Final Fantasy XIV
The developers of Square Enix have announced that they have changed the icon of the Sage, one of the new "Jobs" of Final Fantasy XIV to meet the needs of those suffering from trypophobia, or the phobia for holes.For the uninitiated, those affected by this disorder experience a feeling of terror, nausea and disgust, but also panic attacks, nausea and chills in the most severe cases, to the vision of repetitive patterns, consisting of small close and deep holes, such as those of a bath sponge or the internal structure of a honeycomb. It is currently not officially recognized as a mental disorder, however the number of people affected by it in the world is considerable.
The Sage is one of two new Jobs coming with the highly anticipated Endwalker expansion of Final Fantasy XIV . Despite belonging to the healer category, this class uses four floating blades, called Nouliths, to cast spells and special attacks. The icon of the Job included precisely the four aforementioned weapons, which in their stylized version remotely recall four sewing needles, which had aroused the discomfort of those suffering from trypophobia.
Fortunately, the developers of Final Fantasy XIV over the years have shown that they particularly care about the feedback of their players and immediately ran for cover by modifying the icon in such a way that it no longer presents any nuisance for those suffering from trypophobia, as you can see yourself in the image below.
On the left the old icon of the Sage of Final Fantasy XIV, on the right the new one. Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker will be available for PC, PS5 and PS4</a> starting November 23rd. If you haven't played the previous expansion yet, here are five reasons to play Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers.
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Final Fantasy XIV Icon Changed After Triggering Players’ Trypophobia
Square EnixFinal Fantasy XIV has been forced to change its icon in the wake of players’ complaints.
The game‘s icon is made up of four weapons, known as nouliths – one of which is overlapping into another.
The icon was introduced as part of the Endwalker expansion, and while it wasn’t a particularly large update, the designers were soon inundated with criticism after unwittingly triggering some players’ trypophobia.
Square EnixThe definition of the condition given on Verywell Mind reads, ‘Trypophobia is an aversion or fear of clusters of small holes, bumps, or patterns. When people see this type of cluster, they experience symptoms of disgust or fear. Examples of objects that might trigger a fear response include seed pods or a close up image of someone’s pores.’
Producer and director Naoki Yoshida said of the icon update:
When we released new details for sage and reaper on the special site, we also included their icons not thinking that they were particularly big reveals. However, we soon received feedback from players all over the world, who told us that the sage icon made them uncomfortable or fearful.
With this in mind, the team have since updated the icon to remove the holes the weapons had in them to put trypophobic players at ease.
Square Enix/KotakuDiscussing the new icon, Yoshida said, as per PC Gamer, ‘The design concept is unchanged with the icon being based on the four nouliths which form the sage’s armament. The holes in the original design were added for detail, but they ended up appearing as a cluster. To address the problem, the new icon reduces the holes while accentuating the design concept.’
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is scheduled for release November 23.