Dark Souls: Design Works

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Miyazaki: Probably, relief from his pain at last… Although it's extremely difficult and I doubt anyone will ever discover it, I seem to recall there being a way to progress through the game without killing him, although in truth, it's more of an exploit than a valid method. The armor is described as being able to be worn by humans "but not without great difficulty". This may imply that some aspects of the armor are adapted to Smough's body.

Waragai: Initially he was going to be the boss of the area, the Bed of Chaos lying sprawled on the floor and waves its hands about but he was a king sitting on his throne… Miyazaki: Yes, we did, although I think the 3D artists would have heard that more than the concept artists, or those people in charge of lighting and effects. At first, we tried to explain it saying "you know, the light glows behind him like this", but in the end it was just easier to call it "Power" Miyazaki: Thank you. She was the heroine of the story at one point, so I'm glad you think so. Moving on to the Endead Burg: we never really spent much time working on the look of the area. It was the first map we created and the large bridge, the church and the other structures were already planned out by the 3D artist who was in charge of the area. As the lead artist on the project, he had already decided exactly how he wanted these things to look down to the smallest detail, even the levers and statues. Satake: When he's having difficulty trying to explain something, he would often take out an old book, point to something and say "like this!" I suppose I'm getting slightly off-topic so I will stop there, but it's something I want to work on in the future.Miyazaki: Yes, but each of the areas had its own feel or tone as far as art direction was concerned. For an area like Blight Town for example, we found that once we decided on the general direction and gathered appropriate reference materials, there wasn't really a need to spend too much time developing the look of the area, it just came together. However in areas which were composed of more traditional architecture, we had to spend a lot of time working on the finer details. There weren't a huge amount of artists on the team so it was a case of moving people to where they would be of most use. Otsuka: I think it's a really unique area, I remember before travelling there I was excited to see what would happen. Miyazaki: There was one more thing I wanted to achieve with Anor Londo; the last game I directed, Demon's Souls, was based in the early middle ages so it was extremely difficult to gather reference materials for the area designs. Dark Souls is based in a later time period so with Anor Londo, I saw a chance to create an area that felt more cohesive and full of the kind of detail that we couldn't achieve in Demon's Souls.

Miyazaki: Everyone really loves it. There are a couple of people who also draw mechs, but I think it would be very difficult to work with someone who didn't like fantasy. It would be hard to communicate some of the more fantasy based-ideas. Miyazaki: Yes, we struggled at first but I think the final design is great. In fact when I find the armour in-game myself, I can't help but equip it for a while. With the blue surcoat and other additions, I really think it turned into a very cool design. Miyazaki: According to the artists, it was, but I believe that if your instructions are too specific, the designs you get will be somewhat devoid of creativity, so I try to give out just the most basic, essential information before handing it over to the artists' imaginations, which inevitable eclipses my own. My initial instructions are certainly abstract. For example, when designing equipment I'd simply say "make something you can trust with your life on the battlefield", or "make something that has enchantments to protect you". I think the artists probably didn't know what I was talking about half the time.Otsuka: Earlier we were talking about Crossbreed Pricilla, but are there any other characters whose role changed dramatically as development progressed? Waragai: I remember you said that to me when I was working on the undead dragon. Originally, it was covered with maggots, but you told me that instead I needed to try and capture the sadness of this great creature as it marches towards extinction. Miyazaki: This is actually how most of the areas were constructed. The map design was really what dictated everything else, once we determined what needed to happen in each area we would immediately draw up a rough map, then once the basic layout of the area was decided, we'd work on the finer details. Through the rough map I was able to communicate the requirements, structure and appearance of an area to the artists, and have them develop those ideas through collaborating with one another. I'm never satisfied with design works that simply follows the design brief so I often requested that the artists and designers add some of their own ideas. I believe that these ideas can enrich the area, if not the entire game, although this can lead to more work of course. The designers and artists of Dark Souls III make use of this composition to empower the emotions of despair and dread throughout this section of the game. The fact that the ending of the game is approaching in this level is not communicated through dialogue or text but through the presentation of the environment towards the player. This communication is made effective through the application of techniques commonly found within paintings of the romantic period. The yellowish colour pallet in this case does not create a warm atmosphere, but instead contributes towards the feeling of desolation by emphasising that the location is in fact an apocalyptic wasteland deteriorated by countless years of ruin and erosion. The viewer can comprehend the magnitude of time since passed through the image. Entire ruins and castles seem to have been shifted and pushed by sands. There is a significant contrast between light and dark tones in the scene that give the work a dramatic quality. This dramatic quality is supported by the gusts of wind that drag sand across the scene; the power of the environment is displayed.

Hatsuyama: No, not at all, I think you pointed out a lot of useful things, I think it really took me to places I wouldn't have gone to before. Miyazaki: Yes. I think she works well here, she's kind of snow-coloured after all…. But I also think the Painted World is place where someone who's being chased might go to escape, and she fits that description. Hatsuyama: Can I ask aboutGwynevere, because compared to the other female charters she's very different, almost glamorous. Miyazaki: What are you saying! Let's talk, you were in charge of the last boss Gwyn Lord of Cinder, how was that?

Miyazaki: Priscilla was designed out-of-house. I had a pretty clear image of what I wanted for the character so I trusted it to a separate art studio. Miyazaki: There was a lot I wanted to fit into Anor Londo. As I mentioned before, I wanted it to feel like a reward after finishing Sen's Fortress, but I also wanted it to be an area with no clear road, to have the player walk in places that you wouldn't normally walk, such as the buttresses. Then there was also the image of the setting sun, and the way the area changes once night falls. I really like the way your eye is drawn to the different features like the revolving staircase elevator. Miyazaki: That's the truth, there were quite a few, when deadlines were closing in and I couldn't get a good mental image of what I wanted but we had to settle on something. Those situations were the hardest because I knew something was wrong, but couldn't express what I wanted and couldn't give a solution. That was difficult, both for me and for the artists I was working with. I suppose the Bed of Chaos is the principal example of this. Miyazaki: Yes, but the artist had such a happy look on his face, I didn't have the heart to stop him.

Miyazaki: Yes that actually Super Tiger'srolling sobat. I think I recall saying that Super Tiger's story is one of the greatest ever told, although I suppose that's not really relevant here. Chaos Eaters

Dark Souls III Art Gallery

Nakamura: Right from the initial concept stages, when we were still working from key words like "ancient dragon", "chaos demon" and "undead" I thought long and hard about how to create something fresh and new for the people who played Demon's Souls.