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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

While the wait for news on Elden Ring or the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC might've been excruciating for FromSoftware's most dedicated fans, the studio has actually managed to pump out AAA games at a remarkable pace given how beloved every release tends to be. Creative director Hidetaka Miyazaki says the key to success is a well-managed studio filled with developers who are great at what they do and put in the best position for success.

"I don’t know if it’s some great secret," Miyazaki tells IGN, "but generally we are just blessed with a great staff who love to create these games and who are, I think you could say, efficient at creating games." He adds that "we’re able to understand quickly what we want to make and [are] able to make these decisions early on in development. We’re able to iterate and we’re able to leave things on the chopping board. We’re able to go ahead with ideas and a quick pace. We’re able to quickly change and quickly decide on the kind of game we want to make."

FromSoftware's approach to its employees becomes even clearer with some comments from another recent Miyazaki interview, where he was asked about the way layoffs have been battering the game industry. "I think in the face of that struggle and the place where the games industry is right now," Miyazaki said, "I do see this as a time for us to continue to grow and continue to cultivate this talent and continue to release these games for as long as we can."

It's easy to see how keeping experienced developers in place might help FromSoftware's releases stay at their best, especially for a lineage as iterative as that of the Soulsborne games. FromSoftware has had a long road from its roots as a maker of niche cult classics to becoming one of the premiere game studios in the world today, but it seems the company itself knows how to get in position for success.

How does FromSoftware release AAA games so frequently? Elden Ring boss says "we are just blessed with a great staff" that the studio empowers and retains

"We're able to understand quickly what we want to make"

www.gamesradar.com

 

[semiconscious]

"I don’t know if it’s some great secret," Miyazaki tells IGN, "but generally we are just blessed with a great staff who love to create these games and who are, I think you could say, efficient at creating games." He adds that "we’re able to understand quickly what we want to make and [are] able to make these decisions early on in development. We’re able to iterate and we’re able to leave things on the chopping board. We’re able to go ahead with ideas and a quick pace. We’re able to quickly change and quickly decide on the kind of game we want to make."

remembering the recent post about their new studio, & some comments about how 'sterile' it looked. i'm thinking maybe these people just come to work every day prepared to work?...

 

[Mister Wolf]

Like Nintendo they do not target AAA graphics. No interest in getting into a debate about art direction.

 

[SlimySnake]

Yep. I see all these layoffs and I’m like whatever happened to cultivating talent? Experience in any industry i s key and if you are laying off people who spent 2+ years learning a new engine only to be laid off, you have essentially wasted two years of training.

 

[Danjin44]

They are efficient at their work and put their resources on things that matters most instead of trying to make graphic whores happy (which is impossible task because they are never satisfied).

 

[SlimySnake]

Like Nintendo they do not target AAA visuals.

But zelda still took 6 years lol. One year longer than horizon fw.

Mario odyssey was released in 2017. It will be 7 years before a true sequel launches.

I think fromsoft just has the two teams part down. They just go in and make games instead of fucking around prototyping.

 

[Mister Wolf]

But zelda still took 6 years lol. One year longer than horizon fw.

Mario odyssey was released in 2017. It will be 7 years before a true sequel launches.

I think fromsoft just has the two teams part down. They just go in and make games instead of fucking around prototyping.

Zelda took a long time due to physics in the game.

 

[sncvsrtoip]

They not targetting top graphics, their game are not performance wise polished, they improve same formula since 2009 Demon's Souls. Edit: one more point, obscure narration by item description and lore is much easier to do than proper cinematic with voice dialog sync etc

 

[Punished Miku]

They make the same game for 15 years and they're not AAA. Its fine to be a fan and still acknowledge basic truths.

 

[Wildebeest]

Not firing all your staff before they hit 30 like it is Logan's Run is an "unfair advantage" according to industry insiders on twitter.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Wasn't there a 3 year gap between Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro? Then another 3 years between Sekiro and Elden Ring. I wouldn't say they release games that frequently.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Like Nintendo they do not target AAA graphics. No interest in getting into a debate about art direction.

But what are AAA graphics really? The engine? The special effects? I look at Elden Ring or Armored Core and it looks just as impressive as anyone else’s crossgen games.

 

[Topher]

I'm more impressed with their consistency more than anything else. Probably helps that they don't try to shoehorn their games to fit into the lastest, greatest business model.

 

[Topher]

But what are AAA graphics really? The engine? The special effects? I look at Elden Ring or Armored Core and it looks just as impressive as anyone else’s crossgen games.

Fantastic art and sense of style is what I think of when it comes to From's visuals.

 

[Danjin44]

They make the same game for 15 years and they're not AAA. Its fine to be a fan and still acknowledge basic truths.

If by AAA mean released game with expensive graphic and marketing and unsatisfying gameplay then I take AA game any day.

Also they released Armored Core VI just last year which was not Souls game and it was fucking awesome game.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Because, apart from an immense talent and work ethic, they don't spend half their working hours eating sandwiches or shitposting in Twitter.

Graphic fidelity is not the issue, since From's games have a lore and attention to detail that embarrass everyone else's.

The same can be said about Kojima or the biggest gacha developers who update their games every month.

 

[Slimboy Fat]

But Elden ring and AC6 released fairly closed ot each other. How long will it be until their next big game? Especially considering it will no longer be cross-gen.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Fantastic art and sense of style is what I think of when it comes to From's visuals.

Oh for sure. But even on a pure technical level I don’t think their engine looks any less “AAA” than what we see of other publishers.

 

[gaming_again]

It's staffed by people who love games and operate in a work culture where crunching for months at a time is seen as morally correct.

 

[Hudo]

remembering the recent post about their new studio, & some comments about how 'sterile' it looked. i'm thinking maybe these people just come to work every day prepared to work?...

This. My office is also fucking bland, almost no personal items in there. And it's mainly because I am going there to work, not to fuck around or live there.

 

[Mister Wolf]

But what are AAA graphics really? The engine? The special effects? I look at Elden Ring or Armored Core and it looks just as impressive as anyone else’s crossgen games.

AAA graphics are graphics striving to replicate reality. These are both CGI:

They are being held to two completely different standards of accuracy with reality. With Thanos appearing side by side interacting with real people. Videogames being CGI themselves are no different.

 

[Gaiff]

Like we don't know. Have you seen the tech and graphics of those games? The art direction does all the heavy lifting to make them look great.

 

[Last Hearth]

How does FromSoftware release AAA games so frequently? Elden Ring boss says "we are just blessed with a great staff" that the studio empowers and retains

"We're able to understand quickly what we want to make"

www.gamesradar.com

It's called good management.

 

[Gojiira]

It should go without saying, they care about crafting a good game, they are passionate about what they make, always have been. Huge difference between their attitude towards their craft and how so many other devs are these days…

 

[LectureMaster]

2014 Dark Souls II
2015 Bloodborne
2016 Dark Souls III

Those are the most insane years.

 

[bender]

Passion and love are the answers.

 

[newtypepilot]

competent management that has clear direction and knows how to coordinate resources efficiently, with minimal interference from publishers.
Shit happens when one of those aspects falls apart. Oh, they are not affected by DEI nonsense.

And From has at least 2 teams working simultaneously. DS2 was made by a different team and DS1.

 

[Loomy]

Like Nintendo they do not target AAA graphics. No interest in getting into a debate about art direction.

Too bad you're in that debate!

To your point though, solid art direction trumps the latest in 'AAA graphics', as you called it.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Too bad you're in that debate!

To your point though, solid art direction trumps the latest in 'AAA graphics', as you called it.

And with the really special ones you get both:

 

[Thief1987]

I guess that rehashing the same game for 2 decades helps somehow

 

[Beer Baelly]

Same engine, same crunch

 

[Danjin44]

 

[Pejo]

Creative director Hidetaka Miyazaki says the key to success is a well-managed studio

You can stop the article right there and he'd be right. High level management in most western AAA studios seem to be completely ineffective. Also, with a lot of the western devs busy arguing and crying over Rivet's tits, sexism, and other social issues, I can see how it'd be very difficult to actually make a game in an efficient manner. I can't imagine trying to herd a bunch of cats that are arguing about gender politics all day instead of actually doing work.

 

[SHA]

Just? Miyazaki getting humble, sounds familiar to me.

 

[Hudo]

They should work together with Yasumi Matsuno on something.

 

[Bernardougf]

From is great! But for the love of god update this engine! Asap!

 

[Jaybe]

No Chief Diversity Officer

 

[SHA]

I guess if you're an Anime fanboy, you got the right place, Bandai.

 

[Fbh]

That's nice of him to say but it's probably not hyper focusing on graphics and tech and not being afraid to reuse assets.
Like Nintendo they were smart in not joining the race for increasingly better graphics. It's not just about making things easier to develop but also setting expectations.
At this point they have a big fanbase that doesn't care if their next game doesn't have amazing graphics, in fact we know it probably won't. Meanwhile studios like Naughty Dog or Guerilla are screwed, if the next ND game doesn't set a visual standard on PS5 there are going to be meltdowns and disappointment all around.

They make the same game for 15 years and they're not AAA. Its fine to be a fan and still acknowledge basic truths.

They've been making the same style of game for 15 years. Not the same game.
Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring all have a shared DNA but they are still unique experiences. At least IMO

 

[T-0800]

remembering the recent post about their new studio, & some comments about how 'sterile' it looked. i'm thinking maybe these people just come to work every day prepared to work?...

But surely they have a room for knitting.

 

[64bitmodels]

^The real answer folks.

​

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Elden Ring took a long time to develop, and the expansion took over 2 years.

So I wouldn't say they are all THAT frequent. I guess if you include Armored Core, but that's not really AAA.

 

[Roufianos]

Japan is just way ahead of the US in terms of getting games out.

 

[MLSabre]

​

​

^The real answer folks.​

​

​

Can't cultivate a studio culture for making great games without retaining talents, after all.

 

[64bitmodels]

Japan is just way ahead of the US in terms of getting games out.

Because they treat their employees and game creators like the talent they are instead of throwing them away every other year. It's actually a law that mass layoffs in Japan are illegal. Imagine how much better the western gaming industry could be if said law was implemented here.

Also, game devs leaving all of the greedy gacha games for mobile instead of turning their console franchises into that junk helps a lot as well.

 

[Phase]

They probably hire on competency and not skin color.

 

[Danjin44]

That's nice of him to say but it's probably not hyper focusing on graphics and tech and not being afraid to reuse assets.
Like Nintendo they were smart in not joining the race for increasingly better graphics. It's not just about making things easier to develop but also setting expectations.
At this point they have a big fanbase that doesn't care if their next game doesn't have amazing graphics, in fact we know it probably won't. Meanwhile studios like Naughty Dog or Guerilla are screwed, if the next ND game doesn't set a visual standard on PS5 there are going to be meltdowns and disappointment all around.

Exactly! when make you game with high tech graphics then people expect the next game be even more high tech and the next game and next game and next game.....meanwhile the cost goes up and takes even longer to get released and the priority shifts from making compelling gameplay to focusing on high tech graphics.

 

[renzero]

Nowadays I’d say that’s Sonic the hedgehog levels of speed.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

I guess that rehashing the same game for 2 decades helps somehow

- Different lore and worldbuilding.

- Different art direction. Their games are visually distinguishable, one from another, even within the Souls series.

- Memorable characters.

- Different gameplay, tweaking its core mechanics each time.

- Different settings and subgenres (dark fantasy, cosmic horror, samurai, mechas)


All this in top-quality massive games.

Name another AAA studio that does that. Just one.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Retaining the majority of staff who have worked on an old game to then move over to the new one seems to be the secret to efficient development without dev hell problems which seem common given the challenge of making big AAA games on modern hardware.

Echoed by Hamaguchi recently who's directing FF7 Rebirth.

Also how does poop like Skull and Bones and Suicide Squad spend something like 8 years in development and still release in such a broken or poor state?