FromSoftware’s legendary game creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is known for his iconic creations like Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. He shot to fame with the launch and massive success of Dark Souls, which many believe was the beginning of his gaming endeavors. However, that wasn’t where Miyazaki started his journey.
Back in 2015, before the release of Bloodborne, Miyazaki had revealed details about his first game as a game director. He also shared how he made Bloodborne.
Armored Core 4 was Hidetaka Miyazaki’s first game
During an interview with Future Press, Miyazaki was asked if it was true that Armored Core 4 was his debut as a game director. He confirmed saying,
“That’s right. I started as the lead planner on the project, but became the director mid-way through the prototype phase. As the lead planner, I was in charge of the setting, story, design, and game systems. One of the more distinctive features I worked on was the Quick Boost mechanic.”
He was then asked if his involvement with Armored Core 4 and later Armored Core for Answer, was the reason why the games felt different than previous Armored Core games. To this, Miyazaki said,
“But with Armored Core for Answer, we were working on that in parallel with Demon’s Souls, so there were quite a few challenges. When Demon’s Souls was in the initial planning stages, and right around the time it was entering the prototype phase, I came on as the director, and at the time, it was a completely different and very difficult project compared to what it ended up becoming.”
He further added that one thing he clearly remembers was that the camera perspective was completely different. The initial plan according to Hidetaka Miyazaki was to make it first-person, or a game wherein players could switch between first and third-person perspectives.
Armored Core 4‘s connection to Elder Scrolls 4
He further went on to reveal that when they were working on Armored Core 4, the makers wanted it to be similar to Elder Scrolls 4. He shared,
“At the time, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was a really big deal, and I think SCE wanted a game similar to that. From my perspective, though, I didn’t think we could compete by taking the same approach as Oblivion, so I wanted to focus more on gameplay elements like battles and exploration, and had to do a lot to convince everyone that a third-person camera was the way to go.”
Naturally, he was asked what exactly did he say to convince them. To this, he replied,
“I started by explaining the direction of the game. I just mentioned the focus on battles and exploration, and in order to facilitate those, I knew that a locked third-person camera was the best way to go, so I explained my logic.”
He further shared that whether it was the environment layout, the object and enemy placement, or the back-and-forth action in battle, he always knew they couldn’t deliver the best results unless the camera perspective was set. According to Miyazaki, he believed that for Armored Core 4, the third-person perspective was best given the multiplayer elements and other facets of gameplay.
The legendary creator then laughed and said that he expressed a lot of stuff like that, whatever came to his mind, just to convince them. It’s interesting to see how Miyazaki has always believed in his unconventional ideas and stood by them. His belief in himself and ideas has always worked, making him known and as revered as he is today.
