The player Yuki Momochi and her friends organize real theater performances in Final Fantasy XIV that they perform for other players. We at MeinMMO spoke with the head and asked her about her hobby.
About this theater: The roleplaying has been one of the core elements of MMORPGs since the earliest days. After all, they emerged from the classic Pen&Paper role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons or The Dark Eye.
While roleplaying is often neglected in many modern MMORPGs, there are still large RP communities that experience adventures together or even set up cool projects.
This includes the theater troupe led by player Yuki Momochi. To celebrate the premiere of her latest play “The Phantom of the Opera,” we from MeinMMO conducted an interview with her.
“I wanted to perform ‘The Culling of Stratholme’ as a play!” – How it all began
MeinMMO: Hi, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
Yuki: Hello, my online name is Yuki Momochi. I am a gamer, cosplayer, and actually a roleplayer in various universes since my teenage years, back then on forums, now in MMORPGs. I love creative hobbies and especially when I can connect everything.
MeinMMO: What was your entry into MMORPGs?
Yuki: My first MMO was Shaiya, a Korean F2P MMORPG. I discovered it at a friend’s when I was 13 and was so excited that I could interact with other players.
After that came Aion, where I lost myself for a short time. As a student, I sometimes stayed up all night just to play, and with Mists of Pandaria, I entered World of Warcraft. For about 2 years now, I’ve only been playing Final Fantasy 14 in the MMO category.
MeinMMO: How did you specifically get into organizing theater performances?
Yuki: It started with my love for roleplaying, where, like in “Dungeons & Dragons,” you come up with a story for your character or even several, and play it out in an open world.
There was a mod in World of Warcraft called Musician that allowed MIDI files, basically simplified music files, to be played in various instruments or even as a band. I turned my character Intra, a human Worgen, into an opera singer from Gilneas!
Since this city, Gilneas, is no longer habitable in the game lore, she earned her living with performances. However, I wanted more than just play a bit of music. I wanted to perform “The Culling of Stratholme” as a play!
Many liked this idea; we practiced for a few weeks and then performed it at a public event, for 3 days at the same time. It just felt really good.
MeinMMO: What were the biggest problems with the performances back then?
Yuki: The biggest problem is always finding reliable people. I usually swap some roles several times until I find the final actor.
This has various reasons. Often these individuals realized that it was not for them or there was something going on in real life. Of course, this is always respected and “The Show Must Go On.” So far, it has always worked out.
The Phantom of the Opera and how it was prepared
MeinMMO: Please tell our readers about your current project with your RP friends in FFXIV? Which play is it and why did you choose it?
Yuki: I chose “The Phantom of the Opera” and got others excited about it, as it is my absolute favorite musical. As the director, I usually decide, but it is often a very well-known play or story. In RP, the Phantom of the Opera is a story from Ishgard.
MeinMMO: How do you go about writing the script?
Yuki: I usually look for the original script or the movie online and then start changing, shortening, adjusting the whole thing. For example, if an actor playing a female character is now the Phantom, every “he” changes to “she” or “man” to “woman.” Also, city names like “Rome” are changed to Final Fantasy-friendly names like “Allag.”
The preparation time varies each time. For Hercules (Disney inspired), we needed a total of 3 months, with a rehearsal every week. For Phantom, it takes about the same amount of time. It should also be said that definitely not everyone shows up to every rehearsal; one has to be a bit flexible.
MeinMMO: What do you pay special attention to during rehearsals?
Yuki: There are some basic rules during rehearsals that I always “teach” first. One would be that you give every actor time with the text and emotes. Then, that the actors always look at the audience, except in specific exceptions. However, the most important thing is that the players have fun playing, because without that factor, nothing works.
We meet once a week, unless I am training only with a specific group, like dancers, then it could also be twice.
MeinMMO: Does everyone on your team have a special role or do you share all tasks?
Yuki: We have many roles. First, the actors, who focus solely on that, then the musicians, the “set coordinators,” who change the set according to the scene, and me, the director, who tells everyone where to go! No, it’s not quite like that; I give the instructions, and the actors have the freedom to embellish their roles with emotes.
The stage, different scenes, and furniture, which you can completely set up in Final Fantasy, have also been provided by us. It sounds very arrogant, but it is not at all; I have the vision, but the actors are the ones who really present and make it grand!
I take care of the entire background so that we can really perform in good quality and with fun.
“So put on a suit or a dress, leave the weapons outside”
MeinMMO: Can anyone join you? What are the requirements for your actors?
Yuki: Absolutely anyone can join us who brings a little time and the will to create a cool creative project with others. However, we speak English and we play even the rehearsals in roleplay. But the RP community of the Chaos data center is very, very open to new players and is happy to guide you!
MeinMMO: Where can you follow the play “live”?
Yuki: Feel free to join the RPC Discord server to play RP in FF14 or follow my Twitter channel, where I also post it. We will also record everything, so there’s no time pressure!
I just ask every player to respect the RP community and to give them space when watching the performance. The roleplaying, ah, how do you say that in German… “immersive” to keep it. So put on a suit or dress, leave the weapons outside, and pretend it’s a real opera for a moment!
MeinMMO: What would you wish for from the developers for roleplayers in the future? What features would be particularly important to you?
Yuki: As always, more emotes, speech bubbles in the game would be so great! And maybe an improved music function for the bard.
MeinMMO: Do you have any final words?
Yuki: I am just so overwhelmed by the interest in the project, and the excitement is rising. I can hardly wait to perform the play, record it, and then take a little break! I hope you got a little insight into how you can play an MMORPG differently, and maybe we’ll see each other in Eorzea.
We thank Yuki for the interview and wish her and her troupe great success with their performances.
Do you also participate in roleplaying in MMORPGs? Have you ever watched a theater piece in an MMORPG or even participated in one? Let us know in the comments.
Soon, the roleplayers will get a new area where they can let loose. The island paradise of the Island Sanctuary:
