Dark Souls 3 Die Already

[doolittle]

Dark Souls 2 had significantly different personnel across the board. The attachment to Miyazaki is hazy auteur algebra on message boards. It remains to be seen if 3 shares more staff with the “main” games, but if it’s the team from 2 I would imagine they have solid feedback as to what was missing.

[sleepysmiles]

Yeah i’m sure my concerns have more to do with whoever is in charge of programming the movement physics.

We also know now that 2’s staff had to tear the game apart and stitch it back together last minute, which accounts for the poor world layout at least.

[Iacus]

@Broco

Yeah, maybe this is the last word, ultimate version of Dark Souls. It hasn’t really been presented that way though, I’m more getting the vibe “this is the game between Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 4”.

FROM said in some interview that this will be the last of the Dark Souls series. And considering the direction the trilogy has taken, I’m somewhat glad to hear it.

@Broco

The genius of Final Fantasy is that they made whatever the hell they felt like and put it under the existing brand name, and I don’t see why From shouldn’t be doing the same.

Indeed. I remember when the director of Dark Souls 2 said that the game would take place in the same world as 1, but in a remote, nearly unrelated part of the world.

Then at some point they decided to change their minds and put direct links to the previous game’s story all over the place. I like the occasional nod or reference, but what they did was too on the nose.

From what I know of Dark 3. It seems to be even more strongly linked as a direct sequel, so that makes me :(

I bought Dark 2 49 days before release. Not so hype about this one even though I know It’s likely going to be a great game. I haven’t played Bloodborne yet either due to lack of PS4 so I’m wondering if Souls-fatigue has caught up with me.

[sleepysmiles]

I think the phrasing was more like “the end of the Souls series as you know it”

From is a fairly eclectic developer, but they seem to alternate between a few genres as a fulcrum. When King’s Field was their flagship series they had “spinoffs” like Eternal Ring and Shadow Tower, for instance. Bloodborne reads to me like an attempt to pull a Shadow Tower for Souls, if that makes sense? I’m sure they’ll stick to games within a similar milieu for awhile, but i’m interested in what kinds of permutations they’ll attempt with the formula.

(what if they do future souls and its like a fromsoft cover shooter)

(what if they do The Adventures of Cookie and Cream 2???)

I need to do a deep dive on older FromSoft sometime, i’m realizing i know little of their games beyond what i’ve named above and Armored Core. Which i have played virtually none of.

[yarusenai]

@sleepysmiles

When King’s Field was their flagship series they had “spinoffs” like Eternal Ring and Shadow Tower, for instance. Bloodborne reads to me like an attempt to pull a Shadow Tower for Souls, if that makes sense?

this is a v, v interesting and astute observation. i feel good inside, having read that.

also i steam preordered ds3 in a fit of retail therapy yesterday so i’ll be there on the front lines

[Oswald]

I want to play this right away because I enjoy early multiplayer interaction the most. I’m not terribly hyped but it will need to be pretty heinous for me not to enjoy the hell out of a Souls game.

[Broco]

[quote=“Iacus, post:23, topic:1250, full:true”]
Then at some point they decided to change their minds and put direct links to the previous game’s story all over the place. I like the occasional nod or reference, but what they did was too on the nose.

From what I know of Dark 3. It seems to be even more strongly linked as a direct sequel, so that makes me :([/quote]

As you do the jazzy variations that I’m asking for, I think it’s OK and even needed to preserve certain familiar touchpoints. Every Final Fantasy game after a point has Chocobos, Moogles and Cactuars, they are beloved pets that provide a bit of comfort while everything else changes. In From’s fantasy games that’s Patches, the Moonlight Blade, and the immortal leveling woman, which are also in Bloodborne (and some of them in King’s Field, I hear).

I’ve noticed a few of the direct references to DkS1 in the little of DkS3 I’ve seen streamed so far. Without spoiling anything, I like them and they seem more meaningful than the arbitrary inclusion of the sun covenant that we complain about in DkS2.

[diplo]

Oh, yeah. I also want to see if the game does anything that critically interacts with the dumbshit fandom that’s sprung up around Solaire/“Praise the Sun.” I absolutely think you can read that into Bloodborne’s character of Alfred (and maybe Valtr too) – by all initial appearances an indulgence of not-Solaire, but in actuality a vile, murderous, misogynistic maniac with no redeeming qualities. So, maybe something similar will happen in DS3’s narrative.

[Mikey]

@boojiboy7

Yeah, and I wish they would go back to it. I really liked the AC4 series, but that is never coming back. But no, they like $$$ and will continue to, so expect Souls-likes for a long time

I mean Armored Sould or Demons’ Cores or something is the obvious logical conclusion right. How can they keep making the bosses bigger and badder until you board your eldritch mecha to circle strafe them into oblivion

[Brooks]

I absolutely want a Souls game that trades in medieval gloom for technocatacombs

They must have at least one Nihei fan in the office, it’s only right and proper

[Oswald]

Chosen undead waking up in deserted generational starship

[Mikey]

See this thing practically writes itself

[jjsimpso]

@boojiboy7

Well, to be fair, SB was all over this in reverse with 2, so it’s not gonna be a surprise when it happens with 3. Also hilarious is that Miyazaki’s first game he was sorta head of was AC4A, but SOULS.

AC4A is amazing. The battle with Maiden Astrea and Garl Vinland at the end of the swamp area in Demon’s Souls – one of the best parts of the game – has a strong AC4A vibe to me.

[bib]

whatever, miyazaki rules and i am hype out of my mind for this game

[doolittle]

Your insight level is so high you’re going into a frenzy.

[Mikey]

high hype world tendency

[diplo]

Miyazaki is cool. I just don’t see him as a godhanded can’t-do-wrong designer/director who singlehandedly saves stuff. Keeping humans human and being conscious that games like Dark Souls 3 are intensely collaborative efforts.

[Broco]

@diplo

Miyazaki is cool. I just don’t see him as a godhanded can’t-do-wrong designer/director who singlehandedly saves stuff. Keeping humans human and being conscious that games like Dark Souls 3 are intensely collaborative efforts.

Miyazaki himself would strongly agree. The one thing that strongly comes across in the Dark Souls design works interview is how much his process is focused on empowering his staff to deploy their creative talents.

I took charge over all the designs and was ultimately responsible for their direction, and since they all went through me I suppose there was some degree of unification. But having said that, I tried to bring out all the artists individual styles because, rather than taking pains to make sure everything was uniform, I think working closely with each designer on developing their ideas, whilst still embracing their personal style, creates a much richer, organic feeling world in the end. As I mentioned earlier, each artist began with just a few simple “Image words” and developed their designs from that, well the words which inspired each artist’s designs and they way they chose to use them was very different. Some found that relatively philosophical words gave them ideas while some artists used them to develop character’s back stories. Each collaboration was different, and because of that, each was stimulating in its own way. I think this is the main reason that the world of Dark Souls turned out as well as it did.

The map design was really what dictated everything else, once we determined what needed to happen in each area we would immediately draw up a rough map, then once the basic layout of the area was decided we’d work on the finer details. Through the rough map I was able to communicate the requirements, structure and appearance of an area to the artists, and have them develop those ideas through collaborating with one-another. I’m never satisfied with design work which simply follows the design brief, so I often requested that the artists and designers add some of their own ideas, I really believe that these ideas can enrich the area, if not the entire game. Although, this can lead to more work of course!

If your instructions are too specific, the designs you get will be somewhat devoid of creativity, so I try to give them just the most basic, essential information before handing it over to the artists imaginations, which inevitable eclipse my own. But my initial instructions are certainly abstract. For example, when designing equipment I’d simply say "Make Something you can trust your life to on the battlefield, or “Make something that has enchantments to protect you.” I think the artists probably didn’t know what I was talking about half the time![…] If I don’t get what I want, then I start giving more specific descriptions, and I might even start drawing things on the white board, but even then I’d never go so far as to say it has to be this colour or this shape. I don’t want the designers to just become my tools. Of course, it doesn’t always go as I want, but I think that’s probably due to me not getting the best out of the artists, and this is something I want to get better at in the future.

[janitor]

Miyazaki knows his shit when it comes to compelling content design.

I’m just waiting to hear how the PvP will turn out.

Knowing 1f parries and literally seeing sight-parries in beta footage made me think this is going to be the Third Strike of Dark Souls. And I don’t know what I feel about that.

[Felix]

strongly considering buying it on J-PSN over this long weekend

I think it’ll be improved by being unintelligible

Had this scheme occurred to me sooner I’d have bought 8000 yen worth of PSN cards while in Tokyo last month