{"id":1333,"date":"2021-08-13T14:53:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T05:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=1333"},"modified":"2022-05-13T18:09:25","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T09:09:25","slug":"20210730-1333","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20210730-1333\/","title":{"rendered":"FFXIV changes design of the sage job icon in response to trypophobia concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Publication date of the original Japanese article<\/a>: 2021-07-30 21:19(JST)
Translated by. Braden Noyes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


On July 30, 2021, Square Enix announced they would be changing the design of the icon for the upcoming sage job in their MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV<\/strong>.<\/em> The new job is scheduled to be implemented along with the release of the game\u2019s next expansion, Endwalker. The change came about in response to t<\/a>h<\/a>is thread<\/a> (Japanese only) titled \u201cRegarding the Sage\u2019s Job Icon\u201d started on the official FFXIV<\/em> forums on July 12, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thread was started by a player asking that the icon\u2019s design be changed, explaining that seeing the icon was triggering their trypophobia. For those of you who don\u2019t know, trypophobia is a severe repulsive response to the sight of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps, such as the holes of a honeycomb or the seed pod of a lotus plant. The design of the sage\u2019s job icon, with its multiple open holes, seems to have provoked similar feelings of unease from others in the thread as well.
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Original design on left; redesigned icon on right<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Of course, icons aren\u2019t the only thing which can provoke squeamish responses from players. There are undoubtedly a number of players who find the appearance of certain enemies hard to look at. However, such encounters are limited to battles, meaning players have the option of not seeing a particular type of enemy by avoiding them altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main concern in this case, however, is the fact that the job icon is always visible in a player\u2019s party list. It also appears in a number of places across the game\u2019s UI such as the party finder. There is only so much that can be done to avoid seeing something so integrated into everyday gameplay. Imagine having to look at something that repulses you displayed next to a friend\u2019s name every time you form a party and you may be able to sympathize with those who requested this icon be changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The triggers for trypophobia can differ greatly from person to person, which has resulted in a number of opinions when it comes to the sage\u2019s job icon. While some feel the same as the thread\u2019s original author and find the icon repulsive, others with trypophobia have said the job icon doesn\u2019t bother them at all. This has led to a somewhat intense discussion over whether or not the sage\u2019s job icon elicits feelings of fear in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some users have even offered harsh criticism, claiming these requests are nothing more than selfish players using trypophobia as an excuse to try and change something about the game they don\u2019t like. The controversy quickly spread beyond the forums, eventually making its way to Twitter. In fact, the topic gained so much attention that it resulted in the icon receiving an official redesign a mere two weeks after going viral.
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An important message from Naoki Yoshida regarding the Sage job icon updated design.https:\/\/t.co\/i2uKDRWMTR<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CbIXjnqvez<\/a><\/p>— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) July 30, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>