Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - Naoki Yoshida nous explique sa journée type de travail de 16 heures !

INaoki Yoshida's Interview (english dubbed) : 

• Can you describe your typical day of work on Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn ?

Because we have already started the support for Final Fantasy 14, it’s a continuous work. So it’s really difficult to cut out one day, has a typical work, because every day is link to each other. But for example, talking about updates or updates contents, for a long week span or two weeks spans, everything been decided already for two patches in the future, we know what contain we need to create. What kind of contents is that going to be? Is it for casual players? For core players? What elements that content has to have for the players to enjoy? Everything already decided for the two patches that we are going to have in the future and with in this short time span, one week or two, we work on it and we develop this content. When I say short span, that doesn’t mean we are not spending time on them, we have a separate phase, prior to that to discuss and decide on everything. Once it is decided, we have a short tunnel span to really get on it and make it happen and implement it.

So that’s why as I said two patches in advance everything has been decided, it’s almost like fix. For example, I don’t really have a day, I wake up in the morning with an idea and going this is what we are going to do. It doesn’t happen like that, because everything has been decided for the two week in the future.

So a typical day, I usually go to work between 10 and 11. And the first thing a think about is what my meeting schedule is today. And what do I have to decide and what time do I have to be and do I need to prepare.

.Usually the first meeting starts at 11 o’clock, then of course there is some variety of meeting. A typical day I have meeting all day from about 11 o’clock to 9 o’clock in the evening. The whole day is mostly occuped by meeting.

These meetings are divided in mainly three categories. The first one is relate to the contents we are currently building, so as I explain earlier we already have an idea what we are going to build and what we already starting to build. But when developing team is torn between two ideas, like should we go to the direction A or should we go to the direction B. And when they are struggling to make a decision and then this are the meetings when I come in. As a director I give them suggestions. That’s typically the first category of meeting I have in a day.

The second types of meetings are related to the feedbacks we are receiving from the players, whose are enjoying the game now. Because we have already start to support the game, we have received a lot of feedbacks. For example, we may have already introduce the new content we are planning to introduce in the future but the players might say actually that is not what we are looking for. We want you to implement something like this. And if we get that kind of feedback, we decide should we make the changes as suggested or are we going to adjust the patch witch we already plan in the future. Maybe we need to decide how we are going to response, to change the direction. That’s the typical second type of meeting. Maybe the players are asking for a Mac version, so what should we do. And maybe it’s what we decide to do next. Because we have already started the game, on a daily base we receive feedbacks. And this second type of the meeting is where we try to decide witch direction to takes from the feedbacks.

And the third type of meeting, is relate to the promotion activities. I’ll be going to JapanExpo, what type of activity are we going to do there. What kind of announcement are we going to make at E3. What kind of assets should we prepare for the announcement for the E3. That’s for the promotion activities, the third type of meeting. All these types of meetings are after one and other this kind of meeting usually last form 10 o’clock in the morning to 9 in the evening.

Finally, I get back to my desk around 9-10 in the evening, and then that’s time I can start to check my emails, by the time I usually have maybe 400 in my inbox. And I will start to check all the game design my developing team came up. Also I do some art work check. I even listen to my staff personal issues they are experiencing. And I also talk to the western team, the Europe team, American team and I usually go back home 3 am in the morning. It’s my typical day. 

Naoki Yoshida & MaGiXieN after the interview