EPT-UPDATE-
Make sure to read the last bit, it's the best part.
+ Show Spoiler +
4Gamer has put up an extensive 4 page interview with Miyazaki, the director of Dark Souls, and it covers a wide ranging number of topics regarding the game. This is without a doubt the most in-depth and detailed interview about the game released in the press so far.
http://www.4gamer.net/games/120/G012067/20110208026/
I'm not going to translate the entire interview because it's huge, if someone else wants to tackle it, feel free and I'll add it to the OP. Meanwhile I'll just highlight the most interesting questions which should kick off some good discussion issues.
Where is Demon's Souls 2?
- 4Gamer asks directly why Dark Souls is not Demon's Souls 2. Miyazaki says that it would be a lie if he says that he never wanted to make a sequel in the first place. Instead various things happened, and they ended up having to make a brand new IP. He is thankful that happened though, because this allowed him to be more creative and to make improvements which change things without feeling the need to conform too much to a defined franchise.
Is Bandai Namco Games going to ruin the game with crossovers and DLC?
- 4Gamer wants to know if Bandai Namco characters will be showing up in the game since they're collaborating. Miyazaki flat out denies this and says the world is incompatible with crossovers in this way, and it would not fit the game.
- 4Gamer then presses on the issue, and asks if From Software will be doing tons of DLC for the game since Bandai Namco is involved in some way. Miyazaki says that he hasn't really thought much about actual DLC content so far, but he doesn't rule it out. What he does rule out specifically is that they will not be selling items or cheats. They will never put out DLC which gives the player an option of paying to get something other than working for it in the game itself. Instead, DLC will only be considered if it fits into the online design and engine of the game, in a way where it is actually interesting to explore such an option.
Is Dark Souls now just an Oblivion knock-off?
- 4Gamer also quizzed the director on whether being a fully seamless world, that Dark Souls would be an open world game like Oblivion. Miyazaki says that the style of the game is very different from Oblivion, and it won't be the sort of open filler exploration world. Instead the concept is to create fully integrated dungeons and to link them to each other in a seamless way. In other words, it will be no different from how Demon's Souls have various stages and parts of stages, but this time they will all be connection seamlessly instead.
Improvements and expansions to the Demon's Souls format.
- In terms of content and play time, Miyazaki says that Demon's Souls takes players on average about 30-40 hours to complete, and contains about 40 enemy types or so. For Dark Souls, he expects the game to last about 60 hours on average, and there will be close to 100 different enemy types.
- Miyazaki outright admits that he feels that the weapon customization/upgrade system in Demon's Souls was somewhat of a failure. He says that while Japanese players seemed to be okay with the complexity and vagueness of the system, overseas players sent many feedback letters which suggested that the system was too complicated and obscure for its own good. This is bad because players cannot fully utilize the system due to their failure to properly explain things. It will be improved in Dark Souls and they are considering this aspect very carefully.
New details on the expanded multiplayer features.
- Miyazaki also sheds the most detail we've heard so far about the new multiplayer systems. For the "sharing of experiences" part, he details it as such that he wants to create the feeling of players helping each other through difficulty parts, but integrated as part of the game. In a comparison, he says he really liked the good old says where people played Dragon Quest and would share their strategies with other players, and people would talk about their different experiences through the game, and in doing so help those who are having difficulty. He says there will be more details later.
- As for the "mutual role playing" system, he wants to create a feeling where other players interact with each other throughout the game even as each player plays their own game. While there are elements of this in Demon's Souls, this system specifically wants to take both co-op play and PvP play to the next level. The example he gives here is Lord of the Rings. In LotR, Frodo discovers the One Ring, which is a valuable item, and he is tasked to keep it and protect it. That is his role. On the other hand, there are the black riders who have long searched for this valuable item throughout the world. When Frodo possesses the ring, their roles clash because of contradicting objectives. If the black rider happens to defeat Frodo and attain the ring, then he is a fortunate player who managed to get what he wants, the player who loses the ring because he failed to protect it is unfortunate...
Miyazaki's promotion.
- Miyazaki is both the director and the producer of Dark Souls, but his job role hasn't really changed. The main reason is that his producer role is as the internal producer of development in From Software, which is pretty much what he did as director anyway. The reason why he is also the producer is because at the time earlier in the project, he had to put the team together and drive development quickly to get the project off the ground. It sounds like he's really the one who made Dark Souls happen.
What's this Dark Ring trademark Bandai Namco Games made last year?
- Some fun trivia about the game title: Right before TGS 2010, the title of the game was Dark Race. The Dark Race would refer to the ones who were cursed in the game. This was going to be the real title and it even had a logo designed. But just before TGS they got feedback that it would sound incredibly racist to the western market. So Miyazaki had like 2 days to come up with a new title. He looked at the logo and said "Well if we can't use Race, let's keep the Dark." and made the placeholder title Project Dark for the announcement.
- After TGS, they took the word Dark from Project Dark to explore new title options. They decided on two titles: Dark Lord and Dark Ring. But Dark Lord was already taken as a trademark apparently, so they settled on Dark Ring instead. Unfortunately for the director, his luck with the English language is terrible, and he was informed before the start of this year that Dark Ring is also a British slang for the anus. Curses! This topic came about because 4Gamer asked him specifically about the Dark Ring trademark that Bandai Namco Games registered in Japan.
- Apparently Dark Ring was chosen because the mark of the curse on a player was that of a circle somewhere on their body. This "Dark Ring" as a sign of the curse was fitting for the title, but it's too bad that it would invoke thoughts of the anus in some people. After this, they settled on Dark Souls.
Where's my Dark Souls demo? Can I play with Japanese players this time?
- Miyazaki says there will probably not be a downloadable demo for the game, although they do plan on making the game playable at various events and playable sessions. The point he made is that the game is not one which can be easily explained or appreciated in a short period of time or in a small segment. He seems to feel that a playable demo of the game would be a waste of time for the developer and the players.
- He also confirms that Dark Souls is not just a worldwide game in terms of release, but also in the the online space. He was disappointed that they could not implement an online system for Demon's Souls where all players could play together, and it's a pity because the online system was specifically designed such that it did not require direct interaction between languages. For Dark Souls you will be able to play with players all over the world.
http://www.4gamer.net/games/120/G012067/20110208026/
I'm not going to translate the entire interview because it's huge, if someone else wants to tackle it, feel free and I'll add it to the OP. Meanwhile I'll just highlight the most interesting questions which should kick off some good discussion issues.
Where is Demon's Souls 2?
- 4Gamer asks directly why Dark Souls is not Demon's Souls 2. Miyazaki says that it would be a lie if he says that he never wanted to make a sequel in the first place. Instead various things happened, and they ended up having to make a brand new IP. He is thankful that happened though, because this allowed him to be more creative and to make improvements which change things without feeling the need to conform too much to a defined franchise.
Is Bandai Namco Games going to ruin the game with crossovers and DLC?
- 4Gamer wants to know if Bandai Namco characters will be showing up in the game since they're collaborating. Miyazaki flat out denies this and says the world is incompatible with crossovers in this way, and it would not fit the game.
- 4Gamer then presses on the issue, and asks if From Software will be doing tons of DLC for the game since Bandai Namco is involved in some way. Miyazaki says that he hasn't really thought much about actual DLC content so far, but he doesn't rule it out. What he does rule out specifically is that they will not be selling items or cheats. They will never put out DLC which gives the player an option of paying to get something other than working for it in the game itself. Instead, DLC will only be considered if it fits into the online design and engine of the game, in a way where it is actually interesting to explore such an option.
Is Dark Souls now just an Oblivion knock-off?
- 4Gamer also quizzed the director on whether being a fully seamless world, that Dark Souls would be an open world game like Oblivion. Miyazaki says that the style of the game is very different from Oblivion, and it won't be the sort of open filler exploration world. Instead the concept is to create fully integrated dungeons and to link them to each other in a seamless way. In other words, it will be no different from how Demon's Souls have various stages and parts of stages, but this time they will all be connection seamlessly instead.
Improvements and expansions to the Demon's Souls format.
- In terms of content and play time, Miyazaki says that Demon's Souls takes players on average about 30-40 hours to complete, and contains about 40 enemy types or so. For Dark Souls, he expects the game to last about 60 hours on average, and there will be close to 100 different enemy types.
- Miyazaki outright admits that he feels that the weapon customization/upgrade system in Demon's Souls was somewhat of a failure. He says that while Japanese players seemed to be okay with the complexity and vagueness of the system, overseas players sent many feedback letters which suggested that the system was too complicated and obscure for its own good. This is bad because players cannot fully utilize the system due to their failure to properly explain things. It will be improved in Dark Souls and they are considering this aspect very carefully.
New details on the expanded multiplayer features.
- Miyazaki also sheds the most detail we've heard so far about the new multiplayer systems. For the "sharing of experiences" part, he details it as such that he wants to create the feeling of players helping each other through difficulty parts, but integrated as part of the game. In a comparison, he says he really liked the good old says where people played Dragon Quest and would share their strategies with other players, and people would talk about their different experiences through the game, and in doing so help those who are having difficulty. He says there will be more details later.
- As for the "mutual role playing" system, he wants to create a feeling where other players interact with each other throughout the game even as each player plays their own game. While there are elements of this in Demon's Souls, this system specifically wants to take both co-op play and PvP play to the next level. The example he gives here is Lord of the Rings. In LotR, Frodo discovers the One Ring, which is a valuable item, and he is tasked to keep it and protect it. That is his role. On the other hand, there are the black riders who have long searched for this valuable item throughout the world. When Frodo possesses the ring, their roles clash because of contradicting objectives. If the black rider happens to defeat Frodo and attain the ring, then he is a fortunate player who managed to get what he wants, the player who loses the ring because he failed to protect it is unfortunate...
Miyazaki's promotion.
- Miyazaki is both the director and the producer of Dark Souls, but his job role hasn't really changed. The main reason is that his producer role is as the internal producer of development in From Software, which is pretty much what he did as director anyway. The reason why he is also the producer is because at the time earlier in the project, he had to put the team together and drive development quickly to get the project off the ground. It sounds like he's really the one who made Dark Souls happen.
What's this Dark Ring trademark Bandai Namco Games made last year?
- Some fun trivia about the game title: Right before TGS 2010, the title of the game was Dark Race. The Dark Race would refer to the ones who were cursed in the game. This was going to be the real title and it even had a logo designed. But just before TGS they got feedback that it would sound incredibly racist to the western market. So Miyazaki had like 2 days to come up with a new title. He looked at the logo and said "Well if we can't use Race, let's keep the Dark." and made the placeholder title Project Dark for the announcement.
- After TGS, they took the word Dark from Project Dark to explore new title options. They decided on two titles: Dark Lord and Dark Ring. But Dark Lord was already taken as a trademark apparently, so they settled on Dark Ring instead. Unfortunately for the director, his luck with the English language is terrible, and he was informed before the start of this year that Dark Ring is also a British slang for the anus. Curses! This topic came about because 4Gamer asked him specifically about the Dark Ring trademark that Bandai Namco Games registered in Japan.
- Apparently Dark Ring was chosen because the mark of the curse on a player was that of a circle somewhere on their body. This "Dark Ring" as a sign of the curse was fitting for the title, but it's too bad that it would invoke thoughts of the anus in some people. After this, they settled on Dark Souls.
Where's my Dark Souls demo? Can I play with Japanese players this time?
- Miyazaki says there will probably not be a downloadable demo for the game, although they do plan on making the game playable at various events and playable sessions. The point he made is that the game is not one which can be easily explained or appreciated in a short period of time or in a small segment. He seems to feel that a playable demo of the game would be a waste of time for the developer and the players.
- He also confirms that Dark Souls is not just a worldwide game in terms of release, but also in the the online space. He was disappointed that they could not implement an online system for Demon's Souls where all players could play together, and it's a pity because the online system was specifically designed such that it did not require direct interaction between languages. For Dark Souls you will be able to play with players all over the world.
http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/dark-souls-gets-official-announcement YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO!
It's finally happened guys. After 2 years we get the sequel(Basically) to Demons Souls!
Preview from GameSpot
+ Show Spoiler +
Originally Posted by GameSpot:
Dark Souls First Look
By Sophia Tong, GameSpotPosted Feb 2, 2011 12:41 pm PT
Namco and From Software unveiled multiple areas in the upcoming action role-playing game.
GameSpot's 2009 Game of the Year winner Demon's Souls has a spiritual successor on the way, recently revealed as Dark Souls (originally under the codename Project Dark). The game is being published by Namco Bandai, and publisher/developer From Software showed off multiple areas during Namco's Ignite press event in San Francisco. Demon's Souls producer Takeshi Kajii returns, as well as the team behind the first brutal adventure.
Before getting into the demo, Kajii wanted to make sure that everyone understood that this is another third-person action role-playing game that's very much about strategic, tactical swordplay. He also made sure that we were all aware that, like its challenging predecessor, Dark Souls was going to be difficult. Death will come, and it will come often. So much in fact, that Kajii hopes players will find it funny. As in the first game, you will play as a customizable hero, but for the sake of a smoother-flowing demo, the knight was fully equipped, and all the HUD elements were turned off. After the initial tutorial, you'll find yourself in the middle of some old ruins, overrun with foliage and dilapidated stone structures. This is where you'll apparently be able to travel to different areas of the game, but in the demo we ventured up some steps off to the side to try to sneak past a slumbering dragon that's perched on a stone overpass. Undead warriors greeted the knight as he made his way up the steps, and Kajii pointed out that you'll need to be much more aware of your surroundings this time around, because you'll find that enemies will come after you from all directions.
Arrows and Molotov cocktails are just some of the things being tossed your way as you try to fend off enemies right in front of you. The dragon, which remained sound asleep, will wake up if you make too much noise, and if you want to snag the treasure right next to it, you're going to have to be very quiet about it. In this part of the demo, the goal was to reach the castle grounds, and we watched as the knight moved through narrow corridors and walkways and climbed battlements. A boss waited for us at the end of this area, a big brute with horns and an enormous club. It was slow, but there were archers on the parapet that made it difficult to focus. We watched as the knight climbed up the ladder and took out the archers and eventually returned to the top and jumped off onto the head of the beast for some extra bloody damage. Kajii explained that Dark Souls lets you play how you want to play, by giving you the option to use a variety of weapons that will all perform differently. It all depends on your play style and what you feel comfortable with. You can duel-wield different weapon types if you prefer, and there are more than 100 types in the game.
Like in Demon's Souls, the world is vast and created with great detail for you to explore. Everything that you see on the horizon can be reached in some way, so it's on you to tread carefully through the world. The atmosphere and lighting that made Demon's Souls stand out were also present here and equally impressive, from what we've seen of the various areas. After the boss, we moved to a misty dark forest area with moss-covered trees. Here we saw another example of the type of character you can play as. Kajii called him an onion knight, because he was a short, rotund fellow who even rolls clumsily when he does his dodge roll. In the next area we got a brief glimpse of what was described as an "underground hell," sparsely decorated with decaying trees, temples, and lava flowing all around.
The final area that we visited also happens to be the developer's favorite, and we can see why. It's nicknamed "Trap Road," and the entire dungeon is packed with booby traps and other fun ways to die. Deadly arrows will shoot out of nowhere, and the path is narrow, and the only way to get past is to weave through a row of swinging pendulum blades. Spells will once again be available to you, including one that coats you in solid iron to protect you from damage. You can't roll with this spell, however, but you'll be well protected against attacks. Another feature we saw is your ability to turn into a vase and tuck yourself among other vases to hide from other players. Like before, all the online integrated features will be included, so players can once again play together or against one another.
For those who can't wait to get their hands on another intense and unforgiving experience, Dark Souls will be released worldwide on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 by holiday 2011. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more updates.
Dark Souls First Look
By Sophia Tong, GameSpotPosted Feb 2, 2011 12:41 pm PT
Namco and From Software unveiled multiple areas in the upcoming action role-playing game.
GameSpot's 2009 Game of the Year winner Demon's Souls has a spiritual successor on the way, recently revealed as Dark Souls (originally under the codename Project Dark). The game is being published by Namco Bandai, and publisher/developer From Software showed off multiple areas during Namco's Ignite press event in San Francisco. Demon's Souls producer Takeshi Kajii returns, as well as the team behind the first brutal adventure.
Before getting into the demo, Kajii wanted to make sure that everyone understood that this is another third-person action role-playing game that's very much about strategic, tactical swordplay. He also made sure that we were all aware that, like its challenging predecessor, Dark Souls was going to be difficult. Death will come, and it will come often. So much in fact, that Kajii hopes players will find it funny. As in the first game, you will play as a customizable hero, but for the sake of a smoother-flowing demo, the knight was fully equipped, and all the HUD elements were turned off. After the initial tutorial, you'll find yourself in the middle of some old ruins, overrun with foliage and dilapidated stone structures. This is where you'll apparently be able to travel to different areas of the game, but in the demo we ventured up some steps off to the side to try to sneak past a slumbering dragon that's perched on a stone overpass. Undead warriors greeted the knight as he made his way up the steps, and Kajii pointed out that you'll need to be much more aware of your surroundings this time around, because you'll find that enemies will come after you from all directions.
Arrows and Molotov cocktails are just some of the things being tossed your way as you try to fend off enemies right in front of you. The dragon, which remained sound asleep, will wake up if you make too much noise, and if you want to snag the treasure right next to it, you're going to have to be very quiet about it. In this part of the demo, the goal was to reach the castle grounds, and we watched as the knight moved through narrow corridors and walkways and climbed battlements. A boss waited for us at the end of this area, a big brute with horns and an enormous club. It was slow, but there were archers on the parapet that made it difficult to focus. We watched as the knight climbed up the ladder and took out the archers and eventually returned to the top and jumped off onto the head of the beast for some extra bloody damage. Kajii explained that Dark Souls lets you play how you want to play, by giving you the option to use a variety of weapons that will all perform differently. It all depends on your play style and what you feel comfortable with. You can duel-wield different weapon types if you prefer, and there are more than 100 types in the game.
Like in Demon's Souls, the world is vast and created with great detail for you to explore. Everything that you see on the horizon can be reached in some way, so it's on you to tread carefully through the world. The atmosphere and lighting that made Demon's Souls stand out were also present here and equally impressive, from what we've seen of the various areas. After the boss, we moved to a misty dark forest area with moss-covered trees. Here we saw another example of the type of character you can play as. Kajii called him an onion knight, because he was a short, rotund fellow who even rolls clumsily when he does his dodge roll. In the next area we got a brief glimpse of what was described as an "underground hell," sparsely decorated with decaying trees, temples, and lava flowing all around.
The final area that we visited also happens to be the developer's favorite, and we can see why. It's nicknamed "Trap Road," and the entire dungeon is packed with booby traps and other fun ways to die. Deadly arrows will shoot out of nowhere, and the path is narrow, and the only way to get past is to weave through a row of swinging pendulum blades. Spells will once again be available to you, including one that coats you in solid iron to protect you from damage. You can't roll with this spell, however, but you'll be well protected against attacks. Another feature we saw is your ability to turn into a vase and tuck yourself among other vases to hide from other players. Like before, all the online integrated features will be included, so players can once again play together or against one another.
For those who can't wait to get their hands on another intense and unforgiving experience, Dark Souls will be released worldwide on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 by holiday 2011. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more updates.
Source
edit: Tons of screenshots here:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_dark_souls_trailer_and_screens-10507_en.html
