Lali-ho! Kiwikopo here, reporting in with stories from the team's adventures in the wonderful land of Oz--I mean Australia--this year.

We attended both Melbourne International Games Week and PAX Australia in early October, and for the first time in a decade, a few members of the Development team also flew over from Japan to join us in celebrating FFXIV in the land Down Under.

We had a Loporrit friend join us on our journey as well!

*Peekaboo!*

We arrived in Melbourne a few days in advance to begin setting up. Thankfully the weather was pleasant, so we got to explore the city a little before we got to work.

Our trip to Melbourne consisted of three major activities, including our Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida's talk for Melbourne International Games Week, our Fan Celebration, and PAX Australia 2024. Let's have a detailed look at what went down at each of these events!

 

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An Evening with Naoki Yoshida: Pushing Boundaries in MMORPGs

Yoshi-P's developer talk for Melbourne International Games Week, "Pushing Boundaries in MMORPGs", took place on Tuesday, October 8 in the Goldfields Theatre of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Many eager attendees turned up, all of whom received a commemorative poster!

Hosted by Stephanie "Hex" Bendixsen, the talk covered development strategies behind FFXIV, as Yoshi-P discussed his creative process and learnings from his many years of experience in the world of MMORPGs. He also shared how he challenged the genre's tropes in FFXIV and his visions of the future landscape of MMO games.

At the end, there was also a short Q&A session where Yoshi-P answered several burning questions from the audience.

If you weren't able to tune in, you can watch Yoshi-P's talk on our official Twitch channel here:

 

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Melbourne Fan Celebration

Before we started our PAX Australia prep, we headed to ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), Australia's national museum of screen culture, for our Fan Celebration on Wednesday, October 9.

We walked into a spacious venue decorated with fancy lights and inflatable minions, and a projection of the Dawntrail official art with the Warrior of Light in all his glory. Look, there's even a disco ball!

The event had a bar featuring Dawntrail-themed drinks, as well as multiple activities such as a message board, adventurer plate corner, and tattoo parlour.

There were a lot of cute and touching messages. ♥

Four special guests were also in attendance at the Fan Celebration- none other than Yoshi-P, Foxclon, Natsuko Ishikawa, and Saki Takayanagi! Some of our lucky players received an extra ticket in their lanyards, which allowed them to join a meet and greet session with everyone. Afterwards, the devs headed into the hall for a raffle, where they gave away a large variety of prizes to our players!

But the raffle wasn't the only round of prizes. We also had a challenging music quiz, where many other goodies were up for grabs! There was one team who insisted that every single track they heard was from the Alexander raids (Spoiler: they were not... in fact none of them were).

We hope everyone had a fun time, and we look forward to more Fan Gatherings or Celebrations in Australia in the future. Say cheese!

 

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PAX Australia 2024

And finally, on Friday, October 11, we arrived at the main exhibition hall of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre for the long-awaited PAX Australia 2024, which lasted until Sunday, October 13!

First, here's a look at our booth - doesn't it look amazing?!

Our booth hosted the Valigarmanda battle challenge and a new player area, both of which were very popular. Perhaps it's because of the goodies players could get their hands on...?

We know that the battle challenge can be really tough for newer players, so for this event, everyone who attempted the challenge walked away with their own bucket hat, while those who emerged triumphant received an I BEAT Valigarmanda sticker. Check out some of our Warriors of Light rocking the hat in style!

Players who invited friends or fellow PAX attendees to explore the exciting world of Eorzea also received a special Good King Moggle Mog XII pin badge, while new recruits got a Pinny Arcade moogle pin. Basically, everyone who visited our booth walked away with at least one reward! \o/

A big welcome to all our new sprouts who discovered FFXIV this weekend!

We even had a photo op at the booth featuring Erenville, Krile, and Bakool Ja Ja. Many players took the opportunity to pose and take pictures with our heroes; even our devs had a go!

Once again, we were graced by many talented cosplayers at the booth; you can see some of the photos we took on the official FFXIV X account!

 

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Crafting Characters: The Style and Substance of FINAL FANTASY XIV

On Saturday, October 12, as part of PAX Australia 2024, we had a developer's panel featuring Senior Story Designer Natsuko Ishikawa and Quest Designer Saki Takayanagi!

Players were eager to join the devs as they explored the intricate process of bringing memorable characters to life in FFXIV, as well as shared their knowledge and experiences regarding the design and storytelling of a colorful cast of characters.

They also showed a first look of and told us stories behind the Scion's summer outfits; you can view the pictures on the official FFXIV Instagram account.

If you missed the show, you can watch the panel on our official YouTube channel!

 

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Lastly, here's a quick recap video of our time at PAX Australia 2024! Be sure to check it out~

Until next time! (^_^)v

 - Kiwikopo

FFXIV Community Team