In Japanese so you will need to translate
「DARK SOULS」シリーズをはじめ，高難度のアクションRPGで世界的にも評価の高いフロム・ソフトウェア。2022年2月には「ELDEN RING」をリリースし，大ヒットを収めた。そんな本作は，何を目指して作られたのか。フロム・ソフトウェア 代表取締役社長である宮崎英高氏に振り返ってもらい，現在の開発体制や，自身の独特な手法についても語ってもらった。
www.4gamer.net
4Gamer:
Thank you for your time today. It's been more than three months since the release of "ELDEN RING", and some players have already finished playing, but how is the response?
Mr. Miyazaki:
I feel that it is bigger than our previous titles, or that we have received various responses from a wide range of people. There are pros and cons, but I would like to take it firmly and use it as food for the future.
4Gamer:
I got the impression that "ELDEN RING" is widely played by players other than existing FromSoftware fans and "DARK SOULS" series fans. This is reflected both in terms of sales and how to buzz on SNS.
Mr. Miyazaki:
Yes. As a member of the production team, I am very grateful. But why did this happen this time? To be honest, I don't really understand that. I think there are some issues, such as collaboration with George R. R. Martin and improving the sense of scale by adopting an open field, but I haven't been able to analyze them clearly yet.
4Gamer:
The scale of "ELDEN RING" surprised me as a player. There are various elements from the past From Software titles, but where did you originally start planning and development?
Mr. Miyazaki:
There are several, but one was to create a title that can only be achieved by accumulating them, based on the technology and know-how cultivated in the "DARK SOULS" series. When I start making a game, I think about "what is the special experience of this game". For example, in "SEKIRO", it was "the excitement of a new swashbuckler who adopted playing", but in "ELDEN RING", it was "a feeling of scale beyond the stack".
4Gamer:
It was the title because you continued the "DARK SOULS" series.
Mr. Miyazaki:
At least in our sense of scale, it would have been impossible to make an "ELDEN RING" from scratch. The other is "degree of freedom" and "adventure" that presuppose such a sense of scale. I think this was a major factor in adopting the open field.
4Gamer:
I really enjoyed the freedom of role-playing. I spent a lot of time sleeping and played every day, so the loss after the ending was amazing. Everyone around me, including myself, says that there are so many places to adventure that even when you haven't started "ELDEN RING", you're so addicted that you think "how do you play today?" It was a high-priced game.
Mr. Miyazaki:
I'm very happy to hear such a story.
4Gamer:
It's a story of stacking, but in fact, "ELDEN RING" strongly felt a sense of culmination as the genealogy of "DARK SOULS". However, if you make this much, the hurdle for the next work will be very high.
Miyazaki:
Well, that's not often the case. We do not set such a hurdle, whether it is sales or evaluation.
4Gamer:
Yeah, is that so?
Mr. Miyazaki:
That kind of thing tends to be an impurity in our game production, isn't it? If you try to overcome the hurdles, you have to be conservative. So, of course, there is a minimum line for the project, and from that point onward, we prioritize what we want to create. Whether it was "SEKIRO" or "ELDEN RING", it was a rather risky project at the beginning.
4Gamer:
I think it was a challenging title. If "2" comes out, it may be a hot seller, but ... From Software now doesn't do much like making a sequel by taking advantage of its name value. "DARK SOULS" continued, but it was a break.
Miyazaki:
That is a case-by-case basis. There are merits to both taking over the numbering and creating a new work with a new title, so I would like to select as appropriate.
4Gamer:
I think it's really like From Software that it doesn't mean "it's better to make it a sequel in terms of sales" (laughs).
Miyazaki:
If you are serious about making games, that's a good company
4Gamer:
At the time of the interview with "SEKIRO" in 2018, it was said that 3.5 lines were in operation in-house at that time, and two of them were unpublished ( related article ). One of the unpublished ones was "ELDEN RING", but is the other one still under development?
Miyazaki:
Yes. Development is also in the final stages.
4Gamer:
It's been a long time, so I would like to ask you again about the current development system of From Software.
Mr. Miyazaki:
As I answered in some interviews, I was able to create a title with a sense of scale of "ELDEN RING" because of the growth of human resources in the company, but from now on, I think we will often leave the project to them. In fact, there are several titles directed by people other than me, and it's time to increase the number of developers (*). I think we can show you the direction of another color of From Software, so please look forward to it.
* Today (June 24, 2022), From Software has released a special recruitment site .
4Gamer:
To what extent does Miyazaki-san see the direction title of another person?
Mr. Miyazaki:
Unless you consult with us, as the president, I only make a minimum amount of confirmation, and I try not to look too much. I'm essentially a director, so when I touch a title under development, I think about it and want to say it. But in that case, I'm not the director, I'm not the subject of the vision, and I can't take responsibility to the end, so I feel that extra talk will have a lot of negative effects on the game and the project.
4Gamer:
So, is Miyazaki focusing on your own direction title?
Miyazaki:
That's right. I will continue to direct it.
4Gamer:
I'm happy as a player, but I don't hear much about him continuing to direct even after he became president ...
Mr. Miyazaki:
Originally I wanted to be a director, and after all the game production site is the most fun. Even so, I'm the president because it's convenient for the company From Software, but ... well, I want to give in to the kindness of the people around me and skip as much as possible (laughs).
4Gamer:
No, please talk with the president this time (laughs). You want to increase the number of people, but what kind of company is From Software in the first place? There aren't many creators on the table, we don't promote using the name value of the title, and when we look at it from the outside, it looks like a mysterious group of craftsmen.
Mr. Miyazaki:
I don't know if the word craftsman is appropriate, but I want to be a company that only needs to make interesting games seriously. Ideally, for example, an environment where people who are just serious about making interesting games can be found, evaluated, and have a chance without being bothered by internal politics or trivial matters.
4Gamer:
Mr. Miyazaki himself has no experience in the game industry and joined the company halfway through, directing hit works one after another and becoming president, so I understand that there is a climate with such opportunities. However, I'm sorry, but when it comes to manufacturers that are being pulled by those with such momentum, the image that the development environment seems to be harsh ...
Miyazaki:
I definitely deny that. I myself am a person who loves game production and wants to immerse himself in it, but that's why I'm careful not to assume that kind of feeling. I do not want or intend to use a work style that is physically or temporally unreasonable as a standard for evaluation. I intend to convey this as a clear message within the company, and in fact, the working environment should have improved significantly in recent years.
4Gamer:
That's right. excuse me.
Mr. Miyazaki:
If there is one more point, in recent years we have been trying to improve the salary treatment of employees. In particular, in this term, we plan to increase the bonus standard by January and increase the salary of young to mid-career employees as a whole. As a result, the salary of new graduates will be 260,000. In addition to these, there is also a mechanism called a settlement bonus. This is a mechanism that allows you to pay an additional bonus when the company's financial results are good, and it is not always done every year, but at least since I became president, it has been paid every year.
For example, since there was "ELDEN RING" in the previous term, it is basically 4 months' worth, and more for the core members of the project.
4Gamer:
Listening to the story, the image of being a group of craftsmen became stronger, but is there any unique part in the development system?
Mr. Miyazaki:
That's right ... This is my policy as a director rather than From Software, but I emphasize "stimulation of collaboration".
4Gamer:
What do you say?
Mr. Miyazaki:
In game production, we will collaborate with staff who have various positions, specialities, and senses, but let's make use of the stimulus received from them in the process to make the game richer and more interesting. It is that. I think that is the real thrill of making a game as a team. In other words, I don't really appreciate my imagination. Therefore, I feel that it is probably not enough to just make what I first imagined and thought about, and that the game will come to life only with the stimulation of collaboration. Also, as a director, I am careful not to sway my concept and vision while taking advantage of such stimuli.
4Gamer:
From Software's title seems to have few stories like "I am the designer of this character", but is that the same story?
Miyazaki:
Well, that's a slightly different story, isn't it? It is necessary for each individual member of the team to take pride and aspiration in their work in order to improve the quality, and I think that from Software is rather strong.
However, we are aware that improving the overall game is a priority over that. Individual insistence is important, but it can be adjusted if necessary for the overall improvement.
I think this is especially important for myself. I'm a director and, incidentally, a president, but that doesn't mean my ideas and opinions should be sanctuaries.
Well, thanks to you, I'm often told at meetings that "it's different" (laughs).
4Gamer:
Really, it's a development that goes on the ground with the previous "If you seriously make an interesting game, that's fine".
Miyazaki:
I want to digest ideas that I couldn't do with action RPGs so far
4Gamer:
Please tell us about your goals as a director. One culmination of "ELDEN RING" has been completed. Is there anything you would like to do or are interested in in the future?
Mr. Miyazaki:
As a director, the next title is already in motion, so I'd like to avoid spoilers there ...
In the medium to long term, I would like to work on a fantasy with a higher degree of abstraction than past works.
4Gamer:
Is it a degree of abstraction? I don't get the image for a moment, though.
Mr. Miyazaki:
In the process of making fantasy titles for action RPGs, including "ELDEN RING", fantasy ideas and images that are not suitable for that format continue to accumulate, and somewhere they are spit out together. I want to.
4Gamer:
I see. Certainly, it's been an action RPG format for a long time, so there seem to be many things I couldn't do even if I wanted to. Is it a problem because I have continued to make it?
Mr. Miyazaki:
Well, it looks like it will be my hobby (laughs).
4Gamer:
Mr. Miyazaki's hobby, "Déraciné," was quite shocking, so I would love to see a different title.
Mr. Miyazaki:
"Déraciné" is a title that I have a deep feeling for, so I'd be happy if you could say that. Thank you. Well, if I run for a hobby, I think it will be quite delicate as a business. Therefore, the titles that support the company are rather taken over by new young directors, and I am aiming for a state where I can quietly create titles with high taste. This time, increasing the number of personnel and creating a new system is also aimed at such a goal (laughs).
4Gamer:
Is that okay, say that (laughs). Lastly, I would like to ask you, "ELDEN RING" is also a paragraph, and what will happen to the title development in the future?
Mr. Miyazaki:
First of all, the update of "ELDEN RING" will continue in the future. Also, as I've talked about, in addition to the titles I direct myself, I'm developing multiple titles by directors who aren't me, but I'm not at the stage where I can talk about them in detail. I'm sorry, but I hope you have a little more time.
4Gamer:
I see. We are looking forward to the announcement of new information. Thank you for today.
. The Tree area is brilliant.. but does make me feel that the defined locations in this game are alot better than the open field type stuff IMO.
. You have to go to Hogwartz and down to the bottom on the giant wheel. Let yourself be killed by the machine that gobbles you up. If that is the killing move it transports you to the new area.