For example, the Fisher, the Armorer and Blacksmith guilds could come from the fact that the Vikings were fishermen and skilled metal craftsmen. Furthermore, the guilds in Limsa Lominsa seem to have started from the same idea. This is because the Vikings were known for being fierce pirates, for having sailings skills and for their particular strength in naval architecture. The use of the terms pirate and thalassocracy suggests that the Vikings were the main source of inspiration for Limsa Lominsa and the Maelstrom. However, there is more to consider to better understand its design. For Maelstrom’s, he says that “The crimson field is meant to signify the blood of fallen crewmates, while the black longship represents a pirate vessel”. In these scenes there is a personage, named Alphinaud, who talks to the player’s character and at some point explains in a summarized way the meaning of each standard. In the course of the game, before the player chooses a Grand Company she/he has to go to each city-state to listen to the speech of the leaders. Their uniforms are distinguished by their deep red hue, the predominant color on the flag. The Maelstrom is the Grand Company found in Limsa Lominsa, an independent marine city-state based on the thalassocracy. The word standard will also be seen frequently, since it’s the one utilized in the video game. Those chosen for this occasion are those of the Grand Companies of Final Fantasy XIV due to these organizations are crucial in the game and, therefore, their flags too.īefore starting, in this post the word flag encompassed both the national and the war alike in view of the fact that the Grand Company and the city-state that headquartered it employ the same flag. So, as already mentioned, let’s analyze some war flags. It’s true that creating a flag to represent a real organization, city, state or nation carries a greater responsibility than doing it for those of a video game, still that doesn’t make it less important, and it doesn’t detract from the designer because he/she always strives to achieve a good job that players can enjoy. To design a flag, NAVA recommends taking the basic principles mentioned in the booklet “Good Flag, Bad Flag” and summarized in the quote from William Porcher Miles:Ī flag should be simple, readily made, and capable of being made up in bunting it should be different from the flag of any other country, place or people it should be significant it should be readily distinguishable at a distance the colors should be well contrasted and durable and lastly, and not the least important point, it should be effective and handsome.

This is the largest international and not-profit scholarly organization dedicated to vexillology, the study of flags and their cultural, historical, political, and social significance. When designing a flag, whether for fantasy or reality, it’s a good practice to follow the considerations established by the specialists which, in this case, could be said to be the NAVA (North American Vexillological Association). Later these evolve to represent royal houses and businesses, sport teams, etc. However, it can be said that this type of flag was born before the national flag with the well-known rectangular shape, since the flags that were utilized for the first time were for military purposes. The war flag, also known as military flag, battle flag or standard, is a variant of the national flag for use by military forces. The above can be used to include military organizations as well, making it necessary to work on graphic elements that are not only related to the characters and interfaces but also to others, such as uniforms, medals or, what will be discussed in this post, war flags. This helps make the game feel more believable and at the same time allows building more complex and interesting stories. Most video games manage territorial divisions to have the possibility of creating different types of society, politics, economy, among other things within a world.

Ffxiv grand company maelstrom gear