Final Fantasy XIV has a huge team working behind the scenes, trying to make the popular MMORPG even better with every new update. We spoke to a handful of the games’ key developers at PAX Australia to learn more about how they balance life and work.

It’s not a secret FFXIV Players absolutely love the game, the same goes for the developers working on it. Thanks to consistent communication in the form of live letters, fans became familiar with the faces of the team.

We were lucky enough to speak with the director Naoki YoshidaWe sit down with head writer Natsuko Ishikawa and mission designer Saki Takayanagi to learn about work-life balance, what happens in the most iconic Endwalker mission, and much more.

walk to the end

As for the game’s story, we had to ask Takayanagi how the team is pursuing development. HE The iconic Endwalker quest at the end of MSQ that resonated with many fans.

To pull off this unforgettable spectacle, the mission execution scene teamed up with Ishikawa, who wrote the main script for Endwalker.

“We wanted to include this as a sort of theatrical moment that unfolds in the quest, and in terms of execution, that’s something we haven’t done before,” Takayangi explained.

“I heard that Ishikawa had several meetings with others responsible for the development of the quest and was involved in many discussions about how to implement it.”

Of course, why did the team implement this? Because the name of the expansion pack was Endwalker after all.

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Endwalker was full of twists and turns.

Despite how impactful and touching the Endwalker mission was, Yoshida shared a story about how this unique form of storytelling caused the developer to consider extending the release date.

“I was there seeing the practices on the sidelines, it was a situation we didn’t have time for. There wasn’t enough time left in the schedule and Ishikawa was really worn out. He had to go through this process of trying to select the lines to merge,” Yoshida recounted.

“And with all that in the background, I was there and thinking: ‘Should we extend the development deadline for another two weeks?’ “And in that context, I was taking my own last walk,” he chuckled.

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines

And of course, the team is no strangers when it comes to deadlines and the extreme workload that comes with them. So we asked developers if they had any strategies when it came to overcoming the dreaded “critical time” and making sure they could keep going.

In the director’s case, he absolutely loves snowboarding, so everything about it constantly lifts his spirits. Always having a sweet tooth, Ishikawa shared his taste for sugary snacks; this was especially true during the trip to Melbourne, where there were so many treats on offer.

Takayanagi’s answer was a bit backhanded, as the mission designer was actually using the game itself to destroy it during busy periods.

“In my case, I constantly look at Midlander hashtags because I love Midlanders,” the developer sheepishly admitted.

Yoshida had to talk about the office shenanigans that would ensue every time Takayanagi was caught.

“Whenever he gets tired, he has a tendency to pull out big chunks. He breeds some really nice looking Midlanders and they all get into the game. So when Ishikawa realizes this, he’ll go and tell him: ‘Hey, go and do your job properly!'”

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FFXIV developers were on the show floor of PAX Australia from start to finish.

Work-life balance? What work-life balance?

Leaving the topic of critical times, we talked more about how developers maintain a good work-life balance. Almost all three admitted they didn’t have one.

“So I don’t have a work-life balance. When it comes to creating games and creating something new, that’s actually my hobby, so it’s completely intertwined with what I do for my career,” Yoshida explained.

“Because there is no clear distinction between my job and my hobby; It’s all mixed up, I really have no concept of business. “Playing games is both my job and my hobby.”

However, Yoshida still enjoys snowboarding as a separate hobby, but he admitted that he would still be thinking about things even when getting on a plane, so there really isn’t a clear boundary or distinction.

The director, of course, wanted to emphasize that the three of them did not represent the entire team very well and assured that not everyone is like them.

“There are people who take time to enjoy their private life, but we are not like that. Please don’t think we are all like this. Of course we want to do our best to bring you the best game we can, so we take our time, travel the world, see different things, talk to lots of different people and we’re very lucky to be in it. this position.

“It’s not like the more time you put into something, the better it gets, but for people like us who want to create something great for our players, people tend to end up like us.”

Jump to Eorzea

Although the three developers spend most of their time working, that doesn’t mean they don’t spend any time on the game they created. Yoshida in particular is known for his love of the Dark Magician, so we asked if there was another job each of them could do.

Yoshida noted that he has done other work besides Dark Mage, but he didn’t want to go into too much detail about his favorites in case the community thought he gave them more buffs than others.

However, the director made an interesting note about the battle team, stating that they deliberately changed jobs in each expansion, arguing among themselves about who would play what.

“For example, a member of the team might say, ‘I’m going to play Dragoon in this expansion, so not everyone else plays Dragoon,'” Yoshida detailed. “The reasoning behind this is that when it comes to combat content, developers of combat content and combat systems want to get a real sense of player feedback from a real perspective.”

Ishikawa explained that they were jumping on Bard as the main, while also dabbling in Black Knight for tanks. But the story writer wasn’t too keen on healers; this was in stark contrast to Takayanagi, who only played as the White Mage, citing that they “just wanted to help a lot of different players.”

As usual, Yoshida made a funny comment about how he was the complete opposite. He’ll be there as a Dark Mage in a raid, constantly doing his best, dishing out AOEs and giving healers a hard time.

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Yoshi-P definitely has his favorites.

iconic items

The nature of FFXIV being an MMORPG means that developers circulate among the player base during gameplay. Of course, they would flock if they revealed their true identities, so no one knows exactly what the Warriors of Light look like. We had to ask if there were iconic pieces of equipment or accessories that would make them stand out from the crowd, like Yoshida’s iconic Lalafell.

Like his Lalafell, the director has an important accessory that can reveal his identity to the actors.

“In my case, I have a fixed slave to use because I have very strong memories of it. “I also have very specific character settings for my specific character, where I play the Black Mage, and if I go into more detail, players will be able to tell that that person is me.”

Ishikawa’s advantage is that he plays in a race that is not very common, especially in Japan. According to the author, this is probably the least or second least played race and is a combination of race and gender. Similarly, Ishikawa did not want to give further details in case the Warrior of Light revealed his identity.

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The developers understandably did not want to give away their secret identities.

Despite Takayanagi’s love for the Midlander men, the mission designer is constantly switching races, so there was little risk in revealing more about their WoL.

“He’s my favorite Midlander that I have, I have a nickname that I call him… But right now I’m playing a male Roegadyn. Especially at Island Sanctuary, I can sit back and watch male Roegadyn plowing all day.”

Yoshida wasn’t one to leave without a joke, however, claiming that he already knew what kind of outfit Takayanagi had on his Roegadyns, to which Takayanagi cheekily responded: “The rewards of the Island Sanctuary are very, very wonderful.”