When Final Fantasy 14's Island Sanctuary (opens in new tab) was introduced in patch 6.2, it was a great place to escape the stress of savage raids and saving the world. Gathering materials, petting animals, and building cool structures to relaxing music is just the diversion a warrior of light needs. On the surface, you would think this mode was inspired by Animal Crossing, Ranch Story, and Stardew Valley. Wouldn't you? According to director and producer Naoki Yoshida,

you'd be wrong; as GamesRadar (opens in new tab) (via USA Today (opens in new tab)) reports, the idea for "Island Sanctuary" came from an entirely The idea for "Island Sanctuary" came from a completely different place. The initial inspiration for "Island Sanctuary" was not actually a game, but rather the idea for "The! DASH! Tetsuwan! DASH!" said Yoshida. Basically, in this section, participants are asked to develop their own facilities on an uninhabited island that shows signs of having been inhabited in the past, using scrap wood, lumber, and flotsam."

As GamesRadar points out, the closest thing to this in the West would be the "Survivor" series, a show that has remained quite popular in both the UK and US. When "Tetsuwan Dash" first aired in 1995, the goal was to put "Dash" on the map, and Japanese boy band Tokio did just that by building a village in Fukushima. Eventually, however, the focus shifted to a survivor-type show, with an emphasis on doing things without the aid of modern technology. Less drama, more educational programming.

Island Sanctuary is one of the more unique MMORPG activities in Final Fantasy 14, and Yoshida believes variety is essential to the genre. Ideally, the more variety of content an MMORPG can offer, the better. Naturally, the most common request is for battle content, but if you ask me if that alone is ideal for MMORPG development, I think the answer is 'no.'"

This mode is still relatively new, having only been released in August 2022, and many people have already maxed out their island ranks and are waiting for more to be added. patch 6.3 (opens in new tab) was released on January 10, with several additions. two new islands ranks and new buildings were introduced, as well as new foraging modes and materials. New recipes, animals, and items were also added, and the quality of life was adjusted.

However, it remains a fairly linear mode, and many would like to be able to personalize it a bit more freely. Mr. Yoshida has several things in mind to make that happen. The first is to allow outdoor furniture to be placed in island sanctuaries," he said. If this becomes possible, players will have much more scope to customize the area around their island sanctuary to their liking!"

I'll accept any excuse to finally use my collection of increasingly unused event furniture, thanks.