When it comes to the evolution of a game studio, few transformations have been as significant or as impactful as what FromSoftware has experienced with Elden Ring. While Demon’s Souls brought the studio’s name to everyone’s attention, its latest release cemented its name into gaming history forever.
The 2022 release was a monumental shift that changed FromSoft and, as Hidetaka Miyazaki admits, will define the company for years. But this kind of success can be a double-edged sword.
Elden Ring is a Blessing and a Curse for Miyazaki’s Studio
Hidetaka Miyazaki is the mastermind behind FromSoftware’s most iconic titles. His influence is unmistakable in every project he touches, shaping the distinctive feel and challenging gameplay that fans have come to expect from the studios’ releases.
However, in an interview with The Guardian, Miyazaki revealed that the success of the studio’s latest release pushed it to heights that may have also limited it in a way.
Before and after Elden Ring, there’s going to be a clear difference… you could see that in [2023’s mech game] Armored Core VI.
Success can be both good and bad, especially when you’ve achieved the heights that the studio’s latest release and Shadow of the Erdtree did.
There are more eyes on Miyazaki and his team now more than ever, of both fans and critics. The base game truly pushed the limits of what the studio is capable of achieving.
As Miyazaki explains, his team tapped into every possible reason it could. Creating something even more ambitious may not be within the studio’s capabilities.
The Stakes Are Too High to Allow for Failure
Many put Miyazaki on a pedestal high above the clouds because of his creative direction and life’s work. It’s moments like these that truly make him shine, where he can get vulnerable and admit his limits, focusing his creative vision on things he can accomplish.
He’s not one to shy away from risky ideas, as we’ve seen with Demon’s Souls, but he knows where to stay realistic.
The great thing about the studio’s success is that means more money, more human resources, more tools, and more of everything really.
That also means more pressure and expectations with less room to fail. As Miyazaki puts it:
Budgets, scale, scope, everything has grown to a point where room for failure isn’t tolerated as much as I think it was in the past.
That doesn’t mean there’s zero breathing room though. Miyazaki explains how important it is within an environment like this where failure is allowed. Trial and error is how talent can be nurtured.
Miyazaki expresses his desire to see more games from other directors at the company. Maybe the next FromSoftware release will see his dreams come true.
While the director believes in the trial-and-error approach for cultivating talent, do you think the current video game industry allows for such a thing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
