The viral footage of Ghost Of Kyiv blowing up enemy aircraft is actually from a game
Hidetaka Miyazaki, president of FromSoftware and daddy to the Soulsborne genre of games, had a lot to say around the release of Elden Ring. The game, which is one of the most critically acclaimed of all time, and the best selling in the franchise, was claimed by Miyazaki to be more approachable than previous games. For Miyazaki, this didn’t mean easier, more that there is a more fantastic choice of classes for newcomers and paths from which to approach each enemy and boss.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Miyazaki has now explained his view on the level of difficulty in his games, saying that they will be challenging for the foreseeable future. A large part of this is reframing how players view death as a success, not a failure.” I’ve never been a very skilled player – I die a lot. So, in my work, I want to answer the question: If death is to be more than a mark of failure, how do I give it meaning? How do I make death enjoyable?”
He explains how he tried to make this enjoyment of death the fabric of his games. “I do feel apologetic toward anyone who feels there’s just too much to overcome in my games – I just want as many players as possible to experience the joy that comes from overcoming hardship. We all face problems in our daily lives. Finding answers is always a satisfying thing. But in life, you know, there’s not a lot that gives us those feelings readily.”
His philosophy towards creating his games, and the experience he wants to give his players, has set up what a Soulsborne match is. Without the challenge, it doesn’t fit within the formula. “We are always looking to improve, but, in our games specifically, hardship is what gives meaning to the experience. So it’s not something we’re willing to abandon at the moment. It’s our identity.”
In all of Miyazaki’s games, he wants to give players an experience they can’t have in the real world, which is why constant deaths are so crucial to him. “Death and rebirth, trying and overcoming—we want that cycle to be enjoyable. In life, death is a horrible thing. In the play, it can be something else.”
It looks like we won’t be getting an accessible mode any time soon, then…
