The way you experience Final Fantasy XIV is based largely on your perspective. The game’s camera is usually third-person, meaning it’s behind your character and following them through the action. The design of the world is rooted in this concept, aimed at showcasing the scale and grandeur of FFXIV’s locations.
Things look different from above, however. YouTuber Flurdeh has grown their channel by showing games from a completely different perspective. Using the photomode mod tools created by Frans Bouma, Flurdeh creates a video game version of Tilt Shift photography, a style of photography that looks down on locations from above, with a tilted lens and shallow depth of field. This makes the locations look like tiny dioramas.
Flurdeh’s video is mostly focused on locations from A Realm Reborn, but there are some brief appearances for Garlemald and the Great Work in Thavnair from Endwalker, and even one location from Stormblood. If I’m being honest, I’d love for Square Enix to do a whole RPG in this style. Maybe take a page out of Hironobu Sakaguchi’s book, the father of Final Fantasy and director of Fantasian, a game entirely designed with physical dioramas. It’s just cute seeing the players and NPCs going about their lives in this tiny world.
Final Fantasy fans might also want to take a look at the Tilt Shift video for Final Fantasy VII Remake. Flurdeh also does standard videos showcasing the beauty of game worlds in their normal states, such as those of Shadowbringers, Genshin Impact, and Hitman 3.
