Square Enix has redesigned the sage job icon in Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV), after learning that some players expressed concerns about trypophobia.
Square Enix, developer of the Final Fantasy franchise, recently changed the Sage job icon in Final Fantasy XIV, after discovering that some players expressed some concerns about trypophobia.
The game’s director and producer, Naoki Yoshida took to the official website on Friday, 30 July 2021, to address the situation.
Trypophobia is described as the aversion, fear, or disgust of patterned or irregular clusters of holes and bumps among others. The original sage icon featured three holes clustered together that made some players uncomfortable.
Yoshida stated that the team did not think the job’s icon was a “particularly big” deal, but soon received feedback from players all over the world who expressed that the icon “made them uncomfortable or fearful.”
Furthermore, he explained that the intensity in reaction to trypophobia differs from person to person, and that just because one image, such as the sage icon, causes one person’s trypophobia does not mean it affects another person.
According to the official website, “Regardless of such differences, you have given us your earnest feedback and there is still time to change things.”
Adding, “Considering also the fact that job icons are prominently visible in the game, and that they also appear on merchandise, we have made the decision to redesign the sage icon.”
Yoshida also revealed that the design concept is unchanged, with the icon being based on the four nouliths which form the sage’s armament.
The director added, “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.”
The new icon now only features a small hole at the bottom, while the three other blades illustrated in the image are now fully filled in.
The FFXIV team expects unavoidable comparisons, with some players possibly favouring the original icon. However, the team believes that the new sage icon will grow on players as they play the job.