TOP 12 interesting facts about Hidetaka Miyazaki, author of the Dark Souls series

Hidetaka Miyazaki is a Japanese developer, best known for the trilogy Dark souls. The first part of this series changed the industry – it showed that high difficulty still attracts players. As a result, we saw the birth of the soul-like genre, the representatives of which imitate “Dark Souls”. But Hidetaka himself did not stand still – in addition to direct sequels Dark Souls, he released Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Elden Ring. In this article we have collected interesting facts about Miyazaki’s life path.

Many developers said that they have been playing since childhood. This was, for example, the case with John Romero, of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Earthquake. But Hidetaka was born into a poor family that had no money for video games. In addition, parents were afraid that their son would get too carried away with virtual fun, drop out of studies and not go to college.

However, the young Miyazaki started spending his evenings playing board games, mainly Dungeons & Dragons. This hobby had a direct influence on his future projects – Demon souls and Dark souls.

As a child, Hidetaka tried to read every book that appeared in the local library. Hidetaka’s favorite writers included George Martin, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, and Bram Stoker. According to Miyazaki, their works appeared in English without translation into Japanese, so the man did not understand everything. I had to figure out part of the story myself. Later, Hidetaka would use understatement as an artistic tool. He will try to repeat his childhood experience, but in the form of a video game. One of the manga that Miyazaki loved is Berserk by Kentaro Miura.

All these works are reflected in the developer’s work. For example, the world of Bloodborne is inspired by the Lovecraft universe with its Cthulhu and Dagon, and in Dark Souls you will find many references to Berserk, from the atmosphere of a dying world to the appearance of swords and armor. George Martin personally participated in the work Elden Ring.

Hidetaka didn’t become interested in video games until the age of 27. In 2001, a friend recommended he check out Ico, a 3D platformer with adventure elements. The game influenced Miyazaki so much that the man wanted to become a developer himself. Games could be a way to show the world his childhood fantasies, which still fueled his imagination.

In Japan it is not common to change professions. Moreover, many people work in the same company all their lives. Hidetaka graduated from Keio University and worked for several years as a customer service manager at the American IT company Oracle. But at the age of 29, he decided he wanted to develop games. Of course, few studios were willing to hire someone with no experience. This led Hidetaka to FromSoftware, which was then actively involved in the series Armored core. He took part in the development of three parts – numbered fourth, as well as spin-offs Last Raven and for answers.

Demon’s Souls is considered innovative, and Dark Souls cleverly expanded on its ideas. However, many elements of the mechanics and setting of “Demon Souls” were found in early FromSoftware projects, which released on the PlayStation 1 in the 1990s. Shadow Tower and Trilogy Koningsveld. A gloomy and dark world, creepy monsters, high difficulty, souls given for killing enemies, after which they are used to increase the power of the main character – all this is reminiscent of the games in the Souls series. The main difference is that Shadow Tower and King’s Field used a first-person perspective. And although Hidetaka was not yet interested in video games in the 1990s, his work was clearly influenced by FromSoftware’s first creations.

During heavy snowfall, cars often get stuck on steep slopes. In this case, other drivers approach the car from behind and push it. Hidetaka was impressed by this kind of help from strangers, and he decided to show it in a video game format. In Demon’s Souls, and later Dark Souls, users can leave messages that are visible to everyone online. Among them there are both hints and harmful advice, for example, the suggestion to lower the shield and run forward when arrows fly at the hero. In addition, the games Souls, Bloodborne and Elden Ring allow multiple players to take down bosses.

When Miyazaki took over development of Demon’s Souls, it was already in production hell. By this time, the studio was confident the game would fail, so Hidetaka was given complete creative freedom. This allowed him to realize all his ideas. He canceled all previous developments and together with his colleagues created a project in a dark fantasy setting with high complexity that cannot be reduced. Let’s not forget that in 2009 games were made easier and easier to attract a casual audience.

Ironically, it was the hardcore complexity of the FromSoftware project that interested gamers. Rumors about her worked like word of mouth. As a result, Demon’s Souls was published not only in Japan but also abroad, performing well in sales.

This game formed the basis of the legendary Dark Souls. And “Demons” itself received a full-fledged remake 11 years later, which remains one of the best PlayStation 5 exclusives.

Sooner or later the player gets used to the complexity of FromSoftware projects and they no longer seem impenetrable. But the most important tests await in the expansions. On the Internet you can find many tops of the most powerful bosses in games of Hidetaka. Almost all of them are from story DLCs. In the Artorias of the Abyss add-on for the first Dark Souls, we met Manus, the father of the Abyss, in Bloodborne: The Old Hunters were waiting for you with Ludwig and the Orphan of Kos, and inside Ashes of Ariandel in front In Dark Souls 3 we have to fight Sister Friede.

After the phenomenal success of the first Dark Souls, Miyazaki was named head of FromSoftware. The decision was made in May 2014, that is, 10 years after the start of his career as a game developer. This is an unprecedented case for Japan, especially considering that Hidetaka had nothing to do with the industry until 2004.

Despite his new position as president of FromSoftware, Hidetaka continued to serve as head of development for all of the studio’s soul-style games. The only exception was Dark Souls 2. At the time, Miyazaki was busy with Bloodborne. Among Dark Souls fans, the second part is considered the studio’s worst game in recent years due to its low difficulty, poor plot and balance issues. However, there are people who liked it.

In 2018, that is, after the release of the third Dark Souls and before the release of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Deracine appeared on PlayStation VR. The genre of this game is reminiscent of an interactive movie in the spirit of Beyond: Two Souls. We are asked to take control of a fairy that is supposed to protect children from trouble. You also have to solve simple puzzles and collect objects. Journalists praised the play for its thick atmosphere of Victorian England and the complex themes that Deracine tackles. However, the gameplay turned out to be too boring. The project remained exclusive to PlayStation VR.

Players are sometimes outraged that FromSoftware projects differ little from each other. In fact, the developers improve their own ideas and add new mechanisms to them. For example, in the recent Elden Ring, a full-fledged open world and an interesting system of interaction with computer-controlled allies appeared. It turned out to be Miyazaki’s highest rated game. The average rating of the specialized press is 96 points out of 100. For comparison: Bloodborne has 92 out of 100, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has 90 out of 100, Dark Souls has 89 out of 100. In addition, the vast majority of publications called Elden Ring is the best game of 2022.

will be released on June 21 Shadow of the Erdtree, the first story expansion for Elden Ring. We’re promised a new location, additional weapon types, and more than a dozen new bosses. We hope that among them there will be truly complex monsters that will make even Malenia pale in comparison.

Do you like Hidetaka Miyazaki’s games? Or are they too hardcore for you? Share your thoughts in the comments!