The Dark Souls trilogy is not your everyday AAA dark fantasy title. Rather, Hidetaka Miyazaki notoriously went all in on the environmental-storytelling aspect of these games, distinct from the direct storytelling techniques of Hideo Kojima, another legendary Japanese game director.
In an interview with WIRED, Miyazaki once further mentioned his thoughts on the direct storytelling fiasco in video games, and how, really, he’s “just not good” at implementing it in his games:
I don’t dislike direct storytelling — people seem to think that about my games! Actually, the truth is, I’m just not good at implementing direct narrative in my games. Another side is, I want to leave the interpretation of the world’s stories to the player. That’s actually my biggest reason for focusing on environmental and subtle storytelling. Rather than the game itself automatically telling the story, the player gets more value from it when they themselves find out hints of plot from items or side-characters they encounter in the world.
Miyazaki’s self-reflection on his own narration style goes a long way to show how a different vision can bring to life some of the most amazing and pioneering titles the industry has ever witnessed.
Miyazaki vs. Kojima: Two Narrative Philosophies in Gaming
Hidetaka Miyazaki | Image by Official GDC, licensed under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons
Miyazaki is not known specifically for the Dark Souls trilogy, after all, he’s the genius behind other hit titles such as Elden Ring and Sekiro. However, even he once acknowledged a creative limitation that puts him in direct contrast to Hideo Kojima, the maker of legendary franchises such as Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid.
One benefit that Kojima’s titles gain over the Souls games is how his works often dive deeper into detailed character arcs and lengthy cutscenes that help with the story progression, holding the player’s hand and guiding them through the storyline to ensure continuity.
In spite of this, one should remember that this is not something that the FromSoftware president lacks or has to make up for. It rather goes to highlight the fundamental difference in how stories can be presented in video games, especially between two of the biggest game makers to come out of Japan and represent their studios on a global scale.
Why Environmental Storytelling Works for Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Games
Credits: FromSoftware
Credits: FromSoftware
Credits: FromSoftware
Credits: FromSoftware
Credits: FromSoftware
Being one of the most unique selling points about the Soulsborne franchise, Miyazaki’s indirect narrative style has become a defining hallmark of FromSoftware games, whether that be Demon’s Souls or Bloodborne. The director just can’t help but let the player unfold the story on their own as they progress through the levels, or the open world of The Lands Between, in the case of Elden Ring.
The environmentally driven storytelling approach also helps in bringing the studio’s community together, where players explore and decipher the lore together. Making it so that there now exist hundreds of thousands of fan theories and dedicated lore channels that solely exist to solve any and every mystery Miyazaki chose to leave behind.
Dark Souls Release Year2011PublisherBandai Namco EntertainmentDeveloperFromSoftware
In this context, Hideo Kojima’s direct narrative may feel more accessible to players on their very first playthrough, but it fails to build up the long-term engagement and community, at least as great as the one made by the Souls games.
Who do you think nails their respective narration style better out of Hideo Kojima and Hidetaka Miyazaki? Make sure to let us know about it in the comments below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
