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Six things we learned about Elden Ring

LordOfChaos

Member

THE WORLD IS HUGE​

For the first time, FromSoftware is tackling an open world. Called the “Land Between,” Elden Ring’s fantasy realm is a series of dungeons connected by a vast overworld. It’s a big change for the studio — and it involved a lot of iteration and learning.

“When we first set out, we knew we wanted to create a very large world, and have that interspersed with these legacy dungeons, that sort of structure,” Kitao says. “But we thought the overworld would become a lot more flat and plain, and be there to connect these dungeons. As we built it out, we learned that we wanted the Lands Between to have a lot more character, and a lot more verticality, and more intricate design. So we ended up handcrafting a lot of this map, and trying to make it as interesting to explore as possible.”

YOU GET A GHOST HORSE​

Maybe the best part of the open world is that you’ll get a horse, called a spirit steed, to move around quicker. It looks cool and can even accompany you into battle. More importantly — as has been the case in games like The Witcher 3 and Shadow of the Colossus — it sounds like you’ll be able to form a connection with your ethereal horse over the course of the journey.

“We hope that players can form at least a small bond with the spirit steed,” says Kitao. “It is a unique creature that is inherited by the player, so it is unique to them. You can’t choose or ride any horse in the game. You will be able to do small interactions, such as feeding it to regain its health and small things like this. Hopefully through this the player will be able to form a small attachment.”

THE MONSTERS ARE TERRIFYING​

One thing that hasn’t changed: Elden Ring still has the inventive and often horrifying monsters for which From games are known. During a brief gameplay video I witnessed gigantic dragons, a troll that look ripped from Attack on Titan, an unsettlingly stretchy snake-man, and a boss that looked like a whole bunch of dead bodies smushed together. At one point there was a giant bird with swords in its talons, tossing explosive barrels at the player. According to Kitao, the variety and creativity of From’s creature designs comes in part from the studio’s process.

ELDENRING_23.jpg


Three more points at the article
 
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IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

In a new conversation with GamesIndustry.biz, Bandai Namco's Hervé Hoerdt talked more about what the company is expecting from Elden Ring when it hits store shelves next year. In short, Hoerdt believes that the publisher has an absolute winner on its hands. As such, Bandai Namco is looking to ensure that Elden Ring can reach a much more mainstream audience this time around. "And the idea for Elden Ring is to bring an even bigger audience. It is super big for us. It is super big for FromSoftware," Hoerdt explained. "FromSoftware and Bandai Namco has this desire to broaden the fanbase, so we have big ambitions. But I feel what we are making is going to please a lot of people, and that's the most important thing. That is what we want. We're not just business people. We want to bring something fun and unique that will please millions of people."

If there is one potential concern with reaching a larger audience, though, it would be the window in which Elden Ring is launching. Typically, releasing a game early in the year doesn't see it reaching the same highs as a game would if it launched closer to the holidays. However, Bandai Namco believes that the title is so special that fans would look to buy it no matter when it released. "We've gone in January in the past, and we've seen it work for us," Hoerdt explained. " And when you have the right game, like Elden Ring, people would buy it on Christmas Eve."
 

Sinthor

Gold Member

THE WORLD IS HUGE​

For the first time, FromSoftware is tackling an open world. Called the “Land Between,” Elden Ring’s fantasy realm is a series of dungeons connected by a vast overworld. It’s a big change for the studio — and it involved a lot of iteration and learning.

“When we first set out, we knew we wanted to create a very large world, and have that interspersed with these legacy dungeons, that sort of structure,” Kitao says. “But we thought the overworld would become a lot more flat and plain, and be there to connect these dungeons. As we built it out, we learned that we wanted the Lands Between to have a lot more character, and a lot more verticality, and more intricate design. So we ended up handcrafting a lot of this map, and trying to make it as interesting to explore as possible.”

YOU GET A GHOST HORSE​

Maybe the best part of the open world is that you’ll get a horse, called a spirit steed, to move around quicker. It looks cool and can even accompany you into battle. More importantly — as has been the case in games like The Witcher 3 and Shadow of the Colossus — it sounds like you’ll be able to form a connection with your ethereal horse over the course of the journey.

“We hope that players can form at least a small bond with the spirit steed,” says Kitao. “It is a unique creature that is inherited by the player, so it is unique to them. You can’t choose or ride any horse in the game. You will be able to do small interactions, such as feeding it to regain its health and small things like this. Hopefully through this the player will be able to form a small attachment.”

THE MONSTERS ARE TERRIFYING​

One thing that hasn’t changed: Elden Ring still has the inventive and often horrifying monsters for which From games are known. During a brief gameplay video I witnessed gigantic dragons, a troll that look ripped from Attack on Titan, an unsettlingly stretchy snake-man, and a boss that looked like a whole bunch of dead bodies smushed together. At one point there was a giant bird with swords in its talons, tossing explosive barrels at the player. According to Kitao, the variety and creativity of From’s creature designs comes in part from the studio’s process.

ELDENRING_23.jpg


Three more points at the article
The creatures in this screenshot look all kinds of.... "NOPE!" to me! :messenger_beaming:
 

Sinthor

Gold Member

In a new conversation with GamesIndustry.biz, Bandai Namco's Hervé Hoerdt talked more about what the company is expecting from Elden Ring when it hits store shelves next year. In short, Hoerdt believes that the publisher has an absolute winner on its hands. As such, Bandai Namco is looking to ensure that Elden Ring can reach a much more mainstream audience this time around. "And the idea for Elden Ring is to bring an even bigger audience. It is super big for us. It is super big for FromSoftware," Hoerdt explained. "FromSoftware and Bandai Namco has this desire to broaden the fanbase, so we have big ambitions. But I feel what we are making is going to please a lot of people, and that's the most important thing. That is what we want. We're not just business people. We want to bring something fun and unique that will please millions of people."

If there is one potential concern with reaching a larger audience, though, it would be the window in which Elden Ring is launching. Typically, releasing a game early in the year doesn't see it reaching the same highs as a game would if it launched closer to the holidays. However, Bandai Namco believes that the title is so special that fans would look to buy it no matter when it released. "We've gone in January in the past, and we've seen it work for us," Hoerdt explained. " And when you have the right game, like Elden Ring, people would buy it on Christmas Eve."
From what I've see so far, I can pretty confidently say, I think Elden Ring will be 'Game of the Year' for 2022.
 

Sinthor

Gold Member
Or at least a worthy contender to GoW5 (im excited for both)
Oooh...I hadn't thought about that. Good point, for sure. God of War should be STRONG, for sure. Horizon will be getting talked about in that conversation as well. Wow...the more I think of it...2022 is stacking up to be LOADED, big time.
 

Juza

Member
If the dungeons are like the ones in the beta, that's kinda frustrating ! they're small and you can finish some of them in less then 5 minutes.
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
You want to talk creepy.....the first time i heard the singing Winter Lanterns in Bloodborne out of nowhere gave me chills. Especially once i realized what was singing!!!!

Singing!!
 

FrankWza

Gold Member
One thing I know for sure from playing the beta is that From Software knows how to make better Open-World games than Ubisoft on their first try. Ubisoft should learn from them.
It was only a couple of day so I don’t want to jump the gun but yeah, it has the potential to be the least chore-feeling open world game ever. The horse and combat are so engaging that they make things feel like less of a nuisance than other open world games.
 

Roman Empire

Gold Member
It was only a couple of day so I don’t want to jump the gun but yeah, it has the potential to be the least chore-feeling open world game ever. The horse and combat are so engaging that they make things feel like less of a nuisance than other open world games.
The horse appearing, disappearing, and jumping at your will makes it something special for the sake of non-interrupted exploration. Ghost has something equivalent like the horse is easy to maneuver, and spawns anywhere quickly after being called without being jarring, plus being able to pick up items while mounted.

I tend to get annoyed by over-stylized animations like Red Dead Redemption's horse. After a few hours of watching the same animations breaking the gameplay flow, it starts to get to my nerves and it gets in the way of my enjoyment. I can certainly say that the horse experience in Elden Ring only enhanced the exploration loop, at least for me.
 

FrankWza

Gold Member
The horse appearing, disappearing, and jumping at your will makes it something special for the sake of non-interrupted exploration. Ghost has something equivalent like the horse is easy to maneuver, and spawns anywhere quickly after being called without being jarring, plus being able to pick up items while mounted.

I tend to get annoyed by over-stylized animations like Red Dead Redemption's horse. After a few hours of watching the same animations breaking the gameplay flow, it starts to get to my nerves and it gets in the way of my enjoyment. I can certainly say that the horse experience in Elden Ring only enhanced the exploration loop, at least for me.
Spot on. I agree. One thing I’d love to see is some crazy horse upgrades. Imagine a really hard to get upgrade that makes him a winged horse that’s the only way to get to a certain island and boss and additional weapon. It would be like the jet pack in gtasa or more like getting knights of the round in ffvii.
 

WitchHunter

Member
bUt tHEy’RE All tHE saME!

Mocking Spongebob Squarepants GIF


So fucking annoying that any sense of exiting the corridor formula and suddenly it stinks of Ubisoft open world’s template.
Maybe you will encounter a midget on your way towards a dragon and it will be a 25 hour awesome sidequest to fulfill his desires in exchange for a magic sword.
 

Marty-McFly

Banned
The horseback riding looks better than I expected. On foot it still looks a little bit Souls jank and no Bloodborne artistically.

I'll sink 50 hours into this easy.
 

iHaunter

Member
Big Open Worlds are nothing new. I wasn't too impressed by the Closed Test either. Looks and feels the exact same as Dark Souls III. Not a new game in the slightest outside of riding a horse and some new spells. Not as excited as I was for Bloodborne. Horde combat looks absolutely terribly executed on top of that.
 
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