Just when you thought there was nothing left to learn about Dark Souls 3, ahead of the game’s mid-April debut, a new interview with the game’s director is giving fans an inside look at the thought process used by FromSoftware when designing new combat scenarios for Dark Souls 3.
Fans might be surprised by the approach Hidetaka Miyazaki takes when evaluating new content for the next Souls game. In a new interview with VG24/7, the Dark Souls 3 director revealed he doesn’t believe the studio could actually create something that is “too hard” for players to finish. After watching the Dark Souls community rise to the occasion, Miyazaki realized the Dark Souls 3 team would need to take a different approach when evaluating their plans for the game. Rather than settle for obstacles that can be overcome, the director focused on improving situations that felt unreasonable.
“The difficulty in the Dark Souls franchise so far has been something that players have eventually been able to overcome,” Miyazaki told VG24/7. “So when I show concern to the development team members, that’s why the term I use is unreasonable – basically, we don’t want to go too far.”
That thought process apparently informs every aspect of gameplay in Dark Souls 3. The director used player classes as another example, explaining that FromSoftware wants your choice of player class to matter throughout your time with Dark Souls 3. But the team also doesn’t want that choice to close off certain doors while playing the game. If you want to create a heavily-armored warrior who focuses on dodging incoming damage, instead of wading through it, FromSoftware doesn’t want to stand in your way. It’s all about finding the proper balance between choice and challenge.
Elsewhere, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware published 14 new Dark Souls 3 screenshots, featuring many of the enemies and unexplored locales we’ll visit when DS3 hits stores next month. Sadly, there’s nothing revelatory in this week’s screenshots. But anyone anxious to get another look at Dark Souls 3, ahead of launch day, will undoubtedly enjoy scrolling through the latest batch of DS3 screenshots.
Dark Souls 3 is being developed for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The game hits North America on April 12.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more Dark Souls 3 coverage throughout 2016 and for as long as FromSoftware supports Dark Souls 3 in the months following launch.
