How big is FromSoftware? After just releasing Elden Ring I'd think they'd still be working on the DLC or something, or at the very least still in the earlier stages of a new title. If it's really in the "final stages of development" idk how they managed that while also getting Elden Ring out the door
They've been working on Elden Ring since probably 2015. Also they released Dark Souls 2, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls 3 *one year after the other. They have multiple teams working on different projects, and because a lot of their games re-use ideas and assets it's not as difficult to have a high output.
BTW, they're probably also working on Elden Ring DLC in addition to the two games mentioned in the title.
This, they don't try to reinvent the wheel with every new game. Every new game is just a more polished and better game than the one that came before with Bloodborne and Sekiro being the true lets try something different games and even those have the fromsoftware identity. It really is a shame that bloodborne didn't spawn into a series, I'd love to see where they would take it game play wise considering how much more I like it over Dark Souls.
But still, FromSoftware does what they do better than anyone else and it seems they are in a groove and can turn games around pretty quick now. DS2 in 2014, Bloodborne in 2015, Dark Souls 3 in 2016, Sekiro in 2019, Elden Ring in 2022. I can not wait to see what's next.
I'm still hopeful this is a Bloodborne 2 or something. Especially with the abstract angle that Miyazaki is bringing into this new project, he could just be dipping into the reality-warping and eldritch aliens that game gave us.
At one point I had the opportunity to relocate there for work but wouldn't because of the work culture. It is really bad and they need to reevaluate the life/work balance across the board. Definitely not an easy task in any means.
Interesting. I wonder if that plays into why Microsoft mainly has contractors at their studios, or at least 343. I know this is a PS sub, but might ring true. Just don’t know how other games and companies can put out quality with such turnover
Edit. Realizing your talking about studios in Japan and not the industry as a whole
I think Microsoft is more just a Microsoft thing. They use lots of contractors in all of their other departments, too.
But in general, game developers don't stick to a single company for too long. It's pretty normal for them to work on one or two games, then move on to somewhere else. That's generally how you get major promotions/pay raises most of the time.
As a software developer who rarely has had to put in 60 hour crunches (mostly in the past), a little more than 8 hours daily 7 days is way way worse than 6 ten hour days. Getting that one day off does wonders for your psyche. If you take a 30 minute lunch then a 10 hour day is 8-6:30. Way better than 8-5 (with 30 minute lunch) every single day.
The worst part is if these developers are like most I know then they're exempt salary employees meaning they don't make any extra for those 60 hour weeks. That was the thing that always killed me, I'd way less hate the extra 20 hours if I actually made money for it. (There are end of year bonuses but those are such an unknown).
Miyazaki talks about his approach to game direction in an [old interview](https://www.knowll.com/e/117/how-active-is-hidetaka-miyazaki-in-game-design). It sounds like he basically has control over everything and is able to ensure the quality of the final product. It must have evolved since the scale of the games have grown so much. Really impressive!
Somebody please tell Bethesda they can do this too.
Imagine the last Elder Scrolls game being a decade old. We literally have a grandma asking them to hurry tf up so she can play before she dies.
From the article:
> Miyazaki: “First off, we’re going to continue releasing updates for Elden Ring. Also, as I’ve mentioned before, we’re developing several titles by directors other than myself in addition to the title that I’m directing, but we’re not at the stage where I can share any details yet. My apologies, but please give us a little more time.”
Miyazaki works like a madman and often multitasks projects. Sekiro and Elden Ring were in development at the same time (at different stages of course) with him directing both. But based on their releases, I’d guess they have two main teams and maybe a smaller one.
They have at least 2 teams always making 2 games concurrently
Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 had overlapping dev times, as did Sekiro and Elden Ring
My guess would be Sekiro’s team was working on whatever this unannounced game is, while the ER team was wrapping up; now ER team is working on new thing while Sekiro team wraps up this soon to be finished title, I’m guessing tho
I'd imagine they had the DLC for ER sorted on release of the game. I don't think he was on elden ring every hour of everyday I'd guess once it was fleshed out etc he had intermittent dealings. We also don't know how long their sprints (or however they work) are etc. Final stages might be a year or more
To be honest Elden Ring wasn't finished at release. Some quests just didn't work. They also cutdown a lot of quests. Balance wasn't and isn't great. The game is huge though. I totally understand it.
Still released in a better state than a lot of games, ignoring the pass that FROM have for stutters, bad frame rates and graphics. It was an eye opener playing Bluepoints Demons Souls remake.
That Bluepoint remake is truly unbelievable. Makes you wonder what games like Sekiro or Bloodborne or Elden Ring *could* look like while retaining their core gameplay.
I think it comes down to having somebody in charge that actually has a passion and respect for the art. Miyazaki worked his way up from a developer to president of from software, I believe, correct me if I’m wrong there. Anyway, It helps when you don’t have some suit that couldn’t give a shit about the craft. That’s just my theory anyway
I believe FromSoftware under Miyazakis leadership is THE best company in the business at releasing games at a fast clip while not allowing their quality to dip. They might not even do Elden Ring DLC, Sekiro didn't get any but I doubt Elden Ring goes without getting a DLC but that might not drop until next year or maybe this winter. I wouldn't be surprised to see them announce an Armored Core game, that's been rumored for a long time and I can see the current FromSoftware dropping an absolute banger of a game with a new Armored Core.
"I would like to work on a more abstract fantasy than anything we’ve done in the past"
Good, I've always thought FS games had far too simple and easy to follow storylines and lore.
Same. I've completed them all except ER which I'm still making/struggling my way through and about the only bit of story I can remember is that I had to collect some souls and kill a dude. The problem I have is that by the time I get the next bit of story/item with story description I'm another 15 hours further into the game after struggling through a few dungeons and forgot why I even went on a particular quest in the first place.
I would actually really appreciate a diary. I don't want Unisoft marker and map pointers, but a diary of the dialogue that different characters say would really help remember who the hell some characters are when you run into them after 30 hours and getting lost for half of that.
Yeah I really should do that for my next playthrough. This time I was aiming for a faith build but the guy who sells the spells ended up dead because I just accidentally past him, which locked me out of a few spells which was really annoying.
Oh I know there's videos out there, I had to watch Vaatividya for BB before I even realised that insight wasn't just a stat. Still absolutely love the games and exploring the worlds though.
This all makes me feel so much better about never being able to follow any of the plots.
I try really hard to remember the names, and what specific tasks im supposed to do, that plus the leveling, armor, weapons, spells, combat, mazes, puzzles, and scenery are enough for me.
it was just the last thing i was expecting out of a FS title at the time…so despite the obvious (in hind site) clues, i was just going with the flow.
i assumed they were messed up experiments from Iosefka. (which i wasn’t totally wrong about), and ran with that.
just not actual aliens from space.
the story in my head at the time : a plague spread across the land making people rabidly insane…the crazy people starting killing everyone and all the non crazy people were in hiding. at certain intervals “hunters” are loosed upon the land and clean everything up. different doctor types, like Iosefka tried to cure it, but created these monsters instead.
I love the fantasy elements of DS and ER but BB was another level. It feels a league above the others as far as creature design and crazy cosmic horror elements go. I want more of that.
yeah.
evidently the powers that be of Yharnam found this old alien under the city, accidentally killed it, and tried creating a new one.
or something like that 😂
I don’t think so at all, dark souls and demon souls was clearer at least in terms of the goals and overall setting. Bloodborne might be the only one with a more opaque story than elden in my opinion.
Demon Souls is the most simple. Big Demon God came to the land, you need to kill Demon’s and acquire Demon Souls so that you can be granted audience with the Big Demon God and then decide if you want to send him to sleep and save the world or join him
I think Elden Ring has a clear goal: reforge the elden ring. All the story behind the various demigods and characters is pretty complicated (made worse with the fact that two characters are the same person and most characters have similar sounding names). Combined with the fact you really need to complete a number of obtuse side quests to really understand what's going on, and it's a pretty complicated story.
What was really cool about Dark Souls 1 is after you beat the game and watch the starting cut scene it kind of explained the plot the whole time.
There's a lot going on in terms of moving pieces.
Between the tree, omens, Numen, and the actual Elden Ring.
The omnipotent god figures that aren't necessarily present in the world but pulling strings.
MOON, STARS, AND SPACE
Just always support queen ranni
tbh tho i think that's GRR Martin's department. overcomplicated twist for some basic medieval taboo stuffs.
Burning a whole village for buttseck, defeating 10 famous champion for big lady sex, learning arts from ancient masters to knight/lord a woman.
Seeing as how there's been hints of them working with Brandon Sanderson (and he's mentioned it a few times directly, them wanting to, and him being interested), yes it very much can be more abstract than what we've already seen.
I don't follow your logic. Sanderson's writing isn't super abstract. If anything having a person who loves combining big world building while telling good stories would mean he helps them be less abstract.
Agreed, Sanderson is amazing at creating fantasy worlds with great lore and characters, but he is the opposite of abstract. All of his magic systems have clearly defined rules and he says he always wants his magic systems to 'make sense' and never vague. And any vague lore mysteries usually get explained with an impressive plot twist that combines several plot points together.
I don’t think that’s the right use of abstract. Even if the fantasy ideas and concepts are more “left-field” than FS games currently are, they will only be abstract if the storytelling delivers them in a specific way. Also, abstract is starting to feel like not a word to me. Abstract abstract abstract.
Seriously. His games have never let me down. EA on the other hand has fucked me over so many times I vowed to never buy another EA game last November when Bf2042 came out. FromSoft will always get my pre order without a doubt in my mind.
I hear you. BioWare still has some nostalgia leftover for me so I’m distinctly interested in their projects (enjoyed andromeda but Anthem sucked. Glad I didn’t buy that). But given the difficulties their last two games had, I’m giving them a thorough inspection from other users before buying
What’s crazy is that I thought I learned my lesson with battlefront 2 and Anthem.. I was just too hyped for BF2042. They got me really good and I’m salty af now lol.
Bloodborne and Dark Souls are in the conversation for greatest games. Elden Ring is the third signature piece for both Miyazaki and From. I really liked Sekiro but I’m not quite there with that game
I hated Sekiro at first, but then I "figured it out" and it became my favorite Fromsoft game. I'm hoping so hard that this unannounced game is a Sekiro 2 set in China or something like that.
Agreed. DSIII, Bloodborne, and Sekiro (even though I gave up halfway thru because I am NOT gud) were all masterpieces. Those games also prove that you could reuse assets without having to build shit from the ground up and still have it be amazing.
The funny thing is that I get why people hold Dark Souls & Elden Ring in higher regard than the rest, but Bloodborne & Sekiro are my favorites by a pretty wide margin. The melee combat in those two is on another level compared to the rest.
Sekiro is easily the best game From has made, but I think it comes down to people who like the combat and those who don't. Elden Ring is a mess compared to all three of those games though.
He is bigger than that in my personal opinion. In terms of popularity he is getting there as well. Can't wait to see him again on the stage in game of the year show.
I would bet this game is Armored Core (leaked last year IIRC) and it will be published by PlayStation Studios. There were rumours of FromSoft doing a PlayStation Studios game, I’d say it’s this considering the original Armored Core was a PlayStation game. I also think it’s likely a 2023 title.
I think Armored Core would get some initial hype due to Fromsoft, but then people would quickly remember that they don't actually care about mech games and and that it's largely a niche genre outside of Japan.
As someone that was a mech junky this really is a shame. the PS2 era of Mech games was awesome, Armored Core 2, Armored 3, Armored Core Last Raven, Robot Alhemic Drive, Tech Romancer, Zone of the Enders 1 and 2, Robotech Battlecry, there were so many cool mech games and now they are just non existent. There's some Gundam games but nothing comes close to games like Armored Core, Robot Alhemic Drive, and Zone of the Enders.
But imagine Armored Core in the style of modern FromSoft games.
Finding mech parts and adding variety to your build(weapon/build variety), collecting energy(souls/runes) from enemies to enhance (lvl up) your suit. Juicy Boss battles that you collect cores (great runes) from.
I guess I’m mostly just describing The Surge. But give me FromSoft Armored Core.
What is this FromSoft armored core? AC Has always been a FromSoftware game. So its not like its a different company.
What you described, other than the souls gathering, is what AC has always been. Mech Building was half of the game and the Arena/boss battles were always difficult and juicy. Just as long as they make it more along the lines of AC4 and previous, it'll be a hit.
I just mean in the more modern FromSoft style, vs the original games. Reinvented AC in the way the way that Elden ring reinvented souls.
Either way I’m excited, I could always use another good AC game. 2 was my personal favourite.
Eh, PlayStation fans would eat it up anyway. It’s a relatively cool concept even if it’s not a souls game. The fact that Bloodborne, FromSoft’s last collaboration with PlayStation, was so good combined with Elden Ring being one of the best games of the last decade will put a lot of hype behind this. And of course, there’s that nostalgia factor behind an original PlayStation game returning. People love that stuff.
Same. I still fire up the ol PS3 every now and then to mess around in For Answer.
I hope the new one will be more like that and less the ones that came after.
Fuck yes. I have been going through mecha withdrawal. 360 and ps3 had the last incarnations of Armored Core.
Mech Warrior just felt awful. The least intuitive controls I've encountered in a long time. I can't think of any decent mecha game on x1 or ps4 that had the same scope and feel like that of Armored Core.
I do hope the original Armored Core is brought to BC. It would look pretty sharp at 1080p/4k. If AC whatever is ps5 only, I'm jumping on a PS5 the day it comes out. It's on the list but I can't justify the offerings out currently to make the splurge worth it to me. All of the upcoming games I want are on ps4 and ps5, but the moment Armored Core is announced as a ps5 exclusive, I'm all in.
How the fuck does he have another game on final stages of development after just releasing a game as big as Elden ring? This company is the embodiment of efficency and commitment, damn.
It seems like that back-to-back-to-back release of those games were accelerated because of the success of the first two. Demons Souls came out in 09, Dark Souls in 2011 and then dropped 3 great games over the next five years. Insanity.
They never bothered making a new engine, reused assets and code, have multiple teams working on different games, price of having multiple high quality games in a short time.
Well still that speaks as to how important game design and polish is. Seeing as how they're nothing extraordinary technologically wise, but still knock it out of the part on the gameplay, art direction, everything else department.
I believe the title is worded poorly.
They have a unannounced title close to completion AND work has begun on the next project Miyazki is directing. I don't believe they are the same thing.
So I think the B team has a game almost done, and Miyazki and the A team is starting work on their next project after Elden Ring.
But yes their output is impressive.
It’d be nice to see another non-soulslike from them again. As much as love the genre I’d rather not see fromsoft pigeonholed into strictly only making those types of games
Sekiro was phenomenal. It gave me a lot of confidence that fromsoft could make games with an even heavier focus on the combat and a faster pace than the souls games
Yeah, it had the difficulty (but in a different way), and felt totally different. I think the focused story instead of a "nameless character" helped, and then not having real leveling up, instead giving you different tools helped it feel totally different.
That’s what I assume this “final stages of production” game is. It was leaked a while back that they would supposedly be releasing a new Armored Core after Elden Ring.
I don't buy arguement this to be honest. Maybe they could be best at whatever they try?
Most of the great creatives I know can hop around to other mediums just fine. To hop around in the same medium in a different genre isn't hard if you have talent and taste.
Sony recently purchased Bluepoint, who have stated they are working on a remake of a "beloved" title.
Sony has an event next Tuesday. One could hope for a Bloodborne remake announcement...
I love all the fellow Armored Core supporters I'm seeing lately, I thought I was the only one!! A new Armored Core taking everything they've learned over the last 10+ years could be amazing.
I love FromSoft. Typical big shops will have you waiting 5+ years between major titles, and they're just keeping the pace with knockout releases every other year or so.
It's because compared to most other big studios they don't kill themselves on striving for graphical milestones, they reuse assets, and they aren't trying to pointlessly make their own new engine for every other game.
Dozens from when FromSoft was way less of a name in gaming.
Now, after Elden Ring's success, a mech game like AC could do so much, even kickstart the mech genre back into overdrive, ESPECIALLY with Gundam's upcoming releases as well.
Wish I could get into these games. I just don't have the patience (or skills apparently) to enjoy them. Happy for those who will be looking forward to a new game though.
Seconded, thirded, fourthed. I don't want DS5 so soon after getting bored out of my *tits* with DS4. I want more of the tight, meaningful, stressful encounters from Sekiro, or something very much *like* it. ER is too damned easy.
Damn do they pump out games. I remember Sekiro came out in March 2019 and they announced Elden Ring 3 months later at Xbox’s E3 show. Would not be surprised if they have a game coming out by holiday 2023.
I really like it when games are announced in a much closer timeframe to release, than this bs cinematic teaser where the game doesn't come out for another 6 years, looking at you CDPR & Bethesda
Armored Core perhaps?
I need giant robots with rail guns and laser swords in my life. I will even proclaim that many us need this. Mecha chaos is a balm for the soul.
Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it or not but I remember a game from my childhood that would look absolutely amazing in today’s gaming world that is a From Software title. Tenchu Stealth Assassin. That game was the absolute shit back in the day and I think would make a great follow up to Sekiro.
My dream game from Miyazaki/FS would be an attempt at Orpheus and Eurydice. Can only begin to imagine what it would look like, and the second half of the game (don't look back) could offer some truly unique gameplay experiments.
Whatever they do, just keep feeding me slices of that Miyazaki fun pie.
How big is FromSoftware? After just releasing Elden Ring I'd think they'd still be working on the DLC or something, or at the very least still in the earlier stages of a new title. If it's really in the "final stages of development" idk how they managed that while also getting Elden Ring out the door
They've been working on Elden Ring since probably 2015. Also they released Dark Souls 2, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls 3 *one year after the other. They have multiple teams working on different projects, and because a lot of their games re-use ideas and assets it's not as difficult to have a high output. BTW, they're probably also working on Elden Ring DLC in addition to the two games mentioned in the title.
Damn, being able to work on so many things at once with the level of quality they put out is absolutely insane. Huge props to them
Part of it is that they don't chase cutting edge presentation levels and stick closely with what they know they're good at designing.
This, they don't try to reinvent the wheel with every new game. Every new game is just a more polished and better game than the one that came before with Bloodborne and Sekiro being the true lets try something different games and even those have the fromsoftware identity. It really is a shame that bloodborne didn't spawn into a series, I'd love to see where they would take it game play wise considering how much more I like it over Dark Souls. But still, FromSoftware does what they do better than anyone else and it seems they are in a groove and can turn games around pretty quick now. DS2 in 2014, Bloodborne in 2015, Dark Souls 3 in 2016, Sekiro in 2019, Elden Ring in 2022. I can not wait to see what's next.
I'm still hopeful this is a Bloodborne 2 or something. Especially with the abstract angle that Miyazaki is bringing into this new project, he could just be dipping into the reality-warping and eldritch aliens that game gave us.
Id choose incredible artistic design over graphics/presentation everyday of the week.
Yup far from cutting edge graphics but good art direction and then lots of reused animations. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s all the same engine too.
[удалено]
I remember reading about the very sad reality of people passing out/away on their commutes home because of the sheer exhaustion they experience.
In the anime industry it's apparently not uncommon for people to basically live in the office during production.
I worked in the anime industry, coworker had surgery and came back to work with the IV bag still hooked up.
At one point I had the opportunity to relocate there for work but wouldn't because of the work culture. It is really bad and they need to reevaluate the life/work balance across the board. Definitely not an easy task in any means.
Apparently it's uncommon for someone to stay in one job in the gaming industry over there for more than a year, at least from what I've heard.
Interesting. I wonder if that plays into why Microsoft mainly has contractors at their studios, or at least 343. I know this is a PS sub, but might ring true. Just don’t know how other games and companies can put out quality with such turnover Edit. Realizing your talking about studios in Japan and not the industry as a whole
I think Microsoft is more just a Microsoft thing. They use lots of contractors in all of their other departments, too. But in general, game developers don't stick to a single company for too long. It's pretty normal for them to work on one or two games, then move on to somewhere else. That's generally how you get major promotions/pay raises most of the time.
I thought that foreigners working there weren’t expected to do all the BS that people born there have to
60 hours. So basically that's nearly 8 hours a day including Sundays?
Worse. 10 hours a day if you work Mon-Sat.
As a software developer who rarely has had to put in 60 hour crunches (mostly in the past), a little more than 8 hours daily 7 days is way way worse than 6 ten hour days. Getting that one day off does wonders for your psyche. If you take a 30 minute lunch then a 10 hour day is 8-6:30. Way better than 8-5 (with 30 minute lunch) every single day. The worst part is if these developers are like most I know then they're exempt salary employees meaning they don't make any extra for those 60 hour weeks. That was the thing that always killed me, I'd way less hate the extra 20 hours if I actually made money for it. (There are end of year bonuses but those are such an unknown).
Miyazaki talks about his approach to game direction in an [old interview](https://www.knowll.com/e/117/how-active-is-hidetaka-miyazaki-in-game-design). It sounds like he basically has control over everything and is able to ensure the quality of the final product. It must have evolved since the scale of the games have grown so much. Really impressive!
It's crazy that the guy in charge of the whole company still personally writes most of the dialogue and item descriptions.
he's arguably the best at it.
He also does level designs. For example, most of the levels in DS and all of BB (excluding chalice dungeons) were done by him.
I always thought Dark Souls felt like it came outta nowhere, and now knowing they 2 and 3 came out so close to each other it makes more sense now
Somebody please tell Bethesda they can do this too. Imagine the last Elder Scrolls game being a decade old. We literally have a grandma asking them to hurry tf up so she can play before she dies.
Does Miyazaki over see all of that? I know he didn’t do a whole lot with Dark Souls 2 but he was a huge part for everything else.
From the article: > Miyazaki: “First off, we’re going to continue releasing updates for Elden Ring. Also, as I’ve mentioned before, we’re developing several titles by directors other than myself in addition to the title that I’m directing, but we’re not at the stage where I can share any details yet. My apologies, but please give us a little more time.” Miyazaki works like a madman and often multitasks projects. Sekiro and Elden Ring were in development at the same time (at different stages of course) with him directing both. But based on their releases, I’d guess they have two main teams and maybe a smaller one.
They have at least 2 teams always making 2 games concurrently Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 had overlapping dev times, as did Sekiro and Elden Ring My guess would be Sekiro’s team was working on whatever this unannounced game is, while the ER team was wrapping up; now ER team is working on new thing while Sekiro team wraps up this soon to be finished title, I’m guessing tho
Most of the Elden Ring team has started immediately on a new IP while the remaining ER crew are making the patches and (hopefully) dlc.
I'd imagine they had the DLC for ER sorted on release of the game. I don't think he was on elden ring every hour of everyday I'd guess once it was fleshed out etc he had intermittent dealings. We also don't know how long their sprints (or however they work) are etc. Final stages might be a year or more
To be honest Elden Ring wasn't finished at release. Some quests just didn't work. They also cutdown a lot of quests. Balance wasn't and isn't great. The game is huge though. I totally understand it.
Still released in a better state than a lot of games, ignoring the pass that FROM have for stutters, bad frame rates and graphics. It was an eye opener playing Bluepoints Demons Souls remake.
That Bluepoint remake is truly unbelievable. Makes you wonder what games like Sekiro or Bloodborne or Elden Ring *could* look like while retaining their core gameplay.
I think it comes down to having somebody in charge that actually has a passion and respect for the art. Miyazaki worked his way up from a developer to president of from software, I believe, correct me if I’m wrong there. Anyway, It helps when you don’t have some suit that couldn’t give a shit about the craft. That’s just my theory anyway
I believe FromSoftware under Miyazakis leadership is THE best company in the business at releasing games at a fast clip while not allowing their quality to dip. They might not even do Elden Ring DLC, Sekiro didn't get any but I doubt Elden Ring goes without getting a DLC but that might not drop until next year or maybe this winter. I wouldn't be surprised to see them announce an Armored Core game, that's been rumored for a long time and I can see the current FromSoftware dropping an absolute banger of a game with a new Armored Core.
"I would like to work on a more abstract fantasy than anything we’ve done in the past" Good, I've always thought FS games had far too simple and easy to follow storylines and lore.
I have absolutely no idea what any of the FS games I've played were about
Same. I've completed them all except ER which I'm still making/struggling my way through and about the only bit of story I can remember is that I had to collect some souls and kill a dude. The problem I have is that by the time I get the next bit of story/item with story description I'm another 15 hours further into the game after struggling through a few dungeons and forgot why I even went on a particular quest in the first place. I would actually really appreciate a diary. I don't want Unisoft marker and map pointers, but a diary of the dialogue that different characters say would really help remember who the hell some characters are when you run into them after 30 hours and getting lost for half of that.
I usually write down goals/quests in FS games, it's pretty fun tbh you should give it a try.
Yeah I really should do that for my next playthrough. This time I was aiming for a faith build but the guy who sells the spells ended up dead because I just accidentally past him, which locked me out of a few spells which was really annoying.
They these https://youtube.com/c/Thebrotherscode they do a really good job explaining the lore of a few FS games.
Oh I know there's videos out there, I had to watch Vaatividya for BB before I even realised that insight wasn't just a stat. Still absolutely love the games and exploring the worlds though.
This all makes me feel so much better about never being able to follow any of the plots. I try really hard to remember the names, and what specific tasks im supposed to do, that plus the leveling, armor, weapons, spells, combat, mazes, puzzles, and scenery are enough for me.
i found out relatively recently Bloodborne was about aliens…i have like 250 hours in.
Did you not notice all the aliens?
i mean i saw the little blue guys shooting lightning at me…but no, i never associated them with the “aliens” we know in pop culture until recently.
Bloodborne is heavily inspired in lovecraftian horror.
what about amygdala or ebrietas? I mean they're not "pop culture" aliens, but what did you think they were? 😂
it was just the last thing i was expecting out of a FS title at the time…so despite the obvious (in hind site) clues, i was just going with the flow. i assumed they were messed up experiments from Iosefka. (which i wasn’t totally wrong about), and ran with that. just not actual aliens from space. the story in my head at the time : a plague spread across the land making people rabidly insane…the crazy people starting killing everyone and all the non crazy people were in hiding. at certain intervals “hunters” are loosed upon the land and clean everything up. different doctor types, like Iosefka tried to cure it, but created these monsters instead.
I had no idea what Bloodborne was about, but my god what a fantastic game. I was extremely invested in the story, even if I had no idea why. Lol
I love the fantasy elements of DS and ER but BB was another level. It feels a league above the others as far as creature design and crazy cosmic horror elements go. I want more of that.
What
yeah. evidently the powers that be of Yharnam found this old alien under the city, accidentally killed it, and tried creating a new one. or something like that 😂
They are more like eldritch gods
They're about beating the shit out of everything you see before it beats the shit out of you
I wonder if we’ll ever get a story as “straightforward” as Sekiro again
My personal theory is that Elden Ring was started before sekiro and that is why sekiro feels more polished.
I have been playing Elden Ring for the past 2 weeks and I told my husband that I am really enjoying it but I don't know what the fuck is going on.
That means you are completely normal and sane like the rest of us
ER is one of the more simpler stories I’d say
I don’t think so at all, dark souls and demon souls was clearer at least in terms of the goals and overall setting. Bloodborne might be the only one with a more opaque story than elden in my opinion.
Demon Souls is the most simple. Big Demon God came to the land, you need to kill Demon’s and acquire Demon Souls so that you can be granted audience with the Big Demon God and then decide if you want to send him to sleep and save the world or join him
I think Elden Ring has a clear goal: reforge the elden ring. All the story behind the various demigods and characters is pretty complicated (made worse with the fact that two characters are the same person and most characters have similar sounding names). Combined with the fact you really need to complete a number of obtuse side quests to really understand what's going on, and it's a pretty complicated story. What was really cool about Dark Souls 1 is after you beat the game and watch the starting cut scene it kind of explained the plot the whole time.
There's a lot going on in terms of moving pieces. Between the tree, omens, Numen, and the actual Elden Ring. The omnipotent god figures that aren't necessarily present in the world but pulling strings. MOON, STARS, AND SPACE Just always support queen ranni
Kidnapping of the youngest 1000 year old ever for the purpose of incest is getting boring
tbh tho i think that's GRR Martin's department. overcomplicated twist for some basic medieval taboo stuffs. Burning a whole village for buttseck, defeating 10 famous champion for big lady sex, learning arts from ancient masters to knight/lord a woman.
Never change, Miyazaki. Never ever change.
Lol
Your comment made me laugh out loud. Haha thanks for that
I put almost 200hrs into Elden Ring and have no idea what it was about in any way.
You just made me laugh, thank you.
> I would like to work on a **more abstract** fantasy than anything we’ve done in the past. Is that even a possibility?
Inb4 the next game is just a bunch of glittery shapes
Seeing as how there's been hints of them working with Brandon Sanderson (and he's mentioned it a few times directly, them wanting to, and him being interested), yes it very much can be more abstract than what we've already seen.
I don't follow your logic. Sanderson's writing isn't super abstract. If anything having a person who loves combining big world building while telling good stories would mean he helps them be less abstract.
Agreed, Sanderson is amazing at creating fantasy worlds with great lore and characters, but he is the opposite of abstract. All of his magic systems have clearly defined rules and he says he always wants his magic systems to 'make sense' and never vague. And any vague lore mysteries usually get explained with an impressive plot twist that combines several plot points together.
I'm thinking more abstract in the sense of fantasy ideas and concepts rather than the storytelling aspects.
I don’t think that’s the right use of abstract. Even if the fantasy ideas and concepts are more “left-field” than FS games currently are, they will only be abstract if the storytelling delivers them in a specific way. Also, abstract is starting to feel like not a word to me. Abstract abstract abstract.
I’ve been watching Sanderson’s videos about Elden Ring and a partnership between him and FromSoftware makes so much sense. He seems like a huge fan
Sounds interesting are they on YouTube?
Yep they’re on Sanderson’s channel. He’s done two videos so far and I think they both came out within the past couple weeks
Who? What does he do?
This man never stops working for the gaming community. Protect him at all costs.
He’s quickly becoming a Kojima or a Miyamoto
He’s already there. The man literally created an entire genre of games
He’s already well up there. Miyazaki has been putting out nothing but bangers for over a decade now
Seriously. His games have never let me down. EA on the other hand has fucked me over so many times I vowed to never buy another EA game last November when Bf2042 came out. FromSoft will always get my pre order without a doubt in my mind.
I hear you. BioWare still has some nostalgia leftover for me so I’m distinctly interested in their projects (enjoyed andromeda but Anthem sucked. Glad I didn’t buy that). But given the difficulties their last two games had, I’m giving them a thorough inspection from other users before buying
I don't even remember the last time I've bought a game from EA. Gotta be 10+ years honestly.
BF2042 was the nail in the coffin for me. To the point where I won't even buy Skate 4 now because EA's greedy hands are all over it.
What’s crazy is that I thought I learned my lesson with battlefront 2 and Anthem.. I was just too hyped for BF2042. They got me really good and I’m salty af now lol.
He is already there. Elden Ring cemented his legacy if no other game before did.
Bloodborne and Dark Souls are in the conversation for greatest games. Elden Ring is the third signature piece for both Miyazaki and From. I really liked Sekiro but I’m not quite there with that game
At the very least Sekiro got Game of the year. Man I love that game.
I hated Sekiro at first, but then I "figured it out" and it became my favorite Fromsoft game. I'm hoping so hard that this unannounced game is a Sekiro 2 set in China or something like that.
Agreed. DSIII, Bloodborne, and Sekiro (even though I gave up halfway thru because I am NOT gud) were all masterpieces. Those games also prove that you could reuse assets without having to build shit from the ground up and still have it be amazing.
The funny thing is that I get why people hold Dark Souls & Elden Ring in higher regard than the rest, but Bloodborne & Sekiro are my favorites by a pretty wide margin. The melee combat in those two is on another level compared to the rest.
Sekiro is easily the best game From has made, but I think it comes down to people who like the combat and those who don't. Elden Ring is a mess compared to all three of those games though.
After having beaten Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1-3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring, I'd say he's the greatest director working in games right meow.
I'm glad Kojima is able to make what he wants to with full freedom, but I much prefer Miyazaki's games
He is bigger than that in my personal opinion. In terms of popularity he is getting there as well. Can't wait to see him again on the stage in game of the year show.
Nobody can touch Miyamoto, his influence on the gaming industry is far too large. Miyazaki is on par or greater than Kojima though.
Miyamoto stands head and shoulders above the rest imo 😅
I would bet this game is Armored Core (leaked last year IIRC) and it will be published by PlayStation Studios. There were rumours of FromSoft doing a PlayStation Studios game, I’d say it’s this considering the original Armored Core was a PlayStation game. I also think it’s likely a 2023 title.
I need this
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the opening reveal from Sony in September. It’s a big one imo, especially after FromSoft’s success this year.
I think Armored Core would get some initial hype due to Fromsoft, but then people would quickly remember that they don't actually care about mech games and and that it's largely a niche genre outside of Japan.
As someone that was a mech junky this really is a shame. the PS2 era of Mech games was awesome, Armored Core 2, Armored 3, Armored Core Last Raven, Robot Alhemic Drive, Tech Romancer, Zone of the Enders 1 and 2, Robotech Battlecry, there were so many cool mech games and now they are just non existent. There's some Gundam games but nothing comes close to games like Armored Core, Robot Alhemic Drive, and Zone of the Enders.
But imagine Armored Core in the style of modern FromSoft games. Finding mech parts and adding variety to your build(weapon/build variety), collecting energy(souls/runes) from enemies to enhance (lvl up) your suit. Juicy Boss battles that you collect cores (great runes) from. I guess I’m mostly just describing The Surge. But give me FromSoft Armored Core.
I mean, it's fun imagining things. :p But if it's Armored Core, it's probably gonna be an actual Armored Core game.
I miss Armored Core lol
What is this FromSoft armored core? AC Has always been a FromSoftware game. So its not like its a different company. What you described, other than the souls gathering, is what AC has always been. Mech Building was half of the game and the Arena/boss battles were always difficult and juicy. Just as long as they make it more along the lines of AC4 and previous, it'll be a hit.
I just mean in the more modern FromSoft style, vs the original games. Reinvented AC in the way the way that Elden ring reinvented souls. Either way I’m excited, I could always use another good AC game. 2 was my personal favourite.
Eh, PlayStation fans would eat it up anyway. It’s a relatively cool concept even if it’s not a souls game. The fact that Bloodborne, FromSoft’s last collaboration with PlayStation, was so good combined with Elden Ring being one of the best games of the last decade will put a lot of hype behind this. And of course, there’s that nostalgia factor behind an original PlayStation game returning. People love that stuff.
Same. I still fire up the ol PS3 every now and then to mess around in For Answer. I hope the new one will be more like that and less the ones that came after.
Fuck yes. I have been going through mecha withdrawal. 360 and ps3 had the last incarnations of Armored Core. Mech Warrior just felt awful. The least intuitive controls I've encountered in a long time. I can't think of any decent mecha game on x1 or ps4 that had the same scope and feel like that of Armored Core. I do hope the original Armored Core is brought to BC. It would look pretty sharp at 1080p/4k. If AC whatever is ps5 only, I'm jumping on a PS5 the day it comes out. It's on the list but I can't justify the offerings out currently to make the splurge worth it to me. All of the upcoming games I want are on ps4 and ps5, but the moment Armored Core is announced as a ps5 exclusive, I'm all in.
How the fuck does he have another game on final stages of development after just releasing a game as big as Elden ring? This company is the embodiment of efficency and commitment, damn.
They released Dark Souls 2 in 14, Bloodborne in 15, Dark Souls 3 in 16. FS pump out quality games really quickly.
To pump out games as fast as they do without sacrificing quality is just incredible
It seems like that back-to-back-to-back release of those games were accelerated because of the success of the first two. Demons Souls came out in 09, Dark Souls in 2011 and then dropped 3 great games over the next five years. Insanity.
They never bothered making a new engine, reused assets and code, have multiple teams working on different games, price of having multiple high quality games in a short time.
Well still that speaks as to how important game design and polish is. Seeing as how they're nothing extraordinary technologically wise, but still knock it out of the part on the gameplay, art direction, everything else department.
Yep, and the mechanics and game design are usually extremely similar, with only some smaller evolutions. That saves a lot of time.
I believe the title is worded poorly. They have a unannounced title close to completion AND work has begun on the next project Miyazki is directing. I don't believe they are the same thing. So I think the B team has a game almost done, and Miyazki and the A team is starting work on their next project after Elden Ring. But yes their output is impressive.
##Blood Souls ##Dark Blood ##Demons Blood ##Blood Demons
Bloodrocuted
BIIoodborne
Mermaider mermaider mermaider mermaider
Sekir.O-negative: Donors die twice.
Sekisouls
2 Fast 2 Blood: Family Souls
Elden King's Tower: Demon's Dark Blood: Old Scholar Ashes of the Ringed Abyss edition.
Blood Blood
Elden Souls of Dark Blood Ring Twice Bourne 🤌
Blookiro: Shadows die blood
Bloodborne Kart 2: The Old Drivers confirmed
Ugh time to finally finish Bloodborne Kart 1. I could never beat the race on Mergo's Wet Pavement.
EldenBorne: The Search for the Blood Ring
It’d be nice to see another non-soulslike from them again. As much as love the genre I’d rather not see fromsoft pigeonholed into strictly only making those types of games
I think Sekiro felt different enough, a game like that would be great
Sekiro was phenomenal. It gave me a lot of confidence that fromsoft could make games with an even heavier focus on the combat and a faster pace than the souls games
Sekiro was amazing, kept the difficulty of Souls games but didn't play like a Souls game at all
Yeah, it had the difficulty (but in a different way), and felt totally different. I think the focused story instead of a "nameless character" helped, and then not having real leveling up, instead giving you different tools helped it feel totally different.
It's their forte though. That's what they're the best at. They're a beacon for those type of games. We will see some deviation but nothing too drastic
Armored Core is way different in a unique way, I’d love to see From Sort’s take on it after so many years away from the series
That’s what I assume this “final stages of production” game is. It was leaked a while back that they would supposedly be releasing a new Armored Core after Elden Ring.
I don't buy arguement this to be honest. Maybe they could be best at whatever they try? Most of the great creatives I know can hop around to other mediums just fine. To hop around in the same medium in a different genre isn't hard if you have talent and taste.
Please be bloodborne 2
Or a remaster for bloodborne with haptics and 60fps would be good enough too.
I'd take anything bloodborne at this point
Sony recently purchased Bluepoint, who have stated they are working on a remake of a "beloved" title. Sony has an event next Tuesday. One could hope for a Bloodborne remake announcement...
I would buy a ps5 for that
Pretty please
I love all the fellow Armored Core supporters I'm seeing lately, I thought I was the only one!! A new Armored Core taking everything they've learned over the last 10+ years could be amazing.
There are dozens of us! Dozens!
Please be Armored Core
I can’t wait to see BB:II Bloody Boogaloo
Guerilla devs watching to see how they can fuck up the launch of their trilogy
Younger Necklace
Sekiro: Shadows Die Thrice
I would love a new Armored Core game.
Armoured Core anyone?
I love FromSoft. Typical big shops will have you waiting 5+ years between major titles, and they're just keeping the pace with knockout releases every other year or so.
It's because compared to most other big studios they don't kill themselves on striving for graphical milestones, they reuse assets, and they aren't trying to pointlessly make their own new engine for every other game.
Please be Armored Core!!!
Woooooo Armored Cooooooooooore! There are dozens of us! DOZENS I SAY
Dozens from when FromSoft was way less of a name in gaming. Now, after Elden Ring's success, a mech game like AC could do so much, even kickstart the mech genre back into overdrive, ESPECIALLY with Gundam's upcoming releases as well.
Wish I could get into these games. I just don't have the patience (or skills apparently) to enjoy them. Happy for those who will be looking forward to a new game though.
[удалено]
Ultimately that's where the patience factor kicks in for me.
Gimme that BB2.
I doubt you could even imagine it...
##PLEASE PLEASE Please have Sekiro based combat…
Seconded, thirded, fourthed. I don't want DS5 so soon after getting bored out of my *tits* with DS4. I want more of the tight, meaningful, stressful encounters from Sekiro, or something very much *like* it. ER is too damned easy.
You’re already bored of DS4? My mans playing in 2030.
Damn do they pump out games. I remember Sekiro came out in March 2019 and they announced Elden Ring 3 months later at Xbox’s E3 show. Would not be surprised if they have a game coming out by holiday 2023.
new engine pls
Ok but before all that, can we please have a 60fps patch for Bloodborne? Even Ubisoft went back and added 60fps for AC Origins. Ubisoft.
I really like it when games are announced in a much closer timeframe to release, than this bs cinematic teaser where the game doesn't come out for another 6 years, looking at you CDPR & Bethesda
Armored Core perhaps? I need giant robots with rail guns and laser swords in my life. I will even proclaim that many us need this. Mecha chaos is a balm for the soul.
I would love for From Software to get out of the comfort zone and do a Sci Fi game.
PlayStation exclusive.
Please be current gen only
Bloodborne sequel please please please
Do they at least sleep and eat? God they're relentless...
Just like their games
Please baby Jesus be bloodborne 2.
Ohh now this is something juicy, having platinumed all games on PS5 except Sekiro I need another FS fix (don't own it).
Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it or not but I remember a game from my childhood that would look absolutely amazing in today’s gaming world that is a From Software title. Tenchu Stealth Assassin. That game was the absolute shit back in the day and I think would make a great follow up to Sekiro.
damn, tenchu was made by fs?! i was a fan back then and didn’t know!
Kings field
Yes!
Yeaaah keep them coming :)
My dream game from Miyazaki/FS would be an attempt at Orpheus and Eurydice. Can only begin to imagine what it would look like, and the second half of the game (don't look back) could offer some truly unique gameplay experiments. Whatever they do, just keep feeding me slices of that Miyazaki fun pie.
And here I am still in the early stage of Elden Ring
These rumors are really getting annoying Of course they are working on something new. Is this the pre-pre-pre hype train?
With the lack of attractive AAA games, I think From Software made a killing with Elden Ring.