Hidetaka Miyazaki, head of FromSoftware, toldwhy the studio deliberately avoids strict creative rules when creating new games. The reason for the statement was the release The Duskbloodsa title that combines a Bloodborne-inspired combat system with multiplayer gameplay reminiscent of an action shooter.
The influence of Dark Souls on the gaming industry is difficult to overestimate. Over the past 15 years, there is hardly another title that has had as much influence on the way developers approach the design of complex combat systems and building a game world. Perhaps Fortnite can be ranked next to each other in terms of the scale of influence, but there we are talking more about negative trends – the passion of game services for battle passes and the pursuit of publishers to repeat the success of others.
Hidetaka Miyazaki spoke about the romance between players in The Duskbloods, which he was inspired by the maidens in Elden Ring
Interestingly, even FromSoftware itself doesn’t try to copy the Dark Souls formula in subsequent games. Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring borrow elements from each other, but still feel like completely different games. It is noteworthy that all three titles were created by the same person, Miyazaki, but the similarity between them was never an end in itself for the studio.
In a conversation with reporters Miyazaki explained the studio’s approach to development:
FromSoftware doesn’t have a “this is how we make our games” mantra. If you start doing this, everything becomes stale and conservative, you have to stick to the same set of rules and philosophies, and it ends up being uninteresting – you can’t make something as exciting just by repeating the same old formula.
The game director added that the real creative direction for the team lies in a different plane:
It seems to me that our philosophy is an attempt, first of all, to follow what interests us. I think that’s what created a good through line through all of our games, and that’s what we focus on when we come up with a new title.
Hidetaka Miyazaki responded to comic rumors about his love for bare feet
That being said, FromSoftware certainly has a recognizable brand identity, just like other major studios. For example, Ubisoft uses similar game mechanics in Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, although technically these are different genres, and Sony studios have long focused primarily on cinematic third-person action games. However, when you play Sekiro and Elden Ring back-to-back, you can feel the difference between these games at almost every turn, and this approach to development is a large part of why FromSoftware’s games have become beloved hits among players around the world.
