10 years ago, so smart phones did not have today's data transfer plans and the infrastructure was nothing like it is today," Tanaka explains. "We were just releasing FFXI, so to develop for mobile on top of that under such conditions was too much at the time."

Now that we are a decade down the road, Tanaka seems to have new hope for the mobile market. Tanaka continues, "However, mobile devices, like the iPhone, for example, they have evolved so much now. That kind of technology opens up the possibility for, say, something like a virtual console that lets you play FFXI." Basically, the technology is there, and it appears the missing piece is actually designing a UI for portable devices with new methods of interaction, such as touchscreens, which, relevant to this year's big rumor, also exist on the Playstation Vita.

10 Years and Counting

So, we all know that players are excited for what FFXI's monumental anniversary year may bring, but what about the men and women who are planning it right now? What has the developers excited? Unfortunately, they were tight-lipped as usual, with Ito and Fujito simply saying, "We hope you are looking forward to what we have in store." But, we did get some clues.

Tanaka shares, "We released a road map for the latter half of this year into next year, and we are right in the middle of planning a year's worth of content beyond that." According to Tanaka, something special may be in the works to celebrate as well. "It is the 10th anniversary, after all," Tanaka concedes. "We have many of the staff discussing ideas right now. We're all thinking about what kind of offline events, like a Vanafest, we can do, as well as events in-game."

As for upcoming content, Onuma upped the ante and showed off his favorite upcoming addition: Level 99 weaponskills. Onuma loaded up Polearm, Bow, Great Sword and the character models let loose with some pretty badass moves. These were just models, though, no effects, backgrounds, or anything. We then moved back to Hanae's area, where a Ninja tore up a Behemoth with its fully rendered level 99 Katana skill. Though it was forbidden to record, photograph or desperately try to reproduce these motions by crafting some crude flipbook, a number of them have been teased in the official FFXI YouTube channel. Here's the link! Onuma put a lot of work into these moves and is psyched to see players' reactions, so be sure to let Square Enix know what you think! These new moves remind me of my early Dragoon days, spending hours with a friend duo-ing Jotunns in Upper Delkfutt just to unlock Wheeling Thrust and do that cool little spin move.

And that's what FFXI is really about. An MMO that has inspired players around the world for 10 years and counting with its unique style, engaging stories, and passionate community. When asked about what's next, Saito sums it up like so: "We want to continue to push the limits of what we can do with FFXI. For example, cutscenes don't evolve because of technology so much as they evolve through our imagination and our efforts to make each one better than the last. That's how we feel about the game -- it's about pushing ourselves to do more for the players."