It has been known since the inception of FromSoftware’s Elden Ring that it is the first time the studio has ventured off into the world of the open-world genre of video games, and the rest remains history for the world to witness. Not only did Hidetaka Miyazaki and the studio manage to make a great open-world RPG game, but he also perfected the craft, making it a masterpiece that comes along once in a few decades.
However, what many might not know is that there were initial doubts that surfaced during the production of the game regarding its open nature, and how it poses a fatal flaw that would be finally fixed with the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. This was revealed by Miyazaki in a recent interview via Eurogamer.
How A Fatal Flaw Of Elden Ring Will Be Fixed By The Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC
While FromSoftware might have nailed the level design of The Lands Between to act as the map of Elden Ring, it happened to be way too vast, with mysteries and unaccounted discoveries waiting to be explored in every single direction. While many would argue this is what makes the map great, it unfortunately takes away the density from the main storyline and plot that is going on at the same time.
Mentioning how they will be bringing changes to the field design this time around, Miyazaki remarked in the aforementioned interview:
“This time, we wanted to go more in-depth and bring a denser and richer level design, which brings these types of layout together a little more seamlessly”
What this essentially means is that the approaching Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will reportedly have more content packed within a limited area, giving it density and a better structure than previously observed.
Why There Were Initial Doubts In Elden Ring’s Development
As stated before, Elden Ring was FromSoftware’s first time properly venturing off into the wild world of the open-world genre, and they managed to nail it on their first try. Nonetheless, some concerns arose during the development as they aimed to do things uniquely.
Talking about the development process of world-building, Hidetaka Miyazaki in another interview via IGN stated:
“It would be a lie to say there was no concern about that from any of the dev team, But what I want to stress is that we didn’t set out with the goal to make an open-world game in the traditional sense.”
He further mentioned how he aimed to create a game that was not difficult, but challenging, essentially meaning that there would be enemies and threats in large amounts hidden around in the world, remaining unknown.
The recent gameplay trailer for the DLC seems to confirm the director’s claim of having a denser map and level design for the game. It features many new areas to unlock, weapons, ash of wars, and most importantly enemies that we have never even heard of or have seen before.
Elden Ring is available to purchase on Steam.
