The Eighteenth Floor
“"This is a world that exists outside your reality. Could it be a dream? A flight of fancy conjured by your weary mind? Perhaps... Or perhaps not."
— Naoki Yoshida
The Eighteenth Floor is a strange realm that looks similar to the Rising Stones that the player could be taken to during The Rising in 2015. Upon completing the event and helping the Wandering Minstrel solve the mystery of the invasion of strange bugs that were hampering the celebration of the rebirth of the realm, the minstrel would play a mysterious song and whisk the Warrior of Light away to this other realm. Here, players could meet with "Creators of incredible fervor" who channel their energy into the land of Eorzea. Several pieces of key art are on display on the walls around the floor, as well as strange screens that peered into different areas around the land.
In reality, the Eighteenth Floor was a sort of developer's room where players could interact with various members of the FFXIV team, such as Koji Fox and Masayoshi Soken. The Wandering Minstrel is also revealed to be Naoki Yoshida, the director and producer of the game. Each person on the floor has a unique costume and dialogue, with some offering insight into the behind the scenes of the game's development process.
Members of the Eighteenth Floor
- Naoki Yoshida: Director and Producer
- Masayoshi Soken: Sound Director
- Koji Fox: English Localization Director
- Hiroshi Takai: Assistant Director
- Mitsutoshi Gondai: Lead Battle Planner
- Nobuaki Komoto: Lead Planner
- Kazuto Maehiro: Main Scenario Writer
- Takeo Suzuki: Lead Designer
- Hideyuki Kasuga: Lead Programmer
- Hiroshi Miagawa: Lead User Interface and Web Artist
- Koji Kirasugi: Online Business Management Division
- Toshio Murouchi: Community Team member