Most MMO stories are pretty ridiculous, and FFXIV really sits at the far end of the ridiculous scale. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining! But the nature of an MMO is that you're playing it with a bunch of other people. Having a backstory where you're The Oneâ„¢ doesn't jibe with that. MMO players aren't stupid as a rule, we all know when we jump into that first party that despite what the story tells us we're not the only one in the group that matters. That leaves players to either dismiss the story as silly hyperbole or... well, that's really the only option.
Sandbox MMOs tend to do better here. EVE Online, for instance, lets you know that your character is a god among men, but makes it clear that the universe is populated with an uncountable number of your peers. In the French MMO Dofus, you're likewise an adventurer (which is great!) in a world where adventuring is a fine profession, but you are still only one of many.
There are quite a few "guided storyline" MMOs that do a good job with this, though.
In Star Trek Online, you start out as basically a random low level officer on a small starship during a large scale battle with the Borg. Literally everyone who outranks you on the ship has been killed in the fighting, and you're thrust into assuming command. While there are individual missions that are very singular, the overarching story is one where you're a random mook who's got to rise to the occasion.
Lord of the Rings Online is interesting because the MMO literally is based around a set of books that already have protagonists. Instead of trying to do something to put you into the Fellowship, you start out a random mook and you eventually (if you follow the story) end up being conscripted by the White Council to do things that help the Fellowship. You're very explicitly put into the position of being a supporting castmember to a group of people that you only occasionally see, and mostly from a distance. It's interesting.
Sandbox MMOs tend to do better here. EVE Online, for instance, lets you know that your character is a god among men, but makes it clear that the universe is populated with an uncountable number of your peers. In the French MMO Dofus, you're likewise an adventurer (which is great!) in a world where adventuring is a fine profession, but you are still only one of many.
There are quite a few "guided storyline" MMOs that do a good job with this, though.
In Star Trek Online, you start out as basically a random low level officer on a small starship during a large scale battle with the Borg. Literally everyone who outranks you on the ship has been killed in the fighting, and you're thrust into assuming command. While there are individual missions that are very singular, the overarching story is one where you're a random mook who's got to rise to the occasion.
Lord of the Rings Online is interesting because the MMO literally is based around a set of books that already have protagonists. Instead of trying to do something to put you into the Fellowship, you start out a random mook and you eventually (if you follow the story) end up being conscripted by the White Council to do things that help the Fellowship. You're very explicitly put into the position of being a supporting castmember to a group of people that you only occasionally see, and mostly from a distance. It's interesting.
