Virtual theater is a growing field in online games, and nowhere is this more true than inFinal Fantasy 14. From Curtain Call Theater to A Stage Reborn, the culture of virtual theater is practically legendary. Of course, it isn’t limited toFinal Fantasy, withFallout 76hosting the Wasteland Theatre Companyamong others too.
Final Fantasy 14players have established a fleshed-out community of sporting events, community festivals, museums, and more. That includes a theatrical community spanning many companies of performers. Game Rant recently spoke to several experts fromFinal Fantasy 14’s theatrical community, including Stanzek Rosyasch and Soso, about how these companies prepare and rehearse, as well as adapt stories from the real world to the setting of Etheirys.
How to Rehearse in Virtual Theater
Recently,Final Fantasy 14’s Firebird Theater staged a production of the Sherlock Holmes classicA Scandal in Bohemia(which waslocalized for Etheirys asA Scandal in Aldenard), where Stanzek Rosyasch played the part of Watson. Rosyasch talked to Game Rant as part of a virtual theater roundtable, discussing the way they prepared for the role.
We join in voice chat to hear calls and instructions. It also helps with communication between actors. “Sorry, I was late on that!” Helps everyone understand that the action you just did is an anomaly and won’t normally be that delayed. It’s generally very quiet, out of respect for everyone’s focus, but that doesn’t mean we are all super serious all the time! There are days when the giggles strike everyone and we embrace it. Little mistakes become inside jokes, sometimes we intentionally do non-disruptive things.
That sense of fun can be helpful to ease the pressure of rehearsals, which can be strictly regimented experiences. For Rosyasch, rehearsals were held on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays in the afternoon and early evening. Part of balancing the focus and work of production withthe fun of the craft, though, was grouping scenes to be performed in a way that may not be the order scenes are performed on stage to allow some actors nights off here or there, he explained. Another example of adding a bit of fun to the whole process that Rosyasch gave was when he asked what the dress rehearsals would entail. Someone quipped that it meant wearing a dress, so when the day came around, all the actors showed up in the same dress.
As for what rehearsals entail, the nature of them is obviously different from flesh-and-blood performances. While some things are less intensive, others are far harder. A major challenge inFinal Fantasy 14in particular is cues and timing. Where in real-world performances cues are often something that can be logically understood and there’s a certain element of natural movement involved in timing, performances in Etheirys require the timing precision of intense choreography without some of the natural and logical indicators that can make those easy to remember. This is because these digital plays rely on the macro tools present inFinal Fantasy 14.
Much Ado About Macros
Macrosallow players to coordinate actions, lines of dialogue, emotes, and more. In order for them to work with multiple people, like in a real-world play, the timing becomes a tightrope. Without precision timing, the lack of synchronization of the macros grows worse until it’s time for the next macro. As Soso explained, macros are one of the most important tools for performers in the game.
Soso explained that where the average player may use a macro to link two actions together, like Swiftcast and Resurrection, but macro performers will use it to sync lines with emotes or actions. Virtual theater takes the macro performer’s use of the tool to the next level.
Each macro can only have 15 lines. Of those 15 lines, at least half of those lines need to be used for emotes. On top of that, an actor may also need to use some of those macro lines for initiating a countdown so that actions properly line up on the stage, be used for an echo to help the actor remember what their blocking is or when they’re supposed to do a certain action outside their macros (like if they need to move and then take a seat), or to use even more emotes because an expression emote is needed to change the feel of an emote.
That means, in a full play, there will often be dozens of macrosneeded for theFF14performance. That, too, can be an issue if people have macros set aside for HUD features or other conveniences. Players only have access to 200 macro slots, so it’s important real estate for actors inFinal Fantasy 14. That’s primarily an issue for actors, but Soso stressed that accommodating the limits of the macro system is also on the scriptwriters.
At the end of the day, rehearsals are about getting a show ready for an audience, and while no two look alike in real-world or digital theater,FF14rehearsals relish in the livelihood, technical know-how, and craft of all those involved.
Final Fantasy 14 (2010)
WHERE TO PLAY
Begin your adventure in FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm RebornCreate your very own Warrior of Light and embark upon a quest to deliver the land from an eternity of Darkness.Take to the skies in FINAL FANTASY XIV: HeavenswardTake your first steps in the reclusive nation of Ishgard, locked in a seemingly never-ending struggle with dragons.Rekindle the fires of hope in FINAL FANTASY XIV: StormbloodJourney to the East and rise up against the might of the Garlean Empire.Become the darkness in FINAL FANTASY XIV: ShadowbringersTravel to a world where light ushers all unto oblivion. But hope is not yet lost, for where there is light there is shadow.Journey to the very stars above in FINAL FANTASY XIV: EndwalkerA great calamity has been building - a second advent of the Final Days. The Warrior of Light must journey ever higher and stand firm as hope’s last bastion.Set forth for new horizons in FINAL FANTASY XIV: DawntrailBlue seas, clear skies, and boundless possibilities await! Explore uncharted territories with familiar faces as hope’s light dawns once more.
