One man. One pair of underwear. How a

simple ad can change the world in less than

two minutes.

ANALYSIS BY JOEY ZEDAN

PHOTOGRAPHS BY GUY RITCHIE STYLING BY H&M

34 .com DECEMBER 2014

FINAL

FANTASY

OCTOBER 2014 251

L

ASY

B efore we begin, let’s talk a little about the game. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm

Reborn (FFXIV) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by Square Enix. The game is on PC (obviously; we are PC Gamer after all), but is also available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It was released in August of last year and has over two million players. For a game that requires a monthly subscription, these numbers are impressive! Regarding the game itself, the game is very similar to its older brother, Final Fantasy XI. You begin by choosing a race and class, but unfortunately you cannot pick your starting location. Have no fear, however, as exploration begins much more quickly than in other games. Beyond that, you are free to progress through the story, grind through dungeons, or explore the land of Eorzea however you so please. Now, without further ado, let’s look into FFXIV’s player base, shall we?

Demographics of FFXIV First off, the game is played all around

the world, with servers for Japan, Europe, and

North America. Generally speaking, there are

two types of players in the game: role-players

and non-role-players. Role-players, as the

name suggests, are players who essentially live

another life within the game. They become

their character, follow the lore of the game,

speak the language of the race they play as,

and so on. The non-role-players, or simply

normal players, are the others who play the

game for fun or sport. To keep this article

from becoming a whole issue in itself, we will

focus on the normal players.

Player Goals The normal players are further divided

into two categories: casual players and

hardcore players. Casual players are those who

play the game in their free time and don’t

dedicate a certain amount of time to the game

every day or week (chances are you aren’t one

because you read PC Gamer). They level at a

comfortable pace and do not progress far into

the game’s content.

Hardcore players, aka most of us here at

the office, are those who play the game for

sport, competition, or for personal

advancement and interest. They pour hours

upon hours into the game, leveling quickly and

blazing through the game’s content.

Even though these groups have their

differences, they share similar goals: beat the

game’s main story quests, learn about the

game to win and advance, make friends with

other players, and most importantly, have fun.

Communication Between Players There are many methods of

communication between players, and they can

be categorized into two groups: in-game

communication and outside communication.

A N A L Y S I S

We take a look at the player base of the relatively new MMO, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. We have the answers to all of your questions, up to and including discourses. This is an ANALYSIS at its finest. By Joey Zedan

36 .com DECEMBER 2014

“You are free to progress

through the story, grind

through dungeons, or

explore the land of Eorzea

however you so please.”

Sure, this art looks good, but can you see

these flashy effects in-game? The answer is

yes. Yes you can.

In-game communication revolves around

the chat log within the game and a side

program called TeamSpeak. We’ve mentioned

this program before in a few other issues of PC

Gamer, but a brief description can be found

later in this section.

The chat log is the game’s main method

of communication. It allows players to send

text messages to party members, Free

Company members, Linkshells, and other

players. We’ll talk about these terms a bit later.

TeamSpeak is a voice chat app that PC

players can use to vocally communicate with

other players. The PlayStation 4 features its

own voice chat system for the game, but the

PlayStation 3 has no such option.

Meanwhile, the two main hubs for

outside communication are /r/ffxiv on reddit

and the official game forums. /r/ffxiv is the

largest community of FFXIV players outside of

the main forums, with 50,000 members. They

share experiences, screenshots, tips, news, and

more with each other. The official game

forums serve mostly the same purpose as

/r/ffxiv, but also feature direct news and

announcements from the developer. The

forum is also used for bug reporting.

Game Communities Much like the types of communication,

there are two types of communities: in-game

communities and outside communities.

In-game communities consist of

Linkshells and Free Companies. Linkshells are

simply closed chat rooms for players, limited

to 128 people. However, Linkshell

communication is limited to the chat log.

Additionally, no interaction within the game is

necessary to join. A player is simply invited

into the conversation. Most of the time,

though, these groups are pre-arranged.

Free Companies (FCs), on the other

hand, are a central aspect to the game. They

are similar to guilds in other MMOs, founded

on the basis of a shared region, language,

hobby, or play style. Most FCs cater to a casual

play style or hardcore play style. They can be

joined through open application or through

personal invites, too. FC members can also buy

in-game housing with each other.

Communication in an FC is performed via the

chat log, voice chat, or custom websites.

The outside communities simply consist

of the members of /r/ffxiv, the main forums,

and other websites. These are much larger and

looser organizations.

Jargon and Language within FFXIV Final Fantasy XIV uses both general

MMO jargon and jargon specific to the game.

For our MMO friends out there, these terms

shouldn’t be too new for you. Standard terms

such as PuG, AoE, and raid are commonly

used, which mean pick-up group, area of

attack, and large-party dungeon, respectively.

The terms exclusive to Final Fantasy XIV

are extensive, but we can tell you a few: CT,

CoB, and Chocobo. CT and CoB refer to the

Crystal Tower and Coils of Bahamut, both of

which are raids. Chocobos, as many fans of the

series may know, are horse-sized birds that

player characters can ride around with. The

language is easy to get into, and once known,

elevates the game to another level.

Wrap-Up The Final Fantasy XIV player base, while

not terribly unique, is a colorful community.

Whether you are a casual player or hardcore

player, FFXIV can feel right at home.

A N A L Y S I S

38 .com DECEMBER 2014

Just a sampling of all the races and

classes you can choose from.