15 May, 2011
Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director, producer, and game designer for FromSoftware’s upcoming Dark Souls, wasn’t shy with talking about death. Well, death in a game, that is. As the central theme in Dark Souls, death will greet you from every aspect of the game, from big creatures that will tear you asunder, to your very own mind. “The character that you play as used to exist in the human world, but somehow they were cursed and made undead, and transported to a different dimension, a third world, the world of Dark Souls,” Miyazaki said in an interview with EDGE magazine. “In this dimension characters have their own individual goals that they are pursuing, be it to find their way back to the human world, or something else.”
Death, death, and more death. Such a macabre subject, but also a subject that, Miyazaki hopes, will influence how players will play in both their own worlds and other players’ worlds. Yes, you can help or even play pranks on other players. How so? Demon’s Souls, the underground hit released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3, introduced a rather different way of online interaction by way of a communal in-game hint system. Experienced players who had gone through certain dungeons were free to leave helpful hints (or just mean jokes) on any open writable surface (a rock, or an empty place on the wall), cautioning players or maybe leading them to their deaths, if that’s your kind of thing. These writings appear as bright red letters in the single-player games, and players can choose to either heed the warning or ignore it completely.
Another aspect to the online experience will be introduced in Dark Souls, and that will be the ability to “invade” other players’ worlds. “I think we have found a delicate balance in which sometimes players must compete and sometimes they must cooperate,” said Miyazaki. Certain missions will require you to visit other players’ worlds to find a certain item or complete a certain objective. Sounds like fun? Maybe so, but the other players may have different ideas of what’s friendly and what’s not.
Not to fear, as the vast majority of the game will be a single-player experience. Miyazaki’s decision to make this title harder than Demon’s Souls will give players plenty to worry about. “It has to be firm, but fair,” said Miyazaki. “There’s a contradiction there, I realize… We want any player to be able to clear any obstacle simply by learning from mistakes and paying close attention. Then, the reasons for failure must always be clear and understandable. Every problem must have multiple solutions, so that players can tackle it in whichever way they want.”
However, this game won’t be impossible. In fact, the focus will not be primarily on combat. While Demon’s Souls did focus primarily on swordplay and combat, Miyazaki said that Dark Souls will wander off in the other direction. “I want this game to focus far more on the RPG aspect, especially with regards to rewarding player exploration,” Miyazaki explained. “In fact, collaboration and exploration are the key concepts for the game.” Maybe, then, we won’t spend much of our time dying, or if we do, at least we’ll die with a nice view.
With each area taking at the very least six months to fully complete, that’s a lot of love that will be delivered. Expect more dramatic lighting, and more environmental variety in this beautiful and macabre world. “The main aim was to increase the variety of locations that were found in Demon’s Souls,” said lead artist Sato Makoto. “We wanted a far greater range of architecture types on offer; a sense of chaos, even, with different styles clashing together.”
Considering how massive each area will be, the question is inevitable: what about loading screens? Ever been frustrated in your wanderings when you had to stop and be subjected to one of those things? Miyazaki and his team are already thinking ahead, and are working to completely eliminate loading screens from this massive game. Yes, they want to completely eliminate them. A dream come true for a title that encourages exploration into every little last nook and cranny. “Our task [in eliminating load screens] is to essentially predict the future,” said Jun Ito, programming lead. “If we truly give the player freedom within the world and allow them to go any place they want to, then it’s our job to cater to the player’s will.”
A challenging game that will reward us handsomely for our patience, the quiet encouragement to explore everything, and to work in unorthodox methods? Sounds like a dream come true for any open world RPG junkie.
Dark Souls is FromSoftware’s second offering, and will be fighting its way onto shelves this coming October for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Want more information on the game? Check out the official Facebook page and the official website.
Source: “Soul Survivor.” EDGE Magazine Apr. 2011: pp. 51-57
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