FFXIV Lore Q/A

[Maril]

I have no idea if the tumblr-OP uses the RPC, but I am not seeing a thread for this. 

Direct link: http://nunhofthat.tumblr.com/post/120660441264/as-i-mentioned-a-few-days-back-im-in-japan 

 

In summary, awesome person visited their brother in law who works for square. They had lunch with parts of the localization team and were given the opportunity to ask some questions - they took in questions via tumblr a while back. 

 

I figured people here might enjoy the read

[Therese Villefort]

Fantasia got busted ....so far.

[Flynn Bladebreaker]

"The writers are aware that they are writing for a fantasy world; Eorzea is not Japan, etc, and that they are writing for an international audience.

Anything that seems “exceedingly Japanese” is actually accidental."

 

One of my gripes with some Doma RPers is that they talk Japanese (Senpai, please notice me, kawaii, yes I've heard that IC). I'm hoping this would be enough to convince them that they sound really stupid

 

Would also like to know what races come from Doma, since in the MSQ there are only hyur and Yugiri, but the Doma RPers I've came across are Miqo'te (Also also speak like an anime character)

[allgivenover]

1. Would a regular average joe in Eorzea be able to get their hands on a Fantasia potion, it does not appear to be widespread as it is. And if so, is there a reason why it does not appear to be used by people in power/ people with evil agendas?

 

A: While the Fantasia potion has some in-world flavor text, it’s mainly meant to be seen as a meta object. For example, you wouldn’t see it’s use, or reference to its use in storylines since in effect it doesn’t actually exist (… So far. You never know if something might change )

 

Using fantasia in RP confirmed to be lore breaking.

 

I know this won't stop anyone. But it's good to see a dev response to justify keeping it out of my own RP circles and ignoring it, rather than just rely on sound reasoning.

[Dat Oni]

While the Fantasia potion has some in-world flavor text, it’s mainly meant to be seen as a meta object. For example, you wouldn’t see it’s use, or reference to its use in storylines since in effect it doesn’t actually exist (… So far. You never know if something might change )

 

Exactly what I already knew.

 

You should all be ashamed of yourselves; you just proved Edgar of all people omniscient and clairvoyant.

 

You may now call me Ziltoid.

 

NOW BRING ME YOUR COFFEE BEANS

 

[allgivenover]

You didn't need clairvoyance to come to the conclusion that fantasia was just a game mechanics item and not lore.

[Dat Oni]

You didn't need clairvoyance to come to the conclusion that fantasia was just a game mechanics item and not lore.

 

Then why did anyone need to ask?

[Aduu Avagnar]

same can be said of White Mages, but there we go....

[Dat Oni]

I'd still like to be Ziltoid, if that's alright with you.

 

I believe this is a feeling we can all empathize with.

[Caspar]

"The writers are aware that they are writing for a fantasy world; Eorzea is not Japan, etc, and that they are writing for an international audience.

Anything that seems “exceedingly Japanese” is actually accidental."

 

One of my gripes with some Doma RPers is that they talk Japanese (Senpai, please notice me, kawaii, yes I've heard that IC). I'm hoping this would be enough to convince them that they sound really stupid

 

Would also like to know what races come from Doma, since in the MSQ there are only hyur and Yugiri, but the Doma RPers I've came across are Miqo'te (Also also speak like an anime character)

I figure the idea behind that is translation convention. Usually I think using [brackets] to represent a foreign language is better, but some do enjoy having fun with it since they know a bit of JP. The way I see it, Doman doesn't sound like JP in reality, and neither does Eorzean sound like English. No matter what they say here, there's nothing accidental about, say, Oboro being named a Japanese word, but you could easily write that off as his name meaning something roughly equivalent in whatever Doman sounds like.

 

In my opinion though, if you use that logic, it's only fair you apply that to what the players say too. I understand being annoyed by it which is why I don't do it much, but I've seen players use words from languages that don't even have an "equivalent" in game, (And I wish they did!) so this seems like a minor concern in comparison. That being said, there are a lot of "anime" terms that are essentially loanwords or youth vernacular, and wouldn't exist in a fantasy setting even if Japanese did, so people using this are clearly just messing around or not being terribly serious. (The first person who calls Virara "tsundere" gets a slap to the face.)

 

More tricky I feel is the use of a term laden with real world meaning that doesn't tie into the setting. If I wanted to use a phrase that doesn't translate easily because it ties into a Buddhist concept, that would be difficult to do. I could assume, of course, that again an equivalent idea exists in the setting, but as far as I've seen this is not supported. I think that is the major problem with using certain foreign languages in-setting; the gray areas in the lore not matching up properly with translation convention. I think in the end people are going to go with what is fun for them though, and if that bugs you, well tough.

 

I'm glad fantasia is meta only. I think it is too convenient and presents too many espionage loopholes to easily reconcile with a wide variety of storylines.This means there is still a place for good old fashioned disguise.

[allgivenover]

You didn't need clairvoyance to come to the conclusion that fantasia was just a game mechanics item and not lore.

 

Then why did anyone need to ask?

 

Because many people are terrible at deductive reasoning. So nothing short of Word of God proving a negative will sway them.

 

Edit: They're also terrible at accepting being wrong, so I fully expect to see this ignored and fantasia to remain RP'd during "hilarious" alchemy accidents that leave people "unfortunately" stuck as a Lalafell/Miqo'te for a week.

[Harmonixer]

Eh, I'm not broken up about Fantasia in the slightest.

 

In fact, it makes me happy to have an answer to refer to.

[Dat Oni]

You didn't need clairvoyance to come to the conclusion that fantasia was just a game mechanics item and not lore.

 

Then why did anyone need to ask?

 

Because many people are terrible at deductive reasoning. So nothing short of Word of God proving a negative will sway them.

 

Makes sense. 

 

Edit: They're also terrible at accepting being wrong, so I fully expect to see this ignored and fantasia to remain RP'd during "hilarious" alchemy accidents that leave people "unfortunately" stuck as a Lalafell/Miqo'te for a week.

 

Also makes sense. Though, you should consider that, since RP is by and large operating on the principle of bending lore, this is not bad on that principle alone.

 

What's making it bad is that it's a really fucking boring trope. If I may be brutally honest, I equate it to selling out your roleplay; you are inconveniencing the people who roleplay with you, just so you can get the most entertainment possible, while shamelessly admitting you stopped caring a while ago. You will never see me do it.

 

Just stop it guys, like, really. Just stop.

 

Also, I was going to edit this into my last post, but I feel it's a little late, so here we go.

 

The English localization team actually brought it up as being something that might not fly with Western audiences, or might be seen as offensive. I’ve been asked to not go into the details of the situation, HOWEVER they have said from that point forward there will be no more differences in the cutscenes or content cut or missing in that sort of a fashion.

 

I absolutely adore this decision. I personally felt that the disparity in the dialogue caused by localization (good, sensitive localization, mind you, but localization nonetheless) was one of many things hurting the experience for Western audiences. I believe this decision will help the plot in the long run, though it's one of many small steps that need to be taken to fix it.

[Aduu Avagnar]

You didn't need clairvoyance to come to the conclusion that fantasia was just a game mechanics item and not lore.

 

Then why did anyone need to ask?

 

Because many people are terrible at deductive reasoning. So nothing short of Word of God proving a negative will sway them.

 

Makes sense. 

 

Edit: They're also terrible at accepting being wrong, so I fully expect to see this ignored and fantasia to remain RP'd during "hilarious" alchemy accidents that leave people "unfortunately" stuck as a Lalafell/Miqo'te for a week.

 

Also makes sense. Though, you should consider that, since RP is by and large operating on the principle of bending lore, this is not bad on that principle alone.

 

What's making it bad is that it's a really fucking boring trope. If I may be brutally honest, I equate it to selling out your roleplay; you are inconveniencing the people who roleplay with you, just so you can get the most entertainment possible, while shamelessly admitting you stopped caring a while ago. You will never see me do it.

 

Just stop it guys, like, really. Just stop.

 

Also, I was going to edit this into my last post, but I feel it's a little late, so here we go.

 

The English localization team actually brought it up as being something that might not fly with Western audiences, or might be seen as offensive. I’ve been asked to not go into the details of the situation, HOWEVER they have said from that point forward there will be no more differences in the cutscenes or content cut or missing in that sort of a fashion.

 

I absolutely adore this decision. I personally felt that the disparity in the dialogue caused by localization (good, sensitive localization, mind you, but localization nonetheless) was one of many things hurting the experience for Western audiences. I believe this decision will help the plot in the long run, though it's one of many small steps that need to be taken.

eh, me and an FC mate did a Freaky Friday, although it was a magical experiment gone wrong, rather than Fantasia, but it was also meant to be silly and light hearted.

[Dat Oni]

Okay, okay, just for the record, Edgar doesn't hate you if you used fantasia as a plot device prior to the revelation Ed is not a fan and are now self-conscious, you don't have to be. Uncle Ed woke up at 3:00 AM today for no good reason and missed his morning catnip and he's kind of grumpy.

 

EDIT: Uncle Ed will now go look at drop dead gorgeous Roegadyn girls like Steel Wolf to cheer himself up.

[Maril]

1. Would a regular average joe in Eorzea be able to get their hands on a Fantasia potion, it does not appear to be widespread as it is. And if so, is there a reason why it does not appear to be used by people in power/ people with evil agendas?

 

A: While the Fantasia potion has some in-world flavor text, it’s mainly meant to be seen as a meta object. For example, you wouldn’t see it’s use, or reference to its use in storylines since in effect it doesn’t actually exist (… So far. You never know if something might change )

 

Using fantasia in RP confirmed to be lore breaking.

 

I know this won't stop anyone. But it's good to see a dev response to justify keeping it out of my own RP circles and ignoring it, rather than just rely on sound reasoning.

 

This was admittedly my main motivation for asking. I have been in a lot of heated talks because people feel personally attacked etc. when their fantasia is not acknowledged. Having something to refer to from a more official source than my own musings might quell those arguments before they even start. Especially because I don't actually ever intend to go about passing judgement on people like that, I just am not comfy roleplaying with fantasia in it's various incarnations - even if it's lighthearted and fluffy.

[FreelanceWizard]

My logic is always "if it exists in game and can have any plausible explanation, it's fair game to use until the devs say otherwise." I realize that's not a popular opinion. With this in hand, naturally, I'll be striking fantasia off my list of things in that category, and some people I know will have to do a bit of light retconning. That's always the risk of operating in grayer areas.

 

The statement about Doma is interesting. I've seen a wide range of things assumed as part of Doman culture as a result of their rather Japanese characteristics (though never the "senpai" thing); that the similarities are evidently purely coincidental throws a bit of a monkeywrench into that.

[Verad]

I must have missed this somewhere: What exactly is the difference in Haurchefant's dialogue?

[Gone.]

The similarities aren't coincidental, though; it was long officially confirmed that Doma is heavily inspired by Japanese culture by Yoshida himself. Even the NIN quests paint their religion as being blatantly derived from real-world shinto.

 

As far as fantasias go: it's not and has never been a big deal. If people want to use them in their RP, then let them. It's about as harmless as it gets.

 

I must have missed this somewhere: What exactly is the difference in Haurchefant's dialogue?

 

Would also like to know. It's obvious that he's flamboyantly gay and I sincerely doubt the Japanese text differs much on the subject.

[Dravus]

I wouldn't consider the presence of an item that allows someone to change their character's race as 'not being a big deal'. If people want to embrace it as being an IC thing then sure - nobody can stop them but that doesn't mean it isn't realistically a huge life changing affair for that particular character.

 

That's pretty much what the stigma comes from - people overuse them or just don't think it through and it ends up feeling like the role-player in question is just unreliable/bored easily. An argument can be made that it can be done well but sadly in many cases it isn't.

[Kellach Woods]

so, uh, the duskwights live in areas that don't want them around.

 

good to know.

[Edda]

I must have missed this somewhere: What exactly is the difference in Haurchefant's dialogue?

Here we go. Essentially, Haurchefant is changed to the point of being a cool enthusiast in the English version. While his messages, requests and info drops remain the same, his mannerisms are changed greatly. In the Japanese version, he is much more animated and expressive - to the point where calling him 'flamboyant' would be an understatement. He will make very subtle flirting attempts at the WoL, regardless of gender. He's just... very, very different. The first cutscene in which he is voiced in 2.3 is completely changed in how it is animated. I will link them below, so you can see for yourself.

 

aVlPvBW0UJ8

 

Jb716z1_8fk

 

Edit: Please note that while the text remains unchanged (obviously), what he is actually saying in Japanese is sometimes radically different. You also don't have to be an expert on the language to know that he is being much, much more enthusiastic.

[Gone.]

So nothing changed, then, as I've been playing the game in Japanese from day-one and got the below cutscene myself.

 

Also in a game with dapper zombies, flying lettuce fairies, snow elves that can turn into dragons and various bizarre elemental personifications hellbent on the destruction of life as we know it, a potion that can change one's race is really low-tier on the weirdness factor.

[Dravus]

I'm sort of glad that he's more serious in the English version of the game. It fits Ishgard's gritty vibe rather well. That's likely an unpopular opinion though given that I also can't stand Hildebrand who seems to be widely loved...

[Hyakki]

"The writers are aware that they are writing for a fantasy world; Eorzea is not Japan, etc, and that they are writing for an international audience.

Anything that seems “exceedingly Japanese” is actually accidental."

 

One of my gripes with some Doma RPers is that they talk Japanese (Senpai, please notice me, kawaii, yes I've heard that IC). I'm hoping this would be enough to convince them that they sound really stupid

 

Would also like to know what races come from Doma, since in the MSQ there are only hyur and Yugiri, but the Doma RPers I've came across are Miqo'te (Also also speak like an anime character)

 

What really pisses me off is Doman roleplayers that speak engrish or broken english. Cut it out. That's annoying and offensive. The NPCs speak the common language just fine.