Mod support is on its way to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, according to director and producer Naoki Yoshida.
Speaking with GameSpot during GDC, Yoshida said the development team recognizes that players want mod support for the fantasy MMO. He noted that the team is looking into ways to add it into the PC version, slowly but surely.
“We’re working on mod support UI integration for those who are looking into [modding],” Yoshida said. “We’ve heard people and their desire for mod support and we acknowledge that. We’re working towards implementing it.”
Additionally, players can expect more legacy items and instances, both from previous Final Fantasy titles and other games in Square Enix’s catalog. According to Yoshida, the developers enjoy bringing other elements–like Magitek armor from Final Fantasy VI, the Gold Saucer attraction from Final Fantasy VII, and card game Triple Triad from VIII–as ways to introduce early Final Fantasy games to players who may not have touched them.
“With things like Triple Triad, there was always the concept among the team that we wanted to have an interesting card game-type content in XIV,” Yoshida said. “There’s one person on the development staff who really loved Final Fantasy VIII and really wanted to get Triple Triad in there, so he presented the idea to me, it evolved, and was implemented in the game. The ideas for this kind of content typically start with me, but there are certain elements where people within the team pitched their own ideas.
“Every time we try to come up with ideas to incorporate elements from the Final Fantasy franchise and how to implement it in XIV, it’s not just about literally bringing the element in but making sure it’s enjoyable and integrates into the world,” he added. “The people who are familiar with the content and as well as those who haven’t had a chance to play the original games must have fun with it. Seeing people who are familiar with the content talking about it, we’re hoping it will get new players interested in playing previous Final Fantasy games.”
But Yoshida’s team hasn’t stopped with Final Fantasy games. Recently XIV added the boss EInhander, a callback to an early Squaresoft game of the same time. The MMO has also seen The Last Remnant and Dragon Quest content pop up in the past. Yoshdia said there it a lot of love within Square Enix for its own titles, so pieces of its history like Einhander will continue to be added as long as the team is passionate about creating it.
As for what Yoshida wants to add, he noted that he’d love to incorporate a lengthy dungeon in the style of another early Squaresoft title, Deep Dungeon.
“There are some titles like Final Fantasy Tactics that kind of pay homage to the Deep Dungeon stuff,” he said. “I would love to take on the challenge of incorporating elements of Deep Dungeon into FF XIV. Hypothetically, if I did, I would want it to be something where players would continue to go further and further down into the depths of a dungeon. And if you cancel out mid-dungeon or you decide to leave, you would have to start it all over again. It would be for hardcore players.
“Another element I’d want to add is from Final Fantasy IV, when they go to the moon. I’d love to do something like that,” he added.
Early last year, Final Fantasy XIV added a new event featuring Lightning, the protagonist of the Final Fantasy XIII games, to commemorate the release of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Yoshida said that a similar approach could be taken with crossover content for Final Fantasy XV; what that is though is still in discussion.
“I’ve been talking with [XV director Hajime] Tabata about it,” he said. “We’d love to do something together.”
Yoshida is hoping to keep pushing updates to Final Fantasy XIV for the next 10 years. For him, the 10-year mark signifies a place among “legendary” MMOs like World of Warcraft and Everquest. One decade of services means you have a strong player base and the funds to keep creating a world that your audience loves.
Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn will get its first expansion, Heavensward, on June 23. But according to Yoshida, even with Heavensward on the horizon, the team is already hard at work on the second expansion.
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