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"Hardship is what gives meaning to the experience," Hidetaka Miyazaki shared his thoughts about the difficulty of his games.
Even if you've never played the game, you've heard people refer to something hard as Dark Souls-difficult. FromSoftware's recently released action RPG Elden Ring is no less difficult when it comes to combat, although it's more forgiving in other aspects. In his interview with The New Yorker, FromSoftware's President Hidetaka Miyazaki explained why high difficulty is integral for the company's games.
While death in other games is a sign of failure, Miyazaki considers it an important part of the player's experience.
"I’ve never been a very skilled player," he says. "I die a lot. So, in my work, I want to answer the question: If death is to be more than a mark of failure, how do I give it meaning? How do I make death enjoyable?"
The answer to this question to Miyazaki is in defeating death:
"I just want as many players as possible to experience the joy that comes from overcoming hardship."
The company has no plans to drop its games difficulty, it's their essential part.
"We are always looking to improve, but, in our games specifically, hardship is what gives meaning to the experience. So it’s not something we’re willing to abandon at the moment. It’s our identity."
Miyazaki doesn't see death as pointless, it's always a journey full of enjoyable experiences.
"When I’m playing these games, I think, This is the way I’d want to die – in a way that is amusing or interesting, or that creates a story I can share,” he says. “Death and rebirth, trying and overcoming – we want that cycle to be enjoyable. In life, death is a horrible thing. In play, it can be something else."
All in all, hardship is what makes FromSoftware games unique and exciting, and it's not going anywhere any time soon.
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