Need a little guidance on a character issue

[Yunas13]

Hi guys!

 

I'm in a bind and not really sure on what to do. My 9 year old nephew has seen me playing FFXIV and he asked if he could make his own character and play it when he visits (which isn't very often now). I asked his mom if it was alright and she said it was, the last time he was here he begged me to not delete his level 5 elezen warrior (took him an hour to get to that level) until he talked to his dad and try to get him to try the game.

 

Fast forward to 2 nights ago, his dad came over to help me with some car trouble, I asked him if he was going to try FFXIV and get himself and his son an account. Now, here is where it puts me in a bind (or feels like it.) He said that he's looked at the game but he wants to wait till my nephew gets older (he specifically said 17 years old) and he kind of insulted me by saying FF is only played by girls. (I'm a female, but I've talked to PLENTY of men on this game and I know that FF is for everyone).

 

Now, I don't know if I should keep his character now that I know his father (my brother-in-law) isn't comfortable with his son playing the MMO (they play World of Warcraft/Warhammer the most). I'm stuck with a decision to make and I've got a few choices....

 

-Should I go ahead and delete him? 

-Should I transfer his character to my server and play him? (I've already have 2 characters already. Level 50 WHM and an alt to learn the game's story again).

-If I bring the character over, should I just race/name change him?

 

I've not had this problem before and really need some advice. Thank you everyone.

I love you all and grateful I can share ideas and opinions of the game freely here.

[LiadansWhisper]

Uh, does it harm you to let the character just exist on your account?

[Seriphyn]

Firstly, it seems the issue of your nephew no longer playing FFXIV has been resolved, which is what I would have recommended. An MMO is not an appropriate place for someone of that age, at all.

 

Secondly, I'm not sure what the issue is? If he's not going to play the game anymore (I would ensure this is the case if his father is not comfortable with it), what's the problem? Just delete it.

[FreelanceWizard]

I can't exactly blame him for wanting the kid to be older before playing XIV; some of the stories can get a little dark (I'm looking at you, Little Ala Mhigo). Of course, it also seems like he has some issue with FF generally, which strikes me as a little odd. The older Final Fantasy games are excellent games for kids in the 8-14 range, particularly if they're playing the Nintendo localized versions. They require lots of reading, problem solving skills, planning, delayed gratification, and such, and they're good stories to boot.

 

To me, it sounds like this is an issue between the parents. I'd just leave the character there on your account, tell the mother about the situation, and let the parents work it out themselves. With that in mind, though, no kid should be playing an MMO unsupervised, IMO.

[Grott]

Keep the character on the account because it doesn't do any harm to have it there, but also remind the kid to talk to his parents before he can play.

 

You're still the good guy, but the problem resolves itself.

 

Also "Final Fantasy is for girls, Warcraft is for boys" ...Is the dad also 9 years old? Both of these games have the same general demographics if I'm not mistaken. A lot of both genders, with imbalances leaning toward the male side. I can see Final Fantasy having a higher percentage of female players than Warcaft or Warhammer, but not by enough of a staggering amount to have it called "a girl's game." To be honest, it's probably still under or around 50%

 

He is right though, an MMO is no place for a nine year old child. Seventeen might be a bit much, I started around thirteen, but that was back in the days before WoW blew up and few people knew or cared wtf MMOs were. (Yes I know, EQ and FFXI and RuneScape and whatever garbage were all around before WoW, but it definitely is the biggest factor in the popularity of the genre as a whole.)

[Darien Cadell]

I'm not going to judge people who are comfortable with their kids playing MMOs. By 9, he's able to discuss most issues that come up, but I think the usual lower age limit for these things is 13? Even then, unsupervised internet communications can be a scary thing.

 

In any case, if I were in your situation, I'd just let the character sit there and collect dust, unless there was some compelling reason to use it that isn't immediately evident. Even if the character's on a separate account, better to just let it lapse and leave it there indefinitely. With a level 5, you'd be better off rerolling something new to play (or even saving the appearance data and giving it the same name) than bothering to transfer it.

[Kage]

though, no kid should be playing an MMO unsupervised, IMO.

This is the most important part.

 

I would ask your sister and her husband to discuss it. If your nephew wants to play under your supervision and they allow it, then I don't see a problem. You watch. He plays whatever time he has when he visits.

 

Just leave it there and if they say no, then delete it or do whatever you want with it as it's yours.

 

Biggest thing is that he's playing while supervised and that both his parents are okay with it.

[Yunas13]

Thank you everyone for the quick responses. I might just delete the character but I will ask my sister what her husband says about my nephew playing it with me present and then I'll go from there. If they say it is alright, his character will stay, but if they say no then I'll know what to do. 

 

Thank you everyone!

[111]

I think people saying no MMOs for kids are a bit strange.

 

Most children these days have access to the internet, which is far more dangerous than a game like FFXIV. And even a reasonably intelligent kid can get around whatever sort of restrictions a parent might place on that.

 

I don't see any issue with a 9 year old playing an MMO. It's not any worse or better than anything they'd see on TV, and the people they meet on FFXIV are a better community than most.

[Viola]

The thing is; I highly recommend the profanity filter to be on, just in case.

 

While I'd have no problems with my kid (I don't have one, so being hypothetical here) playing an MMO, the fact of the matter depends on the MMO (IE TERA being a no-no because I don't need to explain to them why X character is practically wearing nothing).

 

Though I don't see a problem with him trying out FF14, him being supervised is kind of a must, just because reasons.

[Aduu Avagnar]

I think people saying no MMOs for kids are a bit strange.

 

Most children these days have access to the internet, which is far more dangerous than a game like FFXIV. And even a reasonably intelligent kid can get around whatever sort of restrictions a parent might place on that.

 

I don't see any issue with a 9 year old playing an MMO. It's not any worse or better than anything they'd see on TV, and the people they meet on FFXIV are a better community than most.

I have to agree.

 

My friends kids have both made characters on this game on my account(one 16, the other 7), I was in the same building but not hovering, the only criteria was that they don't use their real names.

 

The seven year old just ran around killing stuff with his one main ability, but thoroughly enjoyed himself, the 16 year old played through normally.

[LiadansWhisper]

I think people saying no MMOs for kids are a bit strange.

 

Most children these days have access to the internet, which is far more dangerous than a game like FFXIV. And even a reasonably intelligent kid can get around whatever sort of restrictions a parent might place on that.

 

I don't see any issue with a 9 year old playing an MMO. It's not any worse or better than anything they'd see on TV, and the people they meet on FFXIV are a better community than most.

 

Unsupervised access to the internet is also a no-no for kids.  But I don't think that kids under 16 should be playing FFXIV without supervision, either.

 

And actually, yes, it can be worse than what you'd be able to normally access from your TV.  The tells you can get from random people are just beyond the pale.  I'm not saying the community isn't great, but I would not let a child out into the community without supervision.  Period.  It would be irresponsible of me to do so.

[Aoi Fukiku]

I allowed my 6 year old nephew to make a character on my WoW Account when I used to play. I turned off all chat channels and made sure profanity filter was on. Only channel he got was a guild chat and they were made FULLY aware there was a youngin online (he wanted the perks of being in a guild and was constantly spammed in the starting zone). He killed wolves for about an hour. The poor guy never found his way outside towards Goldshire but as soon as he hit level 5 he wanted to go beat up the dragon from the cinematic (Deathwing). I sat with him the whole time.

 

It wasn't until he was finally finding his way out of the starting area when he alerted me to what he really knows about life.

 

ALOT

 

This kid knew so much stuff from the other kids at school it made me blush at the age of 26 (this was 2 years ago). That little bugger even did a small rage fit in my lap when he died from running in to westfall at too low level and dying. 

 

Come to find out. His parents let him play online COD. ._.

[LiadansWhisper]

I allowed my 6 year old nephew to make a character on my WoW Account when I used to play. I turned off all chat channels and made sure profanity filter was on. Only channel he got was a guild chat and they were made FULLY aware there was a youngin online (he wanted the perks of being in a guild and was constantly spammed in the starting zone). He killed wolves for about an hour. The poor guy never found his way outside towards Goldshire but as soon as he hit level 5 he wanted to go beat up the dragon from the cinematic (Deathwing). I sat with him the whole time.

 

It wasn't until he was finally finding his way out of the starting area when he alerted me to what he really knows about life.

 

ALOT

 

This kid knew so much stuff from the other kids at school it made me blush at the age of 26 (this was 2 years ago). That little bugger even did a small rage fit in my lap when he died from running in to westfall at too low level and dying. 

 

Come to find out. His parents let him play online COD. ._.

 

WoW introduced a bunch of parental controls to allow parents to tailor what their minor children are able to do in the game.  I'm not sure if SE has done the same with FFXIV, but I kind of wish they would.  But yeah, I think I would probably do something similar (but would probably include Whisper and /say just because I don't know who the kid might interact with).

[Lilia Lia]

Your brother-in-law is ridiculous.  And it's pretty obvious that when he says Final Fantasy is "for girls," he means something a little nastier than that.

 

You have a responsibility to be the "cool auntie" here.  A kid his age will appreciate that.  But if you can do this without stepping on toes then that's probably ideal.

[schuriscloa]

Psst.  Be the cool auntie.  Let him play!  But make sure his mother knows that you're there if he needs to ask any questions cause there are some questionable situations in FF.  His Dad sounds like a spoilsport ): ... 

 

Next thing we'll hear is "World of Warcraft is for girls and Halo is for boys."  Iunno.