Hidetaka Miyazaki is now known as the father of the Soulslike genre after delivering FromSoftware’s Dark Souls and Elden Ring, which was released in 2020. Miyazaki had also worked on the 2015 Action RPG title, Bloodborne. Fresh off the release of Bloodborne, Miyazaki sat down for an interview with the Guardian and revealed not all of his success was predicted.
Miyazaki’s rise to fame surprised not just the gaming community, but an entire country, and inspired several individuals on the way. Miyazaki had humble beginnings, but has now quickly joined some of the legends in the gaming industry as well as becoming a fan favorite.
From Starting as a Coder to Taking Risks at FromSoftware Inc.
Miyazaki’s interview after the release of Bloodborne back in 2015 reveals his inspiring journey. He joined FromSoftware Inc. in 2004 as a coder. He had worked on the Armored Core robot combat series, and heard about another game in development within the studio titled Demon’s Souls. The early development of the title wasn’t going well with several issues being reported and there was no prototype in sight.
Miyazaki was drawn to the title after learning it was a fantasy-action RPG title. He revealed feeling excited after planning to take control of the game. He believed if his ideas failed “nobody would care – it was already a failure.”
Miyazaki ended up changing everything about the game but Demon’s Souls still faced a bad reception at the Tokyo Game Show. Following the launch, the title sold around 20,000 copies in the first week. It wasn’t until word spread about the game that it garnered more fans.
Once more of the community understood the game, found new tricks, and most of all, figured out that players were able to leave messages for others in the game, several others were immediately drawn toward the title. A few months later, the game passed the 100,000 units sold mark and Miyazaki made a name for himself.
He was then involved with Dark Souls which overtook Demon’s Souls sales figures after just a week. Following the smash-hit success of the first Dark Souls game, Miyazaki was made President of the studio. His success story was called “unprecedented” by Ema Kodaka who edits his scripts. Kodaka revealed that Miyazaki’s decision to change his career to join FromSoftware Inc. and to become the company President within 10 years is both inspiring and never before heard of in Japan.
Before Elden Ring, Miyazaki Created an Unfamiliar Game with Bloodborne
Soon after becoming the President, Miyazaki started working on Bloodborne. He brought a lot of elements from his previous two games, but also forced players to duck and roll away from the attackers with no shield to defend themselves.
Players regained XP by retreating from fights as every enemy became more and more fierce. The game was very different at a time when several other titles followed a similar style, as Miyazaki continued to be more hands-on.
Miyazaki’s quick rise to fame began from his unique gamble after taking control of Demon’s Souls and continues well beyond Elden Ring‘s massive success. As fans await Elden Ring’s first DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree to drop any time this year, the entire gaming community would feel thankful that the chances he took paid off in such a positive manner.
What’s your guess on Miyazaki’s next project? Let us know in the comments below!
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