Non-Gamer Gamer Girl

SCORES	–
Vibes	16
Story	16
Engagement	16
COMPOSITE SCORE	48/48

FINAL GRADE

A

I adore this game. I have had such an amazing time playing it, talking about it, listening to the soundtrack, analyzing the story. My partner and I have spent countless hours on the couch, dissecting the game play and the plot and the character development, and I’ve had the most amazing time. Clearly, the grade I gave Final Fantasy XIV Online reflects that.

To my fellow non-gamer gamer girls, this is a wonderful game with a fun story that grows incredibly with time. The community is so much kinder and healthier and safer than other online gaming spaces I’ve encountered. There’s a romanticism to the story and the world, but not without awareness or conflict. It’s self-reflective, and encourages you to be as well. The music is gorgeous, you can play dress up with cool gear and fun hair styles and makeup, and the G-pose feature makes awesome in-game pictures very accessible (if you’re on PC. Console users like me might struggle a little with the interface, but it’s still quite robust.)

VIBES	Score
Art/Aesthetic	4
Music	4
Cuteness	4
Romanticism	4
TOTAL SCORE	16/16

It all begins on a world called Hydaelyn, where an element exists known as aether that can be used for wonderful things (fast travel, magical ass-kicking powers) and terrible things (summoning scary god-monsters that are super fun to fight). This magical element is explored with a scientific mindset, which brings me endless delight. You can choose what sort of job you want to do (think D&D classes, like bard and paladin), and develop those skills as you fight evil and level through the game. 

The true beauty of this game, however, comes in the ways that it asks you to question the things you’ve been told. The first expansion of the game is very straight forward – good guys are good and bad guys are bad and nothing gets overly complicated. This is perfect, because the game itself would be overwhelming if they gave you too much philosophy before you even understood the game play. But once you get your feet under you, they start poking at the very solid truths you’ve been standing on, and suddenly you have to rethink everything you think you know. And then they do it again. And then you’re feeling pretty solid once more, and you realize that everything is of course more complex than just good and evil, and then they turn everything upside down on you. It is an absolute joy.

STORY	Score
Complex/Interesting	4
Fun	4
Emotional	4
Comfort	4
TOTAL SCORE	16/16

Now, some caveats. When you’re playing an MMO, the vast majority of the actual time spent is running errands and doing chores. At least to start. You’ll help one NPC collect some ingredients for such and such, and then deliver the final such and such to a different NPC, who will thank you profusely, and then task you with an entirely unrelated chore that will have you traveling all over the map, and land you right back where you started at the first NPC, who says, ‘oh hey! I have another job for you.’ I have been informed that gamers call these “fetch quests.”

For many a gamer, this style of play can be deeply unfun. It becomes repetitive and more of a chore than a game, and it’s hard to argue with that description. It is repetitive. The game itself even cracks jokes about the fact that these little tasks are chores. But if you know how MMOs work, then you know to expect that, and you know it’s how the story slowly unfolds, and how you can level up and get better gear for the more intense game play moments, like dungeons and raids. 

And, if you’re more like me, a non-gamer gamer who has come to the enlightened conclusion that video games are simply another vehicle for experiencing story, then you might just find these little adventures to be adorable and fun. You get to know the world, the people, the cultures that you’re struggling to protect and save in the more complex moments. It makes everything about this sweeping epic feel a little more real and personal. And since so many of these tasks involve simply going from one place to the next, talking to people, it’s super easy and rewarding. And, every now and then, you get to fight a monster or two, and that helps with building up your confidence for the bigger battles to come. 

I know I’m lucky to have come into this game when I did. It has been around for more than 15 years, and the content has been updated and improved and made more accessible for people like me. And I’m lucky I had someone to help me learn the ropes. At this point, I can confidently navigate the world on my own. I’ve picked up new classes, done dungeons, and enjoyed many a sidequest without my partner’s help. However, I would not have felt that confident from the beginning. My partner helped me immensely with parsing out what was significant, and what I could safely ignore until later. And if you’ve ever jumped into an old MMO as a brand-new player, you know why that matters. There’s just so MUCH. The user interface and menus are so crammed full of STUFF that it’s dizzying, and that’s to say nothing of the world itself with its hundreds of side quests and countless other players running around. And god forbid you pick Limsa Lominsa as your starting city on the Aether datacenter. The lag alone would send a weak gamer running. (I know this from experience. Do not follow my example. Pick a different datacenter. World travel is easy, and there aren’t any houses left on the Aether servers anyway. Don’t get me started on the FFXIV real estate market, we’ll be here for days. But I digress.) However, despite all this, the existence of the novice network and countless other resources make this game very accessible, even if you don’t have my incredibly patient and talented partner walking you through the first overwhelming parts of the game. 

ENGAGEMENT	Score
Challenge	4
Accessibility	4
Community	4
Grind vs Level	4
TOTAL SCORE	16/16

In short, this game has, rightfully, earned a perfect score in my book, and has set an incredible bar for other games I plan to play. Good luck, whatever game comes next. And good luck to you, fellow non-gamer gamer girl. May you ever walk in the light of the crystal.