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The Mog Log: Predictions for Final Fantasy XIV's fanfest
There's less than a week to go now. Final Fantasy XIV players nationwide will congregate in Las Vegas for the fanfest starting on October 17th, and I... will be nowhere near there. I'll be on a trip with my wife celebrating a year since our wedding. But it's not as if I could talk about the revelations from the festival now anyway, since it's not for another several days. I'm going into this just as blind as you are. But we can still speculate, can't we? Of course we can. In fact, there's some stuff that's almost a certainty going into the fanfest and some stuff that remains a bit more speculative. So I'm going to make some guesses about what we'll see at the festival and shortly thereafter, and next week we can all either laugh at my guesses or not. I won't be watching all of it in purely real-time, but I'm pretty sure we'll see the following.
Final Fantasy XIV shows off early Shiva renders
The Primals of Final Fantasy XIV are kind of a big deal. In the original game, players had a chance to fight two of them, both of whom made for a rough fight, but the relaunch will include wandering versions of these pseudo-deities for players to hunt down and harness. And while astute fans have known for some time that Shiva will be among the Primals in the new version, she's finally strutting her stuff in the latest development blog post. The post contains several early renders of the completed model as well as the ice queen's concept art, all of which should look familiar to veterans of the Final Fantasy series. While Shiva is known to have worshippers much like her fellow Primals Ifrit and Garuda, it's not yet clear if her appearance means a new beastman tribe will be entering the already crowded Eorzea. The full set of pictures won't answer that question, but it will give players eagerly awaiting the beta something new to gawk at.
Fallen Earth dev blog explains game's post-apocalyptic religious zealotry
Fallen Earth is a massively multiplayer online game currently in development where, in the wake of nuclear and viral armageddon, humanity's survivors are left to fend for themselves in the wasteland. The scenario painted by Fallen Earth's lore is that the world's established religions have largely burned away or decayed along with most of the human race. What's left are sects whose experiences and hardships in watching the world die are reflected in their belief systems, extreme views that come in various flavors of post-apocalyptic zealotry. As Fallen Earth subscribers, the players will align themselves with certain belief systems when creating their characters, affecting their outlook on the aftermath. In a WarCry exclusive, Fallen Earth writer Grace Hagood explains the game's religious and pseudo-religious elements, and some of the fanaticism embodied by these groups. She writes, "Let's face it: religion is a touchy subject. A lot of game designers would rather steer clear of including religion in their work. However, a game like Fallen Earth, set in a future based on extrapolations of current society, can't ignore the reality of religious extremism. What we can do, though, is use our particular (and sometimes peculiar) filters to present religious fanaticism in a post-apocalyptic framework."
Fallen Earth interview drops info on factions and storyline
As Fallen Earth gets closer to being released, that previously hazy image of what the game will be like sharpens. The latest bit of info we've come across is an interview with Fallen Earth writer and designer Wes Platt conducted by MMO Gamer's Nate James. In a market rather saturated with fantasy titles, Platt discusses what Fallen Earth brings to the table and how the game will be differentiated from its competitors. The interview also touches upon the background of the six playable factions in the game and their motivations, as well as the storyline element of the Shiva plague. Have a look at MMO Gamer's interview with Wes Platt for more on Fallen Earth's approach to a post-apocalyptic MMO title.[Via WarCry]
Final Fantasy XIII summons revealed in concept illustrations
Not too many made it into Square Enix's DKΣ3713 Private Party, because it is, you know, private. Luckily for us, not only was Gpara on the swanky guest list, they even managed to snap photos of the event for all to see. Unfortunately, Square Enix has a nasty habit of showing new trailers inside closed theaters that do not allow cameras, so we won't see any stills from those exclusive videos.What we'll see instead are some concept illustrations of the locale and summon creatures of the Final Fantasy XIII universe. All of the locale shown seems to be aerial; does that mean the game will feature a Zeal-like kingdom? We also get a first glimpse at new interpretations of old summons like Shiva, Ifrit and Carbuncle. Take a look here.Lastly, they have pictures of the Square Enix Goods Shop. We avoided looking at most of the pictures, because frankly, if we can't get our grubby little hands on those goods, we'd rather not look at all.
Starr Long talks Personal Armor Units
Destination Games have been talking quite a bit recently about what's to come in Tabula Rasa, but the main focus is on ... giant robots! TenTonHammer have a sneak peek up, talking to Starr Long, discussing the Personal Armor Units -- no screenshots or concept art, unfortunately, but there's decent descriptions.Personal Armor Units, as they're known, are TR's version of mounts. The names of five are known so far -- Angel, Ghoul, Grendel, Shiva, and Spectre. According to Paul Sage, Lead Designer of TR, you'll get access to your PAU at level 40. All we know so far is that Grendel is Grenadier only, Spectre seems to be Spy only, and that you can fight in them. These ain't no horses!There's some details about other end-game content in TR, though whether that will come in the same update as PAUs is anyone's guess.
Shiva makes Revenant Wings a family affair
Jeux France is reporting a juicy rumor about espers in FFXII: Revenant Wings. Not only is Shiva rumored to be included, but the super hot (cold?) ice goddess is bringing along a few members of her family. Apparently, there will be others, like a male version (Shiva's husband), and a young female child Shiva. We're not sure what role these might play, but it definitely makes for an interesting rumor. Jeux France expects confirmation (or negation) soon.If this is true, we just hope that Little Shiva finds a few more scraps of clothing, or it may change the game just a little, and we'll be facing another one of these situations.
