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Famitsu reveals brand new info on Dark Souls (Demon's Souls spiritual sequel)

Xater

Member
Pai Pai Master said:
So did they just change the name so they could sign with a different publisher and make it multiplatform? :p

I couldn't really imagine Sony not wanting to publish a sequel considering how surprisingly well received the first one was.

Probably? Sony also fucked majorly up with not releasing it outside of Japan themselves. I doubt From was eager to go with Sony again.
 

Canova

Banned
INDIGO_CYCLOPS said:
Ive got to agree with you. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but the presence of this game on GAF has a lot to do with the official thread and all the great people that were and still are a major part of the community. The thread is just an amazing source of experiences and discussion

But my god. This sounds great. Fantastic. I'm incredibly excited for this. Guess its finally time to update my project dark watch page with the new info. Thanks duckroll for updating us!

It's great OT. If it wasn't the official thread, I would've not heard anything about the game

Speaking about the OT, it's coming to its 2nd year anniversary and it's still active
 

Zzoram

Member
Pai Pai Master said:
So did they just change the name so they could sign with a different publisher and make it multiplatform? :p

I couldn't really imagine Sony not wanting to publish a sequel considering how surprisingly well received the first one was.

Sony hates Demon's Souls. They refused to publish it in NA or EU, and refused to publish a sequel. It's the only game I even own on PS3.

The Demon's Souls OT has probably sold hundreds of copies of the game. I didn't know anything about Demon's Souls until I kept hearing about it on GAF and checked out the OT. Every few days someone new posts in the OT that they just go the game because of GAF and the OT. Unlike most OTs, the Demon's Souls OT is very noob-friendly.
 

Haunted

Member
Honestly, it's pretty similar to Zelda, just implementing difficulty settings (or alternatively, a hardcore mode) would diffuse so many of the problems people have with the game. On the other end of the spectrum, of course.


panda21 said:
given you are complaining i'm going to assume you are one of the people who got frustrated and didnt play it much.. in which case I guess you want it made easier so you can play the game everyone is raving about..
I'm a pretty good player and I did complete Demon's Souls. But I definitely wouldn't have had as much fun with the game as I did without a friend of mine guiding my first couple steps, explaining basic elements the game didn't, as well as using some cheesy bow maneuvers to circumvent the more annoying bosses.
Camping under the blue dragon with 400 arrows = good design?

I wouldn't even bother voicing my complaints and wishes so much if I didn't enjoy and genuinely care for the series.

That said and even though I really liked lots of the elements and ideas of Demon's Souls, I still call annoying game design when I see it.

jcm said:
You've never played NetHack?
Exception to the rule!
 

duckroll

Member
Pai Pai Master said:
So did they just change the name so they could sign with a different publisher and make it multiplatform? :p

I couldn't really imagine Sony not wanting to publish a sequel considering how surprisingly well received the first one was.

Dark Souls has been in the works for a while, and it's not a stretch to imagine it was in the works before Atlus released the game in the US. When Demon's Souls was initially released in Japan, it was perceived to be a total flop. Famitsu gave the game a terrible sub-30 review score and it sold less than 50k in the first week. Sony had no interest in bringing the game to other territories either, even though there was a complete English localization of the game done for the Asian market.

It took a ton of dedicated word of mouth from fans of the game to keep driving the sales of the game in Japan (eventually over a period of a year the game sold about 160k). That same word of mouth helped push the popularity of the game outside of Japan before the game was even announced. Eventually Atlus released the game in the US, and Namco released the game in Europe.

Demon's Souls is now a household name on the PS3 for hardcore RPG fans, but Sony had almost no part in making that happen. It was all From Software, other third party publishers, and the dedicated fanbase. It's not surprising that From Software decided to go with another publisher for the follow-up.

SolidSnakex said:
Sony even admitted at last years GDC that they made a mistake by not publishing it in the West.

Too little too late.
 

Jinfash

needs 2 extra inches
Jinfash said:
With Bamco serving only as publisher, how much involvement or control do they have over the project itself in terms of, say: DLC?

Just like everyone else, I really appreciated the level of challenge in DS, and the following sense of reward. So I hope that doesn't change by providing me with an easy way out, like "epic armor and weapons" DLC, when those sets can be rewarded in-game after a hard challenge.

Sure, DLCs are optional, but If this game in particular keeps frustrating me, I'll eventually cave in moment of weakness.

In other words, I hope scamco doesn't ruin this.
Herp derp, never mind me.

From is publishing it in Japan, Bamco is only publishing it in the West. It was a pretty far fetched and an unreasonable scenario to begin with, but you never know with Bamco and co.
 

Zzoram

Member
Haunted said:
Honestly, it's pretty similar to Zelda, just implementing difficulty settings (or alternatively, a hardcore mode) would diffuse so many of the problems people have with the game. On the other end of the spectrum, of course.


I'm a pretty good player and I did complete Demon's Souls. But I definitely wouldn't have had as much fun with the game as I did without a friend of mine guiding my first couple steps, explaining basic elements the game didn't, as well as using some cheesy bow maneuvers to circumvent the more annoying bosses.
Camping under the blue dragon with 400 arrows = good design?

I wouldn't even bother voicing my complaints and wishes so much if I didn't enjoy and genuinely care for the series.

That said and even though I really liked lots of the elements and ideas of Demon's Souls, I still call annoying game design when I see it.

Blue Dragon is an optional boss and it's soul isn't used for any special weapons or magic/miracles. The only reason to kill it is so you can go back through the level more easily when you inevitably die to the real boss.
 

Haunted

Member
duckroll said:
Demon's Souls is now a household name on the PS3 for hardcore RPG fans, but Sony had almost no part in making that happen. It was all From Software, other third party publishers, and the dedicated fanbase. It's not surprising that From Software decided to go with another publisher for the follow-up.
It wouldn't surprise me if they were planning to capitalise on this and make an eventual Demon's Souls 2 with another developer.

Like Ubi did with FarCry 2 while Crytek went on to create Crysis.
 

Zzoram

Member
duckroll said:
Dark Souls has been in the works for a while, and it's not a stretch to imagine it was in the works before Atlus released the game in the US. When Demon's Souls was initially released in Japan, it was perceived to be a total flop. Famitsu gave the game a terrible sub-30 review score and it sold less than 50k in the first week. Sony had no interest in bringing the game to other territories either, even though there was a complete English localization of the game done for the Asian market.

It took a ton of dedicated word of mouth from fans of the game to keep driving the sales of the game in Japan (eventually over a period of a year the game sold about 160k). That same word of mouth helped push the popularity of the game outside of Japan before the game was even announced. Eventually Atlus released the game in the US, and Namco released the game in Europe.

Demon's Souls is now a household name on the PS3 for hardcore RPG fans, but Sony had almost no part in making that happen. It was all From Software, other third party publishers, and the dedicated fanbase. It's not surprising that From Software decided to go with another publisher for the follow-up.



Too little too late.

Wait, Famitsu gave Demon's Souls a crappy score? Google says 7-6-9. After giving shitty FFXIII 39/40? Yep, Famitsu is a pay for review magazine afterall.
 

Brobzoid

how do I slip unnoticed out of a gloryhole booth?
I played through demon souls without magic and the most base of ranged weapons and never felt like the game was being unfair. I cheesed the dragon on the bridge in order to get it's soul stone, but that's about the extend of my "standing in one place spamming arrows".

In pvp I'm pretty ass so I don't think I'm the bestest player either, maybe those who'd like this one to be easier didn't play as methodical as the game wanted them to?
 
duckroll said:
Too little too late.

Sony has said that there could be a DS2 down the line. With this being on the PS3 it would make sense for them to look into putting DS2 on the PSP2. I don't really see why From would turn that down. It's not like they really have a lot of big sellers coming out lately.
 

Peff

Member
Jinfash said:
Herp derp, never mind me.

From is publishing it in Japan, Bamco is only publishing it in the West. It was a pretty far fetched and an unreasonable scenario to begin with, but you never know with Bamco and co.

Actually I wouldn't discard that possibility just yet. Namco managed to wrestle pre-order DLC packs out of CD Projekt with The Witcher 2, so maybe Dark Souls will have them too, ideally just some silly cross-over armor/sword. Stuff like "5 Soul Levels for 3$/€" is probably out of the question though.
 

Zzoram

Member
Peff said:
Actually I wouldn't discard that possibility just yet. Namco managed to wrestle pre-order DLC packs out of CD Projekt with The Witcher 2, so maybe Dark Souls will have them too, ideally just some silly cross-over armor/sword. Stuff like "5 Soul Levels for 3$/€" is probably out of the question though.

Scamco ruining the game with DLC is my greatest fear.
 

Owensboro

Member
Hooray for good news! I echo the hopes that the multiplayer is easier for people that are already friends on PS3. I'd love to play through a section with a friend even if we couldn't voice chat back and forth (although I'd prefer it).

As for difficulty, they should definitely throw a bone to people this game doesn't appeal to VIA a difficulty option. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it people. I would throw the thing on the hardest difficulty the instant I got it, and it being a little easier for other people wouldn't affect me at all. Hell, pull a note from the old Metal Slug games and make certain sections of levels only playable when you are actually on the hardest difficulty. You know, actually reward players that want to make the game harder!
 

Canova

Banned
Watch Bamco screw this one up with scheduling

Bamco: "hmmm. what's released in November, let's see Uncharted 3, Skyrim, Call of Duty, ....never heard of those games. so November it is!"
 

duckroll

Member
Owensboro said:
As for difficulty, they should definitely throw a bone to people this game doesn't appeal to VIA a difficulty option. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it people. I would throw the thing on the hardest difficulty the instant I got it, and it being a little easier for other people wouldn't affect me at all. Hell, pull a note from the old Metal Slug games and make certain sections of levels only playable when you are actually on the hardest difficulty. You know, actually reward players that want to make the game harder!

The director already said specifically why they're not doing this. When the game is on a fixed difficulty for all players, it makes overcoming the obstacles all the more meaningful. It's not an easy game, but it's a game he believes that almost anyone should be able to complete if they put their mind to it and put in the effort. If that does not appeal, then the game is just not for you. A game doesn't have to appeal to everyone.
 

Haunted

Member
Zzoram said:
Wait, Famitsu gave Demon's Souls a sub-30 score? After giving shitty FFXIII 39/40? Yep, Famitsu is a pay for review magazine afterall.
It's a well-known fact.

Remember the recent uprising of smaller European devs not getting any coverage anywhere because the money of the big pubs hogs all the space? Japan also has that. Fuck, Japan invented that shit.
 

Kuran

Banned
Haunted said:
I'll only hurt you from hugging you so hard.

Quicksave and generous checkpoint system would be ace.


Plenty of other games manage to make their gameplay tense, challenging and rewarding without resorting to outdated conventions like erasing a lot of progress or making you replay long stretches of content again.

Get out of this thread.
 

Zzoram

Member
duckroll said:
The director already said specifically why they're not doing this. When the game is on a fixed difficulty for all players, it makes overcoming the obstacles all the more meaningful. It's not an easy game, but it's a game he believes that almost anyone should be able to complete if they put their mind to it and put in the effort. If that does not appeal, then the game is just not for you. A game doesn't have to appeal to everyone.

Good. People are wussies these days, they don't want to earn things with hard work.
 

Dyno

Member
Cannot wait to be punished again! I hope it's harder than the last. DS was a great gaming skill builder.
 

inner-G

Banned
Crakatak187 said:
This game is probably the only smart move Namco has made this generation. My body is ready.
Namco is actually kind of on fire this gen.
Katamari Forever > NUNS/NUNS2 > Space Invaders Extreme >>> most other games.
 

Haunted

Member
canova said:
Watch Bamco screw this one up with scheduling

Bamco: "hmmm. what's released in November, let's see Uncharted 3, Skyrim, Call of Duty, ....never heard of those games. so November it is!"
I don't think that's a big problem. It's niche, its devoted fanbase will knows it's coming and when, they'll be there.
 
op said:
Instead all maps in the game will be linked seamlessly in a connected world. The pace of the game will feel more about exploration and discovering locations, which you can then go inside into a dungeon or whatever and explore the interior further.
- There will be more complex level designs in the game using more vertical design in areas and such.

Awesome awesome AWESOME, this is exactly what I wanted
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
This sounds like a much more well planned game. And to rid of the level (world 1-1) structure is a smart move.
 

LiK

Member
duckroll said:
The director already said specifically why they're not doing this. When the game is on a fixed difficulty for all players, it makes overcoming the obstacles all the more meaningful. It's not an easy game, but it's a game he believes that almost anyone should be able to complete if they put their mind to it and put in the effort. If that does not appeal, then the game is just not for you. A game doesn't have to appeal to everyone.
Indeed, skills baby!
 

Acosta

Member
duckroll said:
The director already said specifically why they're not doing this. When the game is on a fixed difficulty for all players, it makes overcoming the obstacles all the more meaningful. It's not an easy game, but it's a game he believes that almost anyone should be able to complete if they put their mind to it and put in the effort. If that does not appeal, then the game is just not for you. A game doesn't have to appeal to everyone.

Nailed.

I trust the team on their decisions, I think they have a good grasp of what game they want to make and how to do it, so I can't wait.
 

Paracelsus

Member
To me this feels like a series which should never end but on the other hand I wouldn't want any other developer to take inspiration from those games either. . _.
 

Dave Long

Banned
duckroll said:
If that does not appeal, then the game is just not for you. A game doesn't have to appeal to everyone.
Would be nice if the people slagging Bulletstorm would read this.

I'm excited to see what Dark Souls looks like. Are there no images available other than what's in Famitsu?
 

Canova

Banned
Noisepurge said:
I would like the TGS trailer in HD form, why are they holding out on this?

yeah I wanna see this disgusting thing in HD. my bet is tomorrow we'll get to see the official trailer. Bamco USA is holding a press conference Wednesday

ojox9c.jpg
 
Paracelsus said:
To me this feels like a series which should never end but on the other hand I wouldn't want any other developer to take inspiration from those games either. . _.

Didn't we have already rumours on Sony making a Demon's Souls 2 with another developer?
 
Noisepurge said:
Didn't we have already rumours on Sony making a Demon's Souls 2 with another developer?

That would be a silly move IMO. Demon's Souls was planned for a long time (appeared on the first ever list of revealed PS3 games before launch as 'Dark RPG' with From attached to do it).

I think a Demon's Souls game for NGP would be good, but I'd want From to make it.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
It's even more like King's Field! Rejoice!

Ideally Dark Souls continues that path, and we'll eventually get a Demon Souls 2 that directly follows DS1 and then the whole world can be happy.
 
Galvanise_ said:
That would be a silly move IMO. Demon's Souls was planned for a long time (appeared on the first ever list of revealed PS3 games before launch as 'Dark RPG' with From attached to do it).

Dark RPG was canceled, together with Black Blade, another PS3 game From was working on. Demon's Souls might have been influenced by it, but as far as I know, it was a different project.
 
REMEMBER CITADEL said:
Dark RPG was canceled, together with Black Blade, another PS3 game From was working on. Demon's Souls might have been influenced by it, but as far as I know, it was a different project.

Ah thanks. Looks like both Light RPG and Sony's internal RP got canned then, although that lasted a lot longer. :(
 
Thank god world tendencies are going away. Locking out significant amounts of content based on a variable that the player had little to no control over (and what little you did have control over was never actually explained in the game whatsoever and you had to FAQ) was the dumbest part of the original game.

Everything about this sounds amazing and I can't wait to be disappointed in a few months time.
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
I asked for the seamless setup when I played most of the game and it seems like From Software agrees. Holy fuck this game is gonna be absolutely awesome. It sounds more like King's Field.

John Harker said:
It's even more like King's Field! Rejoice!

Yes yes yes!
 
_dementia said:
Whoa, Katamari Forever is actually good?

It is with filters and Katamari Drive, when finally you don't have to go through sub-30 FPS, FFS. Still fun, but some design decisions (unlocking Katamari Drive, unlocking filters) are retarded.

Zzoram said:
Wait, Famitsu gave Demon's Souls a crappy score? Google says 7-6-9. After giving shitty FFXIII 39/40? Yep, Famitsu is a pay for review magazine afterall.

I think that was pretty obvious for a very long time now. Even the Japanese don't try to hide it: bigger budget games = better reviews in Famitsu. Remember the fun stuff Peacewalker x Famitsu collaboration?

The magazine should just stop pretending it's doing reviews, change it to "hype meter" or smth.
 
Um so everything sounds great except tendency events are gone now and no dedicated servers means the entire online system will look different to what demons souls was. How are they going to have people put messages on the ground, see ghosts in your world, invade people randomly, and help out fellow people?
 
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