The Lure of FFXI

[benny]

I play because I still have friends in the game I can have fun with. If they weren't there, I wouldn't play this awful game.

This + the feeling that I've invested too much into my character in terms of time and effort to let him rot now.

I don't know how it is with other people, but my other friends who play MMOs can't stand FFXI. In comparison to other games it's very slow in actions (fighting a mob for longer than sixty seconds, what?), slow in progression, the quests give little to no reward and generally have no point, melee jobs get almost nothing in terms of abilities and other things to do, I could go on and on. My roommate began playing monk, he got it to level 12 the other day, and when I told him that his next worthwhile WS after Combo came at level 41, his reaction was pretty much what you would rationally expect...

Most of us including me are really used to all this stuff, so we don't think about it so much, but compared to the "traditional" MMO experience, FFXI is very very different and hard to get new players interested in. I've played at least a few MMO that I think are better designed (though I've never had a chance to try WoW), but in the end I just get bored without my friends from FF.

[Zimbabwe Justice]

I also agree with the sense of importance and the great feeling you get from accomplishing things. I remember first getting my AF. I was a SMN and finally got level 60 and could use all my AF pieces. I just stood there and took pictures, and was utterly shocked that I had finally gotten some of my favorite armor. It took me like 5 years of playing due to quitting, job changing, etc, but hey, I felt like a total badass mofo and actually felt good about myself for it.

[tsaroth816]

Most topics have been covered, and I couldn't add much more to the sentiment of Accomplishment / Social / Fun-Factor. But the term "hobby" hasn't been mentioned yet

To me, FFXI (or any MMO) is a hobby. There is no "end" to hobbies usually. It just something you do because you enjoy it. Some people collect coins/stamps/golf/TV/etc. The reason I personally justify FFXI as an OK hobby is this: $13~/month VS my old hobby of console/computer video games. They can cost $15~$50 each, and you can sure bet I'd finish it way before the month is over & move on.

So it's really a cheaper hobby than most, say going out to the movies once a week. It's fun, you can do it with others (irl or online), and has a great since of accomplishment because of how hard you have to work for most things in game.

You can also add me in the boat of "Played every FF previously, so I had to try this one"

[Maaglin]

I also agree with the sense of importance and the great feeling you get from accomplishing things. I remember first getting my AF. I was a SMN and finally got level 60 and could use all my AF pieces. I just stood there and took pictures, and was utterly shocked that I had finally gotten some of my favorite armor. It took me like 5 years of playing due to quitting, job changing, etc, but hey, I felt like a total badass mofo and actually felt good about myself for it.

Without effort and pain, you can't ever achieve these kinds of good feelings. That's really what keeps me going on as well. I love getting things accomplished for myself and helping/seeing my friends accomplish stuff as well.

[Cydonia]

disregard~

[bombard]

That being said, as most of the posters have said, the reason to play these games stems from the feelings of accomplishment you get. Working hard to obtain a rare piece of armor, being able to play the game w/ friends or family who are located half way across the world, meeting new people and being able to do so in the comfort of your home. These are just a few of the reasons why an MMORPG like FFXI are played. Does that make them an addiction? No.

And I don’t play anywhere near 40 hours a week. I think many of the players on here who hold a full time job don’t. The original posters should’ve taken a non-biased viewpoint when writing this topic, but I see a typical paper being constructed in a manner to make FFXI players and MMORPGers in general look like they are as bad as Heroine.

/sigh

This is how I felt when I read the OP also. I may play 10-15 hours a week and work many many more than that, and also have other things going on usually. I disagree with the OP's way of fishing for answers, because obviously he's already made up his mind on how he wants to write his biased paper. A shame, since an even-headed study on this would be cool, but everyone has their agendas.

[Nattack]

Ive been playing demons crest and i just spent 4 hours trying to beat the level 4 boss with just a fireball.

shits hard, but its fun. and i dont know why.


edit:

funny story, the emulator crashed soon after. i cried a bit.

[rrynn]

to the op: your wording needs work. the way you ask a question when doing a study/survey greatly changes the way people will answer you. you can get entirely different data out of the same questions with the same group of people just by changing less then 25% of the words in said questions. people want to please people, some % of the answers given on any survey will always be what the person being asked thinks the survey giver wants to hear.

if you are working on a paper/doing a study with the point of actually LEARNING why, fix your wording. if you are working on your paper/study because you already have a theory and you want to find data that will support it, keep your wording as is.

___
that said, i'll answer you anyway. i started playing ffxi because my boyfriend was playing it and it looked vaguely interesting. also, for 14 bucks a month it is a pretty economical hobby and at the time i was looking to make my budget more manageable.

i stuck around initially because i met some cool people off the bat. learned that diaga is an aoe, not just a stronger version of dia, with another rdm (wondered why that bat attacked us while we were killing our worm in the maze). soloed on rdm to 20 chattering to my ls after the diaga thing convinced me parties sucked. etc.

then i stayed because i wanted to get rdm to 75, get my subs up, see what merits were, try for some good gear.

now that my rdm is pretty set for life, i'm still here because of the people somewhat (altho, the best friends i've made here i'll keep in touch with when i/they quit, so that is not so much of a reason to continue playing specifically). mostly it's the complexity of it. i like all the little nuances of the game... both the passive things like the crickets jumping in the grass, or the dragons landing in luf.meadows, or a million other little scenic details... or the active stuff like how one stat point on a piece of gear can make a difference, or one person can make or break a fight.

[Linktri]

I'm a glutton for punishment.

[Guyverarmor]

I dunno, I guess it's more of a fact that FFXI has always had that "thing" that draws me back everytime. From the leveling with a group or doing events. Even though I have started over again, I have had more fun leveling up rdm with the wait and all, than playing WoW. I may leave a couple of times, but I always come back for more. Just all around, FFXI is a awsome game ^^. I think I am one of those people that will play till they shut the servers down

I also like causing myself pain and torture >_> lol

[Vuitton]

I play MMORPGs because I like to escape from reality. Not that my reality is bad, but it is stressful. I work full-time for a large law firm and I go to school full-time to complete my undergrad. This in itself is about 60-80 hours a week not spent on myself, and me exerting myself and depleting energy on things that are not "fun". They're rewarding in various ways, but they're not really "fun".

I play FFXI because I really like the intricate storyline, the charismatic characters, the side quests with fun cutscenes, the exotic zones such as sea and sky, and the sense of accomplishment of completing missions and reaching the next level or merit for your character, ect. FFXI really offers a player, who doesn't mind dedicating themselves, quite a bit. Also, Galkas are so awesome.

I play WoW because I don't always have the time to dedicate to FFXI as I would like, and WoW allows me to use the time I do have on easy quests, easy professions, and easy well.. everything. I like a lot of the zones in the game and I like to explore the colorful world. The game doesn't give me a sense of accomplishment likes FFXI does, but it does offer easy and quick escape, a very big and colorful world, and immediate gratification.

FFXI is like a long term relationship.
WoW is like a one night stand.

One is a deeper sense of satisfaction that stays with you, and the other is cheap and immediate gratification that dissipates after a bit of time.

[shaddix]

my fucking friend quit and now i'm going to fucking quit too. goddamn mother fuckers

[Keston]

Much like others already posted, I agree FFXI is an escape. A place that you can almost seemingly start and live a new kind of life. the size of the world in it, and the variety of things to do, and people to meet, makes it so you can do so many different things, in different ways to suit what you like and prefer. But, just like weed, crack, etc... this escape can become very addictive as you immerse yourself in it. For people that love to complete things, and do everything possible... its most dangerous... as FFXI has no ending, and no shortage of things to do. The anonymity is pretty appealing for some also, as there are tons of things you can and would do when there is no RL face to bear the responsibility of the things you do or say.

I was pretty hardcore for a long time. But as I started to do other non-gaming RL hobbies (reading, dancing... yea dancing), a bit more partying, friends... I started to really appreciate the life outside of the game. And one day, suddenly, in one turn... was able to disconnect mentally and suddenly not need or want that escape any more.

It felt like ditching a drug addiction really, and might not have been far from that.

Though the game itself, can be a pretty cool and entertaining past-time. Though ultimately, I chose to level up my RL character (me), and improve myself as a person and quality of life.

But I have met tons of great and interesting people in the game, and while I look back and think of what else I could have done with all that time. I don't really regret it, as many of the experiences added alot of joy to my life at times and purpose to some days. Not touching any MMORPGs with a foot long pole now tho 8)