Final Fantasy XIV racial clans revealed

I'll start by dropping this link. There, you can find a gallery of images from the Japanese FFXIV site detailing the various "clans" each race in FFXIV will have. Each clan seems to have various associated bonuses and regional differences, suggesting clan choice could affect your starting location (or allow you to choose one, perhaps in some cases).

This bit of general news won't mean much until we're closer to playing the game, but it has reminded me of the reason I really loved playing FFXI. The art direction in that game brought the segmented world together, and it really felt like a journey to go from one end of it to another. A lack of travel options may have had something to do with that sense of scale, but the ability to appreciate the design of almost every single environment really helped form a connection to the game. Coming back from a long journey to arrive in West Ronfaure was like driving home from a long trip and reaching your home town. The sites are familiar, the ambience is welcoming and personal. These clan details define differences among characters down to the glassiness of their pupils. Such details are unheard of with any other type of MMORPG.

There was racial pride in FFXI, with each race allowing players to define themselves in the game space. Now that the races are more stratified, those personal associations will have yet another level with which to interact.

Of course, it remains to be seen if these things can be pulled off in a game that's actually fun to play.