The Mind Behind Dark Souls Is a Generational Talent

When you think of Dark Souls today, you think of it as one of the most influential games of all time, especially in the 2010s. When you take a step back and look at the industry from the Indie space up to AA and AAA titles, the Soulsborne formula is all over it. But it wasn’t always like this. In 2004, the mind behind these profound titles was someone who, after playing a great game, decided that he wanted to do the same. An origin story that is surely common throughout the gaming industry. Though not everyone is, or can even be, Hidetaka Miyazaki. Creatives like him are truly once in a generation.

Humble Beginnings

It’s Never Too Late To Start

The game that ignited the spark to create in him was Ico, a classic PS2 title created by the minds behind Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. Miyazaki was 29 years old, with no prior industry experience. However, Ico had already planted the seed, and he was willing to do anything to get into the industry. He took a massive pay cut as he was initially an account manager before FromSoftware gave him a chance in 2004.

Miyazaki and Armored Core

Miyazaki’s first projects were in the Armored Core franchise, specifically Armored Core: Last Raven (2005). He was able to impress his superiors with his work and found himself in director roles for Armored Core 4 and Armored Core: For Answer in 2006 and 2008, respectively. This jump from junior designer/project planner to director in such a short time was already unprecedented, but it was just a glimpse into how far Miyazaki would go.

Failing Forward

The Impact of Demon’s Souls

Not every FromSoftware title was a hit, though.. In the mid-2000s, a fantasy RPG project that would one day become Demon’s Souls was struggling during its development. Many of the workers at FromSoftware, including Miyazaki, saw it as a failure in the making, thinking they were just shipping the game out to die. However, Miyazaki, being the visionary he is, saw the potential and offered to take over. It was an opportunity to revamp a failing project from the ground up, and if no one liked it, it wouldn’t matter since the game was a failure anyway.

Miyazaki took the project and began implementing his vision, which would now be seen as staples in the Souls franchise as a whole. The world of Demon’s Souls is bleak and unforgiving. The title demanded persistence from the players, which defied gaming trends as the industry was shifting toward making every player a winner. It wasn’t afraid to ostracize its potential audience to stay true to its vision and cater to those who would love it for what it was, which is a mindset present in every Souls game except for Elden Ring’s base game.

A Cult Classic

Of course, this caused Demon’s Souls to receive a lukewarm reception. It was too different. It didn’t do well in its initial reveal and demo at Tokyo Game Show. By all means, it looked like the failure that everyone had already seen coming; however, while the initial 20,000 copies sold may have disappointed FromSoftware and the game’s publisher, Sony, word of mouth spread among those looking for something different in the RPG space. The Souls community was born, and through passion alone, Demon’s Souls’ sales skyrocketed in Japan. Miyazaki was on the map as one of the industry’s most interesting new talents.

Birth of a Genre

Miyazaki Stayed True to His Vision

Miyazaki, now backed fully by FromSoftware and publisher Bandai Namco, proceeded to develop a spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls. In 2011, Dark Souls was released to the public, and Miyazaki was able to bring his design philosophy to an even larger audience. The title has a lot of Demon’s Souls’ DNA, but the developers polished it into a more palatable state. This isn’t to say that Dark Souls is perfect, quite the contrary, the game’s latter half is unfinished and uninspired.

 However, the title solidified the core features that would enable games like Lies of P and Stellar Blade to exist. The game’s design and vibe paved the way for games like Hollow Knight and Salt and Sanctuary. The game’s lackluster second half is uplifted by its perfect first half and excellent DLC. The impact of Dark Souls was profound, and it deserves every bit of praise it receives.

FromSoftware’s Transformation

The success of Dark Souls not only transformed the industry but also changed Miyazaki’s life. In May 2014, Miyazaki was promoted to President of FromSoftware, not even 10 years after joining the company, which is unheard of in Japan. This decision altered the company’s course, and 10 years later, they are no longer a niche company that made mech titles but one of the industry’s most respected AAA developers.

Bloodborne and Sekiro

Spinoffs are just as good as their source material

Dark Souls 2 was a massive success, although many fans consider it a step back from what made the original so great. Miyazaki took on a supervisor role while a different team handled the title. Miyazaki, instead, was hard at work directing 2015’s PS4 seller, Bloodborne, with Sony Japan Studio. Bloodborne showed that Miyazaki’s design philosophy wasn’t dependent on a fantasy setting. The way Miyazaki decided to craft his worlds and tell his narratives could work in something as different as Victorian eldritch horror. To no one’s surprise, this game was a massive hit as well, with many considering it a contender for best game in the franchise alongside Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

After the phenomenal ending to the Dark Souls Trilogy in 2016, which Miyazaki directed, he once again turned to a new setting. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a unique entry in the franchise, as while many consider it the most focused entry in the series, it’s more of a traditional action-adventure game than a Souls title. While it still maintained Miyazaki’s focus on player mastery and difficulty, its story was more front and center, which, in itself, is a massive departure from the games that came before it.

Good Experimentation

Sekiro arrived to critical acclaim, awards, and excellent sales. It was as if Miyazaki could do no wrong, but instead of becoming complacent in his success, Miyazaki continued to experiment. 2018 saw the release of a title called Déraciné. A VR puzzle adventure game that feels like a Souls title without the action. It’s perfect for those who love Miyazaki’s worlds but aren’t too fond of the barrier to entry.

Elden Ring and Shattered Expectations

A Benchmark in Gaming

The jump from Dark Souls 3 to Elden Ring is reminiscent of the leap from Demon’s Souls to Dark Souls. Elden Ring is Miyazaki’s most ambitious project to date, as it takes every design philosophy he’s been polishing for the last decade and dials it up to 11 with an open world twist. It is FromSoftware’s fastest-selling and highest-selling game of all time, and critics have hailed Elden Ring as one of the greatest games of all time.

The title also made the Souls genre more accessible for those scared off by its difficulty. Since the game is an open world, it offers the players the most choice when it comes to how they approach its challenges. The game is designed in a way that makes it both the easiest Souls title and the hardest. Sometimes this balance falls in and out of whack, and sometimes the open-world design is at direct odds with what made these titles enjoyable in the first place. However, the madman has officially done it and sent the Souls genre into the mainstream.

Miyazaki’s Influence

In 2023, Time Magazine named Miyazaki one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is the second video game developer to receive this recognition, following Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyazaki’s legacy is written in stone, and no matter how you feel about his work, you cannot deny that he has changed gaming with his catalog. The validation he receives from even those outside of gaming proves this without a doubt.

The Theory Behind Soulsborne Design

More than Difficulty

What’s important to remember is that these games are more than their difficulty. It’s easy to look at the franchise and boil it down to “hard game equals good game.” It’s about the emotional journey and sense of accomplishment that come with achieving something difficult. The games are designed for that hardship to be shared, and that’s why the community is as close-knit as it is. Miyazaki’s approach to narrative and worldbuilding also deserves praise for uplifting his titles. Instead of making a traditional story that you would find in a conventional RPG, Miyazaki opts to make a breathing, lived-in world for the player to get lost in. The story of his games is a culmination of many small stories, all moving in tandem with one another. Miyazaki’s titles are more than their difficulty.

Once In A Generation

There Will Never Be Another Miyazaki

Miyazaki’s journey from a non-traditional hire to one of the most influential figures in gaming is inspiring. Creators of today and future generations can look to his story as a blueprint for passion, risk-taking, and an uncompromising vision. In 10 years, he took an obscure niche studio and brought it into the mainstream, earning a place alongside Shigeru Miyamoto as one of the most influential video game developers of all time. He has blazed a path for developers to do something different and to trust in their instincts. There’s a lot to learn from his story, no matter what kind of creator you are. There will never be another story like his.