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[Bloodborne] 4Gamer Interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki - [Fully Translated]

  • Thread starter Deleted member 17706
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HuntTheMusic

Neo Member
Fantastic interview. Its no wonder he is held in such high regard. Really came across how passionate he is about his projects. Shareholders are obviously hoping that kind of influence extends over the whole studio given his new role.

Thanks OP for the work on the translation.
 

SeanTSC

Member
Damn, that was fantastic, thank you for that. I feel like I need a cigarette (and I don't even smoke). Miyazaki is awesome.
 
I loved the fact that both sides agree with Sony preferring to make the game into a completely new IP is very "SCE Like"
I wish the interviewer would've asked how Miyazaki/From felt about Sony's decision to not publish the game in the west. I'm sure Sony had initially planned a localization, especially if they were hoping for something "Elder Scrolls-like", and I wonder how much Miyazaki's comments about "bitter" feelings when struggling to explain his vision for the game's online play had to do with Sony's final decision. [Edit: That is to say, I wonder how much or if his inability to articulate his plans effected Sony's decision. I am not presuming that Sony's decision is what inspired his bitter thoughts, though it did somewhat read that way.]

I remember Yoshida mentioned in an interview once that when he first played Demon's Souls, the game ran terribly and the online systems weren't even testable yet. I'm sure Miyazaki had a lot of frustrating moments around that time.

And I wonder if there was ever talk of a Demon's Souls II. Did Sony never express any interest, or was From already committed to Dark Souls with Namco by the time they realized what they had with Demon's? Did any perspectives on Demon's Souls, like Yoshida's, change near the Japanese release, or did sentiments shift after the game's Western success months later?

I'd love a post mortem on the development and reception of the Demon's Souls.
 

Orayn

Member
...I really need to play King's Field. Which is the best installment?

The Ancient City / IV is very mechanically refined and will probably feel pretty familiar to someone who's played the Souls series. Shadow Tower Abyss is even more like Souls if you're willing to import and it with the fan translation patch.
 
Thanks for that, OP. Miyazaki seems like the coolest, most driven cat ever.

Getting a glimpse into his game design ideologies and philosophies makes me believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can catch glorious lightning in a bottle for a third time. I've said it before, but I'm so glad this isn't Demon's Souls 2. He seems incredibly excited to be working on a new IP and that's the most we can ask as fans.
 
Lots of thanks for the translation Zefah. It's a damned community service for From fans.

I'm really looking forward to the information drip, particularly with how they're changing the flow of combat. Thinking back, it's kinda funny how much more a good shield and decent skill with parrying dominates offensively and defensively in relation to sticking with just dodging - In PvE anyways, since I never PvP-ed all that much. Footage of the player being given a quick side-step makes me hopeful that they're implementing a system with several different types of dodges, so you can pick the quickest, most suitable dodge for the situation and get right back to attacking.

I'm also really hoping they finally get rid of durability. I like Dark Souls 2 just fine, but I can't help but feel that it's made the durability system finally wear out it's welcome.
 
Really appreciate that you took the time to translate it, great stuff.

What I like about MIyazaki is that he knows exactly what it is he wants to create, if that makes any sense. It came together so well in demon souls, and I expect the same for Bloodborne
 

Renekton

Member
Thanks for the translation Zefah, really appreaciated.


This is very interesting part on both Miyazakia as a creative person and FromSoft's way of handling their talent. It's good to see that Miyazaki is type of creative person that wouldn't be bogged down by his past work no matter how successful they are. Though the result of handing out Dark Souls 2 to a new person not really successful, giving chance to other might be beneficial in the long run.
I would say it's successful.

DS2 is still likely the best RPG of 2014, regardless of DS1 fan gripes.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
That is so cool!

Seems like my post got sacrificed (all for a good cause!), so let me reiterate my thanks, OP, for your hard work in the translation. You're the best. <3
 

Ridley327

Member
I wish the interviewer would've asked how Miyazaki/From felt about Sony's decision to not publish the game in the west. I'm sure Sony had initially planned a localization, especially if they were hoping for something "Elder Scrolls-like", and I wonder how much Miyazaki's comments about "bitter" feelings when struggling to explain his vision for the game's online play had to do with Sony's final decision. [Edit: That is to say, I wonder how much or if his inability to articulate his plans effected Sony's decision. I am not presuming that Sony's decision is what inspired his bitter thoughts, though it did somewhat read that way.]

I remember Yoshida mentioned in an interview once that when he first played Demon's Souls, the game ran terribly and the online systems weren't even testable yet. I'm sure Miyazaki had a lot of frustrating moments around that time.

And I wonder if there was ever talk of a Demon's Souls II. Did Sony never express any interest, or was From already committed to Dark Souls with Namco by the time they realized what they had with Demon's? Did any perspectives on Demon's Souls, like Yoshida's, change near the Japanese release, or did sentiments shift after the game's Western success months later?

I'd love a post mortem on the development and reception of the Demon's Souls.

I doubt we're ever going to see someone speak candidly about how Sony passing it over for western localization affected their relationship, beyond how many times various Sony executives have apologized for doing so. Of course, it couldn't have been that painful for either of them, as Dark Souls was exclusive to the PS3 in Japan, and Sony didn't seem to raise any objections over the "links" it had with Demon's Souls.
 

Verelios

Member
Doing the Lord's work OP.

Interesting to hear Miyazaki becoming FROM president. Good for him.

And I know I'm in the minority, but Armored Core 4 was amazing in iys own right. I loved how free I felt, and movement was fast but still discernable.
 

GorillaJu

Member
Seriously. The interviewer even wrote some of his opinion at the end of the interview where he basically called Miyazaki a genius.

I mirror your B team sentiments, as well. I'm a much bigger fan of Dark Souls II than a lot of people around here, and in my book at least, if that's their "B team," then they have nothing to worry about.

Minority is vocal. DS2 is excellent.

Btw does "&#21069;&#25552;&#12395;&#12391;&#12365;&#12427;" mean to take something for granted? I read through the article before your translation was finished and got caught on that phrase.
 

Tex117

Banned
This may apply to all aspects of my games, but especially with the network features, it can be very hard to get other people to understand my ideas (laughs).
This man is a gem in the gaming world.

I wished the interviewer asked if being president would interfere with the NEXT game he makes.
 
Thank you for the translation.

What's the point of a PR department when simply hearing the Godfather of Soul(s) talk frankly about his approach to game development fills me with irrepressible hype?

I was already sold on whatever Bloodborne was just from playing the souls games, but man, does Miyazaki sound like he knows what he's doing. A very enjoyable read.

Can't wait.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Minority is vocal. DS2 is excellent.

Btw does "&#21069;&#25552;&#12395;&#12391;&#12365;&#12427;" mean to take something for granted? I read through the article before your translation was finished and got caught on that phrase.

Not necessarily. Lacking context, I probably wouldn't translate it that way.

What he's saying there is that when you're making a sequel, you already have a base that you can work from, so some of the work is already done. I don't know if "take for granted" was the most accurate way to convey that, but it's what came to mind at the time. Hope the meaning came across. I admit that I took quite a bit of liberty in my English turns of phrases for the translation, but my intention was to convey the original meaning as best as possible. Let me know if anything else stands out to you.
 
This fucking guy.....I swear, FROM and CD Projekt Red seem to be the only developers out there who, from top to bottom, completely understand what their audiences/gamers want out of their games.
 

coolasj19

Why are you reading my tag instead of the title of my post?
Wow. That was a hell of an extensive interview. After I eventually page for The Order and Destiny, I'll probably just digitally pre-order Bloodborne. I don't even like Souls games but it sounds like the differences between them and this are just big enough for me to want it. But the thing is I might flake out on that purchase if I don't pre-order. So I'll just lock the money away where I can't touch it and make myself enjoy the game. Hey, I bought SSX 2012 at launch, I don't think another game could disappoint me as much, and I was fine with it too.
 

cuilan

Member
Interesting to hear that a first person view was initially considered for Demon's Souls. As a King's Field fan, I kind of wish they would have gone that route, but ultimately they made the right choice to go with a third person camera, especially due to the focus on co-op and PVP.

With Bloodborne apparently releasing in the first half of 2015 and Dark Souls 2 DLC wrapping up by the end of 2014, both of FROM's main teams will probably start working on their next projects relatively soon. I wonder what they're going to do next. Dark Souls 3? Bloodborne 2? Armored Core VI? King's Field V? Sequel to a different game? Something completely new? It will be interesting to find out which team is going to work on what.

...I really need to play King's Field. Which is the best installment?

I think it's a toss-up between III and IV. IV has better graphics obviously, and plays a bit closer to a Souls game than III does. But I have a slight preference towards III due to world/level design and game mechanics. They're both must-plays though.
 

Hydrargyrus

Member
Thanks for the translation!

I'm thinking to start a media blockout at this moment... I'm sure that the game is going to be awesome and I don't want to know anymore in orther to be even more impressed with it
 

MavFan619

Banned
Thanks for the translation!

I'm thinking to start a media blockout at this moment... I'm sure that the game is going to be awesome and I don't want to know anymore in orther to be even more impressed with it
I think I'll wait for the official gameplay trailer of a more recent build hopefully at Gamescom and then do the same. I mean preorder is a lock but I just can't wait to see a bit more out of thirst then I need to just preorder and forget till the day I can preload.
 

popyea

Member
Imru’ al-Qays;117219908 said:
I'm not sure it's accurate to call the proportion of Souls fans who have misgivings, of varying intensity, about DS2 a minority.

I don't think he was referring to anyone who had misgivings. Nothing in his post suggest as such.
 
Brilliant interview, and thank you so much OP for translating in full. Really good questions and Miyazaki sounds like he's working on some interesting concepts and systems to evolve the core Souls gameplay.
 

B-Genius

Unconfirmed Member
With Bloodborne apparently releasing in the first half of 2015 and Dark Souls 2 DLC wrapping up by the end of 2014, both of FROM's main teams will probably start working on their next projects relatively soon. I wonder what they're going to do next. Dark Souls 3? Bloodborne 2? Armored Core VI? King's Field V? Sequel to a different game? Something completely new? It will be interesting to find out which team is going to work on what.

I wouldn't be so quick to presume they have only 2 "main teams", but it's certainly exciting to imagine what else they might have in the pipeline ;)

Does anyone know who the other director is on bloodborne?

What do you mean?
 

Persona7

Banned
I wouldn't be so quick to presume they have only 2 "main teams", but it's certainly exciting to imagine what else they might have in the pipeline ;)



What do you mean?

4Gamer:
Oh, that sure is a relief! But are you able to keep up your presidential duties at the same time?

Miyazaki:
Yeah, I’m getting by. I learned a lot from developing Dark Souls, so I have another person at the director level supporting me on this project, and I’m finding a way to make things work.

Since this interview is about Bloodborne, I’d rather not talk too much about my role as president of From Software, but simply put, one of my conditions for taking on the role of president was that I would be able to remain involved in the day-to-day game development.
 
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