What goes into graphically updating a decade-old MMORPG like Final Fantasy XIV

27.11.2023 - 16:17 / gamedeveloper.com / Naoki Yoshida

As technology advances, it’s common to see games getting visually better, whether in remasters, remakes or a graphical update. But there also has to be consideration taken into whether or not part of the atmosphere or vision of the original is lost in the march of progress. These considerations feel ever more important in a forthcoming graphical update for Square Enix’sFinal Fantasy XIV, set to arrive in next year’s 7.0 update and its Dawntrail expansion.

Such an update is a long time coming for the-now 13-year old MMORPG if you factor in the original 2010 release—and you should, as its character models are still mostly based on those from the 1.0 version. But unlike remaking a game that players might not have revisited for many years, MMOs are played long-term with player-created characters, and so there is a greater attachment to how a character looks, even if they might look dated.

Even if the graphical update is intended as an enhancement, there is a risk that it negatively impacts how a player may perceive their created character, a key issue raised by the development team during presentations at last month’s Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in London.

In presentations at the event, Square Enix lead technical artist Tatsuya Okahisa and producer/director Naoki Yoshida shone a light on the critically acclaimed MMORPG’s upcoming graphical update—with a surprising amount of detail on the technical and design decisions that went into it.

“A very important point that we keep in mind is that we don't want to destroy any sort of image that the players have built of Final Fantasy XIV in their minds,” lead technical artist Tatsuya Okahisa said at a development panel that took a deep dive into the graphical update. “That said, this image is very subjective, so it is quite a challenge for us to make sure that these are being maintained and also being updated as well.”

This was similarly addressed by producer and director Naoki Yoshida during the fan festival’s keynote. Following community feedback after the announcement of the graphical update back at the fan festival event in Las Vegas, he shared an update of the Au Ra race, whose updated horns and scales had been initially revealed as looking very reflective but a little too much like enamel.

“This reflectivity looked very high quality so it was good for showing off, but it didn't really match our vision of what we wanted the Au Ra to look like from our original design back in 3.0, so we continued tweaking,” Yoshida admitted before sharing a new headshots of a male and female Au Ra where their horns look less reflective and more natural. “This goes for all of the updates for the other races as well. What we showed in Las Vegas wasn't the final product but a work