It’s not hard to consider Final Fantasy 14 one of the greatest comebacks in gaming. Met with scorn from the gaming community, the original Final Fantasy 14 was considered a stain on the franchise and a subpar MMORPG. Following a well-received reboot and subsequent expansions, Final Fantasy 14 is a big success and some of the credit can go to spreadsheets.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn director Naoki Yoshida spoke about the triumphant recovery of the second Final Fantasy MMO. While explaining the way Yoshisa and his development team approached fixing Final Fantasy 14, he gave credit to three key elements: communication, hard work, and spreadsheets.
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The latter is of particular interest as it’s not often that spreadsheets are brought up when discussing game development, but Yoshida considers it a crucial and necessary step in saving the then loathed Final Fantasy title. With the original version of Final Fantasy 14 having long list of issues, Yoshida felt that actually writing down each task for the game would be the most practical and effective way of tackling what was a monumental assignment.
The spreadsheet even expanded beyond what elements to fix and turned into an elaborate and detailed schedule for the development. According to Yoshida, this included meetings as well as bathroom breaks. With only two and a half years to essentially fix Final Fantasy 14, time was of the essence thus requiring an development spreadsheet like no other.
Final Fantasy 14 continues to be a big success for publisher and developer Square Enix, even as the game approaches its 10th anniversary. With its impressive milestones between its continued player investment and growing subscriber base, Square Enix has implemented a big change to the trial system. New players to Final Fantasy 14 can play up to level 60 for free, which is nearly double the previous level cap.
Spreadsheets have even expanded beyond being a helpful assistant for developers and are now useful tools for gaming communities. Ever evolving games like MMOs are always changing and sometimes it can be rough for fans to keep up with the information. With Destiny 2, one Redditor made the definitive spreadsheet for weapon sunsetting to help players prepare for the upcoming season.
With fans still thriving within the world of Hydaelyn, many continue to explore the new quests and events popping up on a regular basis. Many fans are currently exploring the big changes made in Patch 5.3 which sought to streamline A Realm Reborn‘s main scenario. While the changes have mostly been welcomed, it also removed some popular quests from Final Fantasy 14.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC and PS4.
MORE: Final Fantasy 14 Will Add New Housing Wards Soon
Source: PC Gamer (via MassivelyOP)
