The Community Teams interview Yoshida in Japan!

[Lucavi]

Well, I didn't mean small/large in actual size but in regards to content. When you look at other games that constantly churn out game-changing content on a regular basis, you have to wonder why it's taking SE so long to do much of anything. It's just odd to me.

They've never been able to do this. They must work differently than other companies. Even XI, which, by all intents and purposes, is extremely stable in terms of development cycles, is slow as molasses, even through they've upped the ball in recent months/year (not years) with their patches. You have to wonder why they could "suddenly" start putting things out faster and doing smaller patches. I wouldn't want to think that they'd simply copied their filthy western Gajin competitors, as that's just not the Japanese way of doing things. They certainly couldn't have just recently figured out that faster, smaller patches with fixes/updates in them are popular and keep a player-base relatively happy. I doubt it has something to do with having more workers or a larger staff or anything.

Most likely they just did things the way they've always done things - the traditional Japanese way - and only recently finally came to the conclusion that the old way isn't best simply because its old.

[CasualPlayer]

And you're wrong about me being wrong. If the old director says jump to the left, you jump to the left. If the new director says jump to the right, you jump to the right.

I like you

[Gulkeeva]

are you able to sleep less cause you make up for it in other areas? i.e. do you eat healthier and exercise more than the average person?

nope

The healthiest thing I eat is probably a supreme pizza, and most my exercise is probably being on a PC, I also work at a PC at work, so I'm probably sitting in front of a PC nearly 18-20 hours a day average.

Although that sounds pretty bad, considering my metabolism, I can't really gain any weight (6'1" 174lbs hasn't changed more then 2-4 lbs in over 15 years), if I actually ate healthy and worked out I'd probably a walking skeleton or something O_o

Not sure what really causes it, maybe some condition, but I feel fine, no tiredness or "groggy" etc from only sleeping 3-4 hours a day, no naps in between sleep, or feeling of tired even if I do alot of work. Like when I worked at walmarts garden center lifting 20-40lbs pounds of fertilizer off a truck/loading thousands of bricks for hours, my sleep stayed 3-4 hours after a 10-12 hour work day.


Anyway back on subject about FFXIV, I do feel the FFIV team, is probably alot smaller then he makes it out to be, its probably only a max of 3 people at most working on some part of the game. SE's probably got more resources elsewhere working on trying to reshape its gaming then on trying to bring up FFXIV atm I think.

[Dooom]

Not sure what really causes it, maybe some condition, but I feel fine, no tiredness or "groggy" etc from only sleeping 3-4 hours a day, no naps in between sleep, or feeling of tired even if I do alot of work. Like when I worked at walmarts garden center lifting 20-40lbs pounds of fertilizer off a truck/loading thousands of bricks for hours, my sleep stayed 3-4 hours after a 10-12 hour work day.

As someone who seems to need about 9 hours sleep a day to function, and often feels tired during the day, you have no idea how jealous I am of you for this D:

[Lucavi]

Yeah I've got a few friends that only need 2-3 hours a sleep. One of them, though, compensates with copious amounts of caffeine. Sleep feels too good for me to do without it that often.

[Niiro]

Statistically people who sleep less tend to live longer lives, Gulk and Yoshi are simply striving to attain immortality.

[Fiddle Sticks]

2-3.5 hours sleep on avarage? How long can a person endure with such a short amount of sleep, thats insane.

I sleep maybe 4 hours every night. I would say most nights are less than that.

Have bee doing it since high school, I guess you just get used to it after awhile.

I always get a nice laugh when a lot of you people are freaking out because Yoshi is posting on the forums at like midnight.

Yeah I've got a few friends that only need 2-3 hours a sleep. One of them, though, compensates with copious amounts of caffeine. Sleep feels too good for me to do without it that often.

I do consume mass amounts of caffeine. 3-4 of the big cans of red Amp every day! The money I spend on energy drinks is insane.

As someone who seems to need about 9 hours sleep a day to function, and often feels tired during the day, you have no idea how jealous I am of you for this D:

You're probably tired because you sleep too much! If I sleep more than 4 hours, I'm so tired during the day that I can't even get going, even after several energy drinks.

[kisada]

the only person i knew who slept 2-3 hours was only able to do so cause he was drugged out of his mind every day. strangely enough and amazed as i was at the time, he said he actually knew an elderly woman who only slept one hour a day.

[Lazytowner]

"Yah totally bro I have this one friend that sleeps like only 2 minutes everyday. I'm adding my input to this loosely acquired cacaphony of anecdotal evidence to validate the practice of persistent deprivation of sleep!"

Stop it. Get back to arguing about speculations, please.

[Gokulo]

You know Japanese don't really need to sleep at all.

[Jesifromgaruda]

So I guess them adding jump to FF14 is old news? First time I've heard of it.

Also what was he talking about with PvP? Are they actually going to add PvP or was he not talking about FF14?

[Gokulo]

So I guess them adding jump to FF14 is old news? First time I've heard of it.

They talked about jump some time ago I believe, mentioning they will add some staple abilities.

[Hyan]

He's also a heavy smoker, so probably dies at the age of 100. A youngster in JP years.

Also what was he talking about with PvP? Are they actually going to add PvP or was he not talking about FF14?

He's a huge PvPer (Yoshida), so as long as he gets to decide... and I think he does!

[Gulkeeva]

Yeah I've got a few friends that only need 2-3 hours a sleep. One of them, though, compensates with copious amounts of caffeine. Sleep feels too good for me to do without it that often.

I'm basically immune to the effects of caffeine, including those "stay up" pills (think I tried to stay up several days camping peacock charm NM in ffxi with its 24-72+ hour spawn time back in the day).

I don't drink/smoke at all and only real amount of caffeine I may get is from iced coffee/cream/milk mix drink once in awhile or coffee ice cream once in awhile.

Being half japanese has its advantages I guess I really don't look like I've aged in the last 15 years, same weight, same look etc

[Lucavi]

I'm "immune" to those effects as well, but not to "GTF to sleep" pills or the effects of exhaustion. 5-minute energy drinks and coffee and the like do shit all for me in terms of waking me up, but 2 melatonin and a glass of wine at night will get me knocked out within 30 minutes most of the time.

Why would anyone be surprised that Gulk is half-Japanese? I'm half expecting people to liken you to the Southpark WoW guy, only cleaner and with far more hentai.

[Cayos]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...152#post227152

Hey gang! Here are the questions and answers that were gathered and discussed by our French and German community reps!

Can you explain a typical day for the FFXIV dev. team?
Yoshida: The dev. team is made up of various teams such as Core Members, Scenario, Quest, World Settings, In-game Economy, Battle, Grand Companies, The Lodestone, User Interface, Tool, Character, Backgrounds, Art, Animation and so on. The day varies depending on the person.

As an example, I come in to work at 10:00 a.m. The day starts off with morning meetings regarding operation and new tasks. From there on, various meetings are scheduled all the way up until 9:00 p.m. I check the game specifications, plot, design, etc. Then I reply to emails (around 230 per day) and then, get back to working on game specification if necessary. During work, I check forums and post various comments, so I usually leave office at around 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. This has been going on for past 6 months... (laughs)

What type of games do you like?
Yoshida: I like various kinds of games including RPGs, action, FPS and fighting games. I like the Fallout series, Red Dead Redemption and the Assassin's Creed series, as well. I often play Street Fighter IV during my break. I really love MMOs and some of the online games that I still regularly play are Diablo, Diablo II, Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot and World of Warcraft. I believe DAoC is what I played the longest, playing it for nearly 6 years. Right now, I am interested in checking out Rift.

What is your favorite MMO?
Yoshida: Oops! I accidentally just answered this! I still cannot forget the excitement of realm vs. realm in Dark Age of Camelot. In Ultima Online, I was a major PK (player killer) player. And for now, I am quite interested in Rift!

Do you prefer console or PC gaming?
Yoshida: I spend quite a time in online games, so I believe the total hours I have spent on each are about equal. If it's entertaining, it doesn't matter whether it's on a console or PC.

Do you play FFXIV as a personal player or only for testing/work purposes?
Yoshida: Since my private hours are close to null, I can only play it while I'm in the office. But on my free time, I wander around Eorzea so some players may have walked right passed my character. (laughs) If things calm down a bit more, I'm thinking about playing from home. Of course, my identity will have to remain hush-hush!

If yes, what race is your character?
Yoshida: Oh, I do have my own character! A Lalafell!

Tell us, just how much do you like Lalafells?
Yoshida: I really love them! They are so adorable, and surely anyone would simply die being around that much cuteness! Also what I like about them is that once the PvP is implemented, they are hard to target and can easily hide from others! (laughs maniacally)

Due to all of the conferences and meetings abroad, are you less afraid of taking the plane now?
Yoshida: Actually, things haven't changed at all... I have been a frequent flyer way before I became the Producer/Director of FFXIV and flew around 30 times a year. However, I still can't overcome my fear of flying. I usually wear shades while I'm on board but even with that the cabin attendant will often ask me "Sir, are you alright?" so guess I'm still not used to it...

Any plans for Mog Houses?
Yoshida: Not sure if it will be a Mog House, but a private space and housing are in our plans for the future. We are planning to work on it along with a major revamp of the map.

Will male Miqo’te and female Roegadyn be available with the PS3 release?
Yoshida: That’s the plan!

When will more means of transportation made available?
Yoshida: We are planning to implement both airships and chocobos in patch 1.19. I believe I'll be able to provide more details in August!

Do you still manage to get enough rest despite all the long hours you put in?
Yoshida: Well, not really… Though I'm a light sleeper, I’m able to get rest when I can, so I'm doing fine.
Thank you for your concern! ^^

Tea/Coffee/Hot Chocolate, what does the dev. team prefer?
Yoshida: Everyone has their own favorite so it's hard to say but I believe the favorite would be coffee. Personally, I sometimes feel that 1/3 of my blood is made out of caffeine… (laughs)

How many sugars do you put in your coffee?
Yoshida: No sugar for me, as I like my coffee black. But around 7:00pm, I start to get a sugar craving. At times like that, I add about two spoonfuls of sugar.

Are you planning to make cities more “lively”?
Yoshida: Yes, we are planning to work on this as part of the revamping of the map!

Here comes part two...!

[Cayos]

Here is the third and final set of Q&A from the community reps and Yoshida!

What are your work hours? Do you usually get to go home on time?
Yoshida: Generally, everyone starts their shift at 10am. However, in my case, I have a fairly chaotic schedule. There may be days where I would to attend a meeting at 9 am, skip lunch and continue to attend meetings, while also performing various checks. Due to my chaotic schedule, I'm rarely at my desk. From 9pm to 11pm, I read and reply to emails (around 230 emails per day). From 11pm, I create documents and hammer out designs while checking the forums. I leave the office at about 2-3am. I do some stretches, read a book and watch some videos at home. So, it will be after 4am when I go to bed. Then I wake up around 7-8am.

Tell us more about your daily life. For example, what is the work environment like? Is it more of a relaxed environment or a serious environment?
Yoshida: The office is much more lively and relaxed compared to what it was before. Since I am a heavy smoker, I do make frequent appearances at the designated smoking area. Everyone at the office gets along with each other.

What's the most exciting thing you have experienced while developing FFXIV?
Yoshida: Hmm, that's a tough question to answer. I think it may be chocobos as we are currently working on the specifications. (laughs) Since a lot of effort has been made for their implementation, I feel a major sense of accomplishment regarding it. Although it's been taking quite a long time, please be patient and look forward to it!

What's the worst thing you have experienced while developing FFXIV?
Yoshida: Hmm, I would have to say when players get angry at me in the forums… Pointing out mistakes and lack of information is one thing. However, it gets to me (along with the rest of the team) when the players start bashing my personality ^^; Please don't be too hard on us!

What do you do in your spare time?
Yoshida: I play FFXIV, watch movies or play basketball. Sadly… stress does build up as I hardly ever have any spare time these days! (laughs)

Do you play FFXIV on your spare time?
Yoshida: Even when I don't necessarily have the time, I play FFXIV.

How many hours do you work a day?
Yoshida: I would prefer not to disclose this to the public, but I generally work 14 to 16 hours a day.
As commuting takes one and a half hours for both ways, I don't have much time to sleep. (laughs)

Will you continue to monitor the Q&A threads on the forums?
Yoshida: I will continue to check the forums and the reports from community reps each and every day. So, please keep posting your comments!

Are there any plans to implement a housing system for players and linkshells?
Yoshida: Yes, as it's on the plan, it will surely be implemented even if it takes time. It will be implemented gradually with several phases. Please be patient until it's unveiled!

Are there any plans to implement chocobos and/or airships?
Yoshida: Both of them are planned to be implemented in patch 1.19. Cheer the dev. team on so that it will be ready by 1.19! ^^

If there are plans to implement chocobos and/or airships, will players be required to complete a quest? For example, completing a quest to obtain an airship pass.
Yoshida: Yes, that's the plan! Airships will also require a fee after the completion of the quest.

Are there any plans to implement a system where players are able to inscribe their names into the crafted items?
Yoshida: This is currently being discussed; however, we must wait for the server-related adjustments before we can get our hands on it. I'm very sorry for the time it's taking for us to address these types of requests.

You previously mentioned that you guys are working on redesigning the areas. Are you more focused on changing the geography or the design?
Yoshida: Changes will be made to both the geography and the design of the areas. Some areas will be changed rather drastically, so I'd love if you all could discuss how you think the changes will be made while you're all looking forward to it.

Currently, there are only 3 class quests per class. Are there any plans to add more?
Yoshida: There is a plan to add more but there are many other things to take care of first, so I assume it will be after the job system is implemented.

Are there any plans to implement new monsters?
Yoshida: Yes, new monsters will be added along with the implementation of the beastmen strongholds. Other than that, we are considering adding more monsters that are FINAL FANTASY-like. Due to the high quality nature that we strive for in FINAL FANTASY XIV, it's going to take some time until they are implemented but I can't wait 'til you're all able to tackle them!

[Gokulo]

The part about "high quality nature" made me chuckle.

[Grey Jorildyn]

Would read better if he stopped apologizing all the time. Must be a cultural thing.

[Shuichi]

Would read better if he stopped apologizing all the time. Must be a cultural thing.

Yeah. It's a Japanese thing.