DAY 67 / GAME 67
Final Fantasy Online (FFXI)
After Neocron, I tried the beta for Star Wars Galaxies, which I was not very happy with. So I decided I was going to try the fairly new Final Fantasy Online. I ended up playing FFXI for about a year straight after I first signed up back in about 2003.
I remember having to upgrade my videocard to play this. So this game was cost more than just the upfront cost of software and the monthly fees. But it was worth it in the long run. Final Fantasy XI was a real proper MMO experience in my opinion. When I had first started, I knew at least one person who was already playing. This was a big benefit to me because without someone to guide you it can be a bit confusing at first. Maybe I didn't pay proper attention to the locations of the tutorial missions, or maybe there were none. But I found that communication with other players was the only way to make your way through the game.
In order to do anything you need to program macros. The UI was not the easiest to digest. But once you got it, it worked exactly how you needed it to. Finding the next location to grind, knowing the appropriate armor to wear and the best combinations for fighting larger creatures meant you had to talk to other players. Being forced into conversation created a whole social aspect and a unique experience for everyone. I was subscribed to one of the roleplay servers, which meant everyone on board tended to stay 'in character'. I ended up discovering this was beneficial in two ways: Firstly, you had a more enriching experience, since real players felt like they were replacing your usual AI in a regular game. Secondly, the players on this kind of server tended to take the game more seriously, all gunning for the same kind of experience which left no room for 'riff raff' or the kind of players you'd find on the other end of Xbox Live.
I had a ton of fantastic social experiences on FFXI. Lot of late nights roaming the mysterious plains and chasms of what was a terrifically designed world. I probably wouldn't have stopped playing this, but I decided it was time to try out something else and ended up moving onto World of Warcraft for a year. Making your way across the world required so much effort. One of the interesting things about a game like this was that there wasn't a physical road block stopping your way from getting across the map. Instead, knowing that you could go ahead and try at any time, you just may not survive. At one point I was told I had to make my way across the map to a central location where you train to ride Chocobo. Apparently in order to get there, you had to specifically hire another player character who could use magic to hide the both of you for safe travel.
Man, MMO's are hard to talk about in a small blurb. The truth is it's a huge experience to sum up. MMO's tend to be long and drawn out, so you tend to really sit and soak up the world, a world that is teeming with life. Final Fantasy XI had a fantastic soundtrack, an expansive landscape that begged to be explored and fantastic creatures to discover. More than often I sit back and think of what a great experience it was and consider the idea of re-subscribing. Even moreso now that they've released an updated sequel, Final Fantasy XIV. I think I will actually jump into it when, or if, I finally upgrade my computer.
Final Fantasy Online (FFXI)
I remember having to upgrade my videocard to play this. So this game was cost more than just the upfront cost of software and the monthly fees. But it was worth it in the long run. Final Fantasy XI was a real proper MMO experience in my opinion. When I had first started, I knew at least one person who was already playing. This was a big benefit to me because without someone to guide you it can be a bit confusing at first. Maybe I didn't pay proper attention to the locations of the tutorial missions, or maybe there were none. But I found that communication with other players was the only way to make your way through the game.
In order to do anything you need to program macros. The UI was not the easiest to digest. But once you got it, it worked exactly how you needed it to. Finding the next location to grind, knowing the appropriate armor to wear and the best combinations for fighting larger creatures meant you had to talk to other players. Being forced into conversation created a whole social aspect and a unique experience for everyone. I was subscribed to one of the roleplay servers, which meant everyone on board tended to stay 'in character'. I ended up discovering this was beneficial in two ways: Firstly, you had a more enriching experience, since real players felt like they were replacing your usual AI in a regular game. Secondly, the players on this kind of server tended to take the game more seriously, all gunning for the same kind of experience which left no room for 'riff raff' or the kind of players you'd find on the other end of Xbox Live.
I had a ton of fantastic social experiences on FFXI. Lot of late nights roaming the mysterious plains and chasms of what was a terrifically designed world. I probably wouldn't have stopped playing this, but I decided it was time to try out something else and ended up moving onto World of Warcraft for a year. Making your way across the world required so much effort. One of the interesting things about a game like this was that there wasn't a physical road block stopping your way from getting across the map. Instead, knowing that you could go ahead and try at any time, you just may not survive. At one point I was told I had to make my way across the map to a central location where you train to ride Chocobo. Apparently in order to get there, you had to specifically hire another player character who could use magic to hide the both of you for safe travel.
Man, MMO's are hard to talk about in a small blurb. The truth is it's a huge experience to sum up. MMO's tend to be long and drawn out, so you tend to really sit and soak up the world, a world that is teeming with life. Final Fantasy XI had a fantastic soundtrack, an expansive landscape that begged to be explored and fantastic creatures to discover. More than often I sit back and think of what a great experience it was and consider the idea of re-subscribing. Even moreso now that they've released an updated sequel, Final Fantasy XIV. I think I will actually jump into it when, or if, I finally upgrade my computer.
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