Final Fantasy 14's Island Sanctuary was inspired by a Japanese version of the game show Survivor.
Producer Naoki Yoshida revealed as much earlier this week in a new interview with USA Today. The Island Sanctuary, which debuted last year in Final Fantasy 14 to much applause from players, was inspired by a show called "The! Tetsuwan! DASH!!" Yoshida told the outlet.
This game show puts contestants on a deserted island that shows previous signs of life and tasks them with constructing basic facilities for survival. The contestants may only use what they can find around said deserted island, though - as well as any materials that just so happen to wash ashore.
If this premise sounds familiar, it's basically a Japanese version of Survivor, the mega-popular game show based around the same premise. The winner of the US version of Survivor, at least, is awarded $1 million at the end of the show, and the entire thing has been running for a staggering 22 years. Perhaps it's no wonder Survivor has been transplanted to other nations worldwide like Japan.
Yoshida goes on to say that while big battles and raids are critical to the MMO, different, more meditative experiences are essential for a sense of balance, which is why recreating a settlement akin to that he had seen on the TV show appealed.
"Ideally, the more types of content an MMORPG has to offer, the better," Yoshida says. "Naturally, the most common requests are those for battle content, but if you were to ask if that alone is ideal for the development of an MMORPG, I think the answer is 'no' – the ideal result would be that both 'Adventure & Life' are aligned to the point where players ultimately feel that they are residing and living out their lives in that game's world."
Speaking of, Final Fantasy 14's Island Sanctuary has just received several improvements with the arrival of patch 6.3. There's now a new landmark, more animals, sanctuary ranks, and unlockable items to obtain on your deserted island. The user interface has received several improvements, thanks mainly to player feedback.
Here's hoping Square Enix has further improvements and additions for the Island Sanctuary lined up in future patches for Final Fantasy 14.
Elsewhere in patch 6.3, Final Fantasy 14's controversial housing demolition has restarted, and not everyone is pleased.
