OPEN LETTER
I think it’s time to have a chat.
let's get personal
It’s been a while.
I also want to use this letter as a chance to speak freely from my mind about everything that has been going on. I rarely voice my thoughts publicly. To me, Phoenix Nights is not about the driven values of a personal individual; we’re a team that has come together to do some amazing things.
You will probably notice that Phoenix Nights steers clear of political climates and avoids discussions on complex issues that arise within the community in a public-facing form. When you step into our social areas, I want you to enjoy the experiences we offer without feeling weighed down by difficult conversational topics that are not relevant. We want you to gamble and play FFXIV.
I’m going to break away from that in this letter just a little. I think there are things that need to be heard – you may take it as some form of advice, or you can also take it as an opportunity to learn more about me and what I think. Grab a coffee, and let’s have a chat together.
A lil' bit about me
Hi, I’m Masha. I am one of the original founders of Phoenix Nights and its current owner. Currently, I am the Brand Director of this team. I always hold the philosophy that “owner” is not a job title; to me, everyone should have a specific role, even the owner.
To quote John Wooden, a former American basketball coach:
“The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.”
It’s a simple mantra: if I’m a negative person, my team becomes negative. Conversely, if I’m a positive and driven person, then my team becomes positive and driven. You are what the values people draw from.
My role oversees the values and missions that push Phoenix Nights in the direction we, as a team, want it to go. I also look after the brand and all things design-related alongside the incredible Special Design Team. Phoenix Nights is and always will be a creatively driven team, and it borrows a lot from me – I like beautiful, thoughtfully executed things.
I’m currently playing a Midlander, which is totally the best race. That’s also me to the right! You may have even caught me in-game; do say hi!
Those who know me understand that I am a very reserved individual. I keep most of my thoughts within the confines of Phoenix Nights. That does not necessarily mean I lose sight of everything around me. I pay a lot of attention and like to be actively involved in everything that goes on in this community. I hope to share the insights of my thoughts with you all for the first time in a long time.
the shared PRIVILEGE.
It’s so easy to come to conclusions without knowing more about the situation. We’re all bad at this, I’m awful at this too. I’ve learnt to be better, to learn about the issues that cause concern for others in this community.
You will never have the full story if you don’t hear all sides. It’s a pandemic that really hinders the spirit of this community. I was recently involved in personal matters relating to my life. We’re very good at making assumptions to fit a certain narrative. I get judged for just about every single thing I do, I don’t let it bother myself but I do wish people just asked me. There is no one better to ask about Phoenix Nights other than myself, I’m always happy to answer any questions.
Not the same can be said for a lot of others who harbour the privilege to host their own events & communities. I know it seems so off topic to discuss this, as why does this relate to Phoenix Nights?
I get something on my desk just about every few days, that is completely unrelated to me or Phoenix Nights. I know much of this information has not just reached me, but I stop to think and ask myself – what do I not know?
I think if you hold a position that affects hundreds, if not thousands of people in this community, then I think it is your duty to understand these issues if they are somewhat presented to you – by the point it reaches you and you’ve made judgement, you’re involved in the problems of this prejudice. Speak to each other. We’re nothing without each other, our successes are attributed to the combined efforts of all the talented individuals in this community, we share this delicate space together.
Make your own critical decisions not based on others judgements, but based on your own findings from those that are involved.
I think we can all do better, so let’s do better. Let’s listen to people, let’s reach out and see the full story before judging. We all have hardships that lead us to making strange decisions, but is that worth holding a grudge over? No. Sooner or later, all our paths eventually cross in this rather small world.
bigger is not always better
It’s apparently all about Gil giveaways & Partake attendances, or at least these are the screaming machinations of many people who are dissatisfied with the current outlook of the meta of hosting events in FFXIV.
Do I blame those who pursue this meta? No, it’s just that these platforms maintain a focus on these things and reward them for it. A platform like Partake is designed in its current state to work this way with a huge focus on highlighting those highly attended events. We at Phoenix Nights used this very much to our advantage, it does not make us inherently evil. We just make use of the tools, and engineer it in a way that bests our strategy. Each of you who host events have had the same canvas to express, and trust me — Gil is not the only way. There is already proof in the plethora of events that don’t do this method.
Those Partake giveaways where you click attend to win Gil? Yeah, we started that. Not a single person made a loud comment about it then.
Those flashy posts with gif banners and all that crazy jazz? Yeah, we’re fundamentally instrumental for pushing this form and making it popular.
We also did large giveaways. We even gave away a Steam Deck last Christmas – so we’re absolutely no strangers to this way of delivering events.
I don’t think any of these methods are wrong, I think we can approach them better. I’m so happy we have managed to inspire many others to utilise Partake to its full capacity. At the moment, it’s largely much of the same rehash and damages the views on some other amazing things people do in this community. I speak no detriment to events that just do the same thing, at the end of the day – if people genuinely love this, that’s a win right?
I ask you, the patrons, to check these other places out. Partake now features a “For You” section which curates events to things you may find interesting. They don’t have flashy posts, or millions of Gil to give away but they provide such an incredible experience to this community, and insight into a valuable lesson – that sometimes bigger is not better.
My commitment in 2025 will be to highlight amazing venues/communities that we consider are the shining examples of event design & experiences. To work on building a collaborative space that includes everyone, to introduce new ways to innovate in said space.
I ask everyone else who complains, what are you going to do about it?
I speak to Veld on occasions who built Partake, involved in regular discussions on how it could be made better. How we can better push focus on the lesser known communities. It’s one thing to complain about issues, it’s better to present interesting solutions that will benefit the whole community in the long run. It’s no easy task sadly and requires a lot of work.
I’m doing my part here, I want to make it better – for everyone.
Coco's Oasis
Why we do what we do
I very frequently get asked why do I what I do in FFXIV, and why do I continue to do what I do, as it often looks like pure insanity.
To paint a picture: Phoenix Nights itself comprises of over 100 staff, over 15 managers, and 4 directors. There’s a lot going on, and it sometimes feels like it’s my second job but I love it. We have a multitude of systems in place that are in constant motion even when it seems that we are not doing much on the outside.
Oftentimes, I feel my drive wane. We are all so dictated by what goes on around us, even things that are happening in real life. This can get exhausting, as negativity can strike at the wrong moments and really sweep your footing. It is easy to understand that people choose to stop. You always have to remember to put yourself first: your mental health matters.
It’s easy to forget that I’m not technically an employer. I don’t pay my staff a real salary and no, Gil is not a real salary contrary to popular belief. They pay me with their time, which I am so deeply thankful for. Seeing people push towards you, wanting to share in your vision can be a rather endearing feeling – one that I cherish so dearly. To all the staff across the community, you’re amazing people for putting your time towards the visions of others, look after yourselves and don’t let people take advantage of you!
The thing that really compels me to always have a high spirit is understanding my place in this alongside Phoenix Nights, I truly enjoy it when people find our events exciting. They get involved, they create memories, they share those experiences with my talented staff and we all leave with such a high and admittedly a few grey hairs. It can take some incredible logistics to pull off one of our mainline events. I like to see more of that, (and) maybe less of the grey hairs. A lot of people are quick to say “we do this for fun”. That’s all well and good but that doesn’t mean you personally can’t take something from it – and it’s not selfish to think this way. Your time is just as valuable, that’s to all of you venue/community owners.
At Phoenix Nights, I meet and make friends with so many people. I enjoy interactions, I enjoy having the ability & resources to make whatever event we can dream up of. We laugh, we cry and solve problems – that really makes my day so dynamic.
To conclude, I do what I do because it’s what I want to do – I get the privilege to run an amazing group of people who are so inspirational and incredibly talented. I won’t waste that, although if it gets too much – I won’t hesitate to take a step back and ask, is this still what I want?
It’s healthy to keep asking yourself and it’s healthier to be honest with yourself. Just don’t get lost.
So what's next?
We’re working on some amazing things in the background.
Our next major milestone is to work on the next evolution of gambling in FFXIV, which has been under a lot of secrecy and still is. There is nothing to share yet on this but I hope to tease this slowly in the coming months.
I truly believe in the mindset that when we want to do something, we’re going to do it right and in the best way possible. To my team, details are everything.
So hey, let’s tease a couple things.
A new look
Phoenix Nights represents a whole suite of talents. We do more than just hosting our own events. We also have a design team, a marketing team and a development team. They don’t really fit under Nights. We want a brand to collectively embrace all of that together. A new logo to suit that embodies the striking design language of Phoenix Nights whilst undertaking a whole new statement: We’re more than just a FFXIV Venue.
We’re here to create experiences & collaborate. We’re Phoenix.
Black
WHITE
Impact
We didn’t want to create confusion when we transition to this new logo. You will still know our events under Phoenix Nights, Phoenix Nights X, Phoenix Nights Zero and more. We still want to be impactful and recognisable and feel we’re moving into a different, more matured design.
We will make all of our new branding publicly available for you to use when you collaborate with us. We wanted to give you the choices of using two different colour schemes to fit in line with any marketing material you have.
We will be rolling this design out over the coming weeks, so expect to see some beautiful changes across all of our platforms.
the next big event
We’re switching up Editions and labelling under a new mainline series we’re calling Phoenix Nights Ultra.
We will be resetting the Editions count to 1.
A big question for us has been to ask what defines an “Edition”. We want it to feel like an important spectacle. To us, the existing venue space are already doing the usual things right. We want to exercise unique event experiences that is elevated in design, interactions & fun.
Our next big event is well underway and we are so excited to share this with you in the next few days.
Announcing Kakegurui Underworld, where we will take you into the depths of hell itself. Inspired by our take on the biblical stories of Angels & Demons and twisting our classic Kakegurui formula into the mix.
It’s a grand reopening, featuring a whole new venue look. A whole new Partake design style and launch philosophy. Stay up to date on our Discord as we slowly reveal everything on this.
See you on 2nd November 2024 on Hallo-weekend.