When Square-Enix released the Dawntrail expansion for Final Fantasy 14, it introduced a major new NPC by the name of Wuk Lamat. The character has spawned a variety of reactions, with some finding the character lovable and others finding her exhausting. Unfortunately, the internet has given way to personal attacks against the English dub’s voice actress, Sena Bryer. Game director Naoki Yoshida (known as Yoshi-P) has some things to say about this.
Unacceptable Behavior
In an interview with Checkpoint Gaming, the director of Final Fantasy 14 spoke on a wide range of topics. He took note to touch upon the treatment that Sena Bryer received from some corners of the internet. In addition to dislike of her character, some found the fact that Bryer is a trans woman to be worthy of derision and engaged in personal attacks. Yoshi-P notes that “It doesn’t do anything except make the staff lose motivation, and in the end that could potentially damage the quality of our game and take away from what makes this game so interesting.”
Video game communities are not strangers to dealing with this kind of behavior, but that doesn’t make it acceptable in any way. As Yoshi-P says, it makes it harder for the developers to engage with the game enthusiastically. Games are made for their players, and so if the players mistreat the developers, the joy of making a creative product breaks down. Yoshi-P even says “So if there are any sort of criticisms, bring it to me, because I’m the one approving this material.” He wants to protect those underneath him from abuse.
Better Ways to Criticize
Overall, the Dawntrail expansion has received mixed criticism since its launch. Players praise the quality of the battle content and presentational aspects like the music or new graphics upgrade. However, the characters and story have proven divisive. Some take care to base their critique from a place of love, wanting the game to live up to its prior heights. Others respond more aggressively, taking issue with what they perceive as a dumbing down of the prior story. The attacks on voice actors, however, come from an entirely unacceptable place.
With more reveals about the game’s future soon to come, players who want to see the game succeed don’t have much longer to wait to see what the game’s future is. While Yoshi-P wasn’t shocked by some of the negative perceptions the expansion received, it is clear he is aware that Final Fantasy 14 has much to do to win over all of its players. As the repeated winners of best community support awards, it is clear the team is up to the challenge.
Final Thoughts
It’s never a joy to hear about the kind of abuse Sena Bryer was subjected to. As a longtime fan of the franchise and a streamer of Final Fantasy 11, she was no doubt excited to take on a major role in Final Fantasy 14. Players should take care to avoid direct criticism of a voice actor’s person when they launch critiques of a game. Whether Wuk Lamat is a character they loved or hated, the voice actress simply brought to life what the writers imagined. Hopefully, when we get more of her in upcoming patches, she can win over the players who found her a bad character.
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