Final Fantasy 14: Design change following player complaints

Final Fantasy 14

With the success of the MMORPG Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, it is hardly surprising that the most diverse types of people are represented in the player base. Nevertheless, the developers would not have expected that an icon would trigger the trypophobia that is anchored in some players, i.e. the fear of accumulations of small holes.

What is trypophobia?

Before it comes to the design of the icon, an explanation of the topic in advance. Trypophobia is the fear of patterns or clusters of small holes or bubbles. Objects that cause panic in people suffering from the phobia mainly include sponges, certain fruits or technical objects. Even the iPhone 11, with its three camera lenses, caused panic among some people. Worst of all, however, are probably the widespread images created in Photoshop, where people's skin looks like it is perforated.

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And how do trypophobia and Final Fantasy 14 fit together?

Specifically, the complaints from the players are about the icon of the wise, a new job that is part of the Endwalker expansion coming out in November. In an official statement, Naoki Yoshida, producer and director of Final Fantasy 14 (buy now € 22.99) wrote that no such reaction was expected. "We soon got feedback from players around the world who told us they were uncomfortable or afraid about the icon of the sage." He thanked the community for the honest feedback and wrote that it was not too late for changes.

Regarding the customization, Yoshida wrote: "The concept of the design is unchanged, the icon is still based on the four Nouliths of The Wise Man's Equipment. We added the holes in the original for more detail, but ended up looking like a group. To fix the problem, the new design is missing the holes while emphasizing the concept. It will certainly be closed Comparisons come and some of you may prefer the original. But we as developers believe that designs like this are things that you will gradually grow fond of as you play the job and ask for your understanding as we dive into Endwalker. "

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On the official website, the design is already customized. If you want to see a direct comparison, you will find the old icon here and the new icon here. What do you think of the change and the quick response from the developers?

Source: Square Enix

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Final Fantasy 14 Changes Sage Job Icon Over Trypophobia Concerns From The Community

Square Enix has changed the icon for the Sage job in Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming expansion after players expressed concern over trypophobia. As reported by IGN, the original icon featured three pillar-like symbols, each with a hole at the top, causing the holes to appear in a cluster.

Trypophobia is the aversion, fear, or disgust of irregular or patterned clusters of holes, bumps, and the like. In a blog post, Final Fantasy XIV director and producer Naoki Yoshida addressed the concerns from the community over the original Sage job icon design and announced the new design.

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'When we released new details for sage and reaper on the special site, we also included their icons, not thinking that they were particularly big reveals,' Yoshida said. 'However, we soon received feedback from players all over the world, who told us that the sage icon made them uncomfortable or fearful.'

Yoshida said that the severity of reactions for people who have trypophobia varies heavily and something that triggers some people may not affect others, which is why they decided to change the icon.

'But regardless of such differences, you have given us your earnest feedback, and there's still time to change things,' Yoshida said. 'Considering also the fact that job icons are prominently visible in the game, and that they also appear on merchandise, we've made the decision to redesign the sage icon.'

The new Sage icon, Credit: Square Enix

The new Sage icon design is nearly identical to the original, just without the three holes clustered together. A post on the Final Fantasy XIV subreddit has a side-by-side comparison of the original design and the new one. Please be warned that the link contains the original icon if you have trypophobia.

The Sage class will launch as part of Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker on November 23, for PS4, PS5, and PC.

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