One of the common themes that spans all of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s games is how they are based on a Dark Fantasy Genre. This includes his best works to date, including Bloodborne and his most recent release Elden Ring. However, there is one thing that sets his latest creation apart from all the other Soulsborne games, thanks to the freedom he granted George RR Martin.
For those who might not know, George RR Martin is the writer of the famous Game of Thrones books and was employed by FromSoftware to create the mythological backstory for the events of Elden Ring. It was revealed how one aspect of Martin’s creative freedom granted by Miyazaki allowed him to write what sets the game apart from others.
What Hidetaka Miyazaki Did For George RR Martin Which Allowed Him To Set Elden Ring Apart From Other Games
As mentioned before, the renowned writer was the one responsible for coming up with a backstory for the game dating back to 5000 years before the main events of the title. Talking about how this allowed George RR Martin to write at his best capacity, Hidetaka Miyazaki via IGN stated:
“Storytelling in videogames—at least the way we do it at FromSoftware—comes with a lot of restrictions for the writer. I didn’t think it was a good idea to have Martin write within those restrictions, By having him write about a time the player isn’t directly involved in, he is free to unleash his creativity in the way he likes.”
The director talks about how traditionally at the studio, the job of writing comes along with a lot of limits to whoever’s responsible for curating the story. However, this time around Hidetaka Miyazaki thought otherwise and chose to free George RR Martin from these limits by letting him write about a time that is not gonna be included directly in the game, allowing him to ‘unleash his creativity’.
Miyazaki also further stated how this decision was driven by the fact that the studio wanted the game’s storyline to not be as linear and story-driven as their releases in the past. This decision is also what partially helped the game to achieve the open-world effect that FromSoftware was aiming for.
What Is The Greatest Contribution From The Creator Of Game Of Thrones To Elden Ring
There is no doubt that Martin played a huge role in the major success of the video game. The same was acknowledged by the director of the game in another interview, where he stated how the writer’s greatest contribution to the story was the addition of Heroic Characters to the storyline.
These Heroic Characters are one of the many unique elements that were finally introduced in the world of Soulsborne games with Martin’s writing. They play a significant part in the success of the title and will be responsible for the success of the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC again when it finally releases.
Elden Ring is available to purchase on Steam.
