Quote Originally Posted by oddler View Post
Something I've always thought of while playing this game ever since I first started was how awesome it would be if it was able to be played without the hassles of online gaming.

Imagine creating a cast of six characters from the get-go and being able to play through without having to look for parties. Without dealing with offensive or ungrateful players. Without waiting. I realize a main point of online play is to interact with others and enjoy group settings. I'm just thinking of how much better this game could have been if it was made from an offline perspective.

How do you think the game would have been accepted if it was offline? What do you think the main differences would be and do you think it would have been more enjoyable offline than on?
Or maybe they could stimulate it by having tons of NPCs like on Morrowind and Oblivion, but allow them to have their own back story etc etc. HAve it function like an MMO but offline. Even when you're outside the cities. Like have it were you are still competing with the NPCs or something I dunno...

It would be cool though, but no developer wants to invest the time to do something like that.

Quote Originally Posted by oddler View Post
Hmm. Maybe I didn't word what I was thinking very well.

I was thinking more along the lines of a hypothetical question. What if FFXI was never released as an online game? What if it was originally made similarly to its single-player predecessors?

Obviously, it would be missing the online interactions and team-building because it would be offline. And also obviously enough, the story and the little intricacies that make it what it is would be moved closer together to pre-empt boredom between the gaps in plot points.

Roto, I was thinking about that when I was typing the initial post, too. But the big differences are that there aren't set player characters in FFXI and that you have the option of multiple possible starting points.
YOu can have it offline and be able to do that. It'll just take a lot of time to develop. But I do think video games in the RPG genre are heading that way. Atleast with the western developers.