In November 2004 Ganiman started a wiki project for Final Fantasy XI with the name FFXIclopedia. At its inception, FFXIclopedia had fewer than five articles, but from those humble beginnings the premiere FFXI wiki and fan site grew rapidly. Within the first year the FFXIclopedia wiki had more than 8,000 articles covering all aspects of FFXI. Within two years 16,000 articles, and now, almost five years later the FFXIclopedia wiki has a staggering 27,000+ articles and continues to grow. Along with the growth of that wiki was the growth of a community of FFXI fans who flocked not only to a site that had the most up-to-date and accurate information, but to a community where respect for one’s fellow players was valued and applauded. The running of FFXIclopedia allowed the staff to develop a number of relationships with those at Square Enix responsible for FFXI – and some off-the-record discussions about the development of Final Fantasy XIV. It was against this backdrop that Eorzeapedia was born.

With the knowledge that Final Fantasy XIV would one day be the heir apparent to Square Enix’s FFXI MMORPG, the FFXIclopedia team began developing a new site – Eorzeapedia – to take what was learned at FFXIclopedia and expand upon it for Final Fantasy XIV. From 2008-2009 the discussions about the new site were largely brainstorming sessions. We developed three main goals going forward: (i) to better provide the community with a one-stop-shop for all things Final Fantasy XIV; (ii) to develop a site that has a unified look and feel and that was easy to navigate; and (iii) to provide a place where everyone can contribute to any degree they wish. With these goals in mind, we started developing Eorzeapedia.

One-stop-shopping. There should be no need to have to go to one site for statistics on a new sword, another for information on how to acquire that sword, a third to discuss the benefits of the sword and a fourth to listen to commentary about the sword. We wanted to integrate a number of software platforms to bring all of this content together. Thus, armed with the goal of creating a one-stop-shop for all things Final Fantasy XIV, the team joined forces with other Final Fantasy XI powerhouses – namely the hosts of the popular Pet Food Alpha and Limit Break Radio podcasts, and Japanese translation talent from JP Button. We also reached out to German, French and Spanish translators in the FFXI community to ensure that we were able to cover all of the official (and unofficial) languages of FFXIV. With a wiki, podcasting, forums and a news platform, we have taken strides to provide this one-stop-shop. We have a few more ideas in development too – so stay tuned.

Integrated Site Development. Second, the inclusion of a number of software platforms often means a site that makes you jump back and forth between various databases, profiles, and skins. The initial brainstorming sessions also led us to desire a fully integrated site – where one login provided you with access to all portions of the site, and where the site had the same look and feel no matter whether you were browsing the wiki, reading up on the latest news, listening to podcasts, or posting in the forums. The full integration of all these areas of the site is ongoing, but we’ve come a long way in only a few short months, and will continue to improve the navigation and end-user experience.

Community Driven. Finally, although perhaps at the forefront of everything we’ve done since 2004, we wanted a site that was created by the community. Wiki software allows everyone to create articles about FFXIV. The forums allow everyone to chat about FFXIV. We allow, and encourage, the community members to submit news and other op-ed articles for posting on the main news page. FFXIV will be a large game spanning the globe, and news and information can come from anywhere at anytime. For a site to stay abreast of the latest information it is vital for the community to be empowered to create and develop the site themselves – as a community. We are committed to continuing to look for more ways to allow the community to contribute to the site so that we all have a common place to come to find the best information.

The Eorzeapedia team are gamers. More to the point – we are Final Fantasy gamers. And as Final Fantasy gamers we believe we have the same wants and needs for a Final Fantasy XIV fan site as does the rest of the community – namely a place they can come to for accurate and up-to-date news and game information and a place to discuss their passion for all things FFXIV-related with others who are similarly passionate. We hope you enjoy the site and look forward to meeting everyone in Eorzea soon.