Text/Garland SK
Nowadays, when it comes to soul games, I think everyone can think of the key word besides suffering, which is the man who smiles at you with bad intentions - Hidetaka Miyazaki. Let players all over the world suffer together, bring Dark Souls into the player's field of vision, and his stunt is to jump on the altar repeatedly all day long. At the same time, many people are curious, what kind of company is From Software that can lock such a god in their own home? Why does the middle-aged man's smile make the player remember? Then look down, and after reading it, you may be able to unlock the hidden properties of Jitter M.
Started with a "pig farm"
In the 1980s and 1990s, at the end of the Showa period, Japan was in a bubble economy, domestic consumer demand grew, and the real estate industry flourished. It is said that the sum of the land prices in Tokyo's 23 wards at that time even reached the level where it was possible to buy all of the United States.
Therefore, with its strong economic strength, Japan has reduced the United States to its own economic and cultural "colony", and the world has undergone earth-shaking changes...
Cough, I took the wrong script, and it's not time to say "Showa Rice Story", let's focus on the young man. In 1986, Shinjiri was hit by an accident while riding a motorcycle and received an insurance payment; he tossed and turned in bed while recuperating from his injuries, thinking about how to deal with the windfall. Due to the good economic situation, the hard work of young people made him have the idea of starting a business, and From Software was established.
Like our good friend Ashoka(Ubisoft), From Software started out as an agricultural company, studying the "postpartum care of sows"; but unlike Ubisoft's behavior of growing its own server (potatoes) from scratch, they took the intelligent management route in the early stages of entrepreneurship. The company first developed online software or agricultural application software for the Japanese Farmers' Association to manage pig feed.
Toshifumi Nabeshima, producer of Armored Core, recalled in an interview: "I joined the company 15 years ago, in 1996. At that time, half of it was doing games, half was doing business system development, I was just doing game development, I didn't know very much. Still, it seems like they're developing a management system for raising pigs. ”
Relying on the primary industry and the "programmer's home", the company came up with a very serious order.
According to employees, "At that time, everyone was wearing suits in the company, and friends from other companies or transferred employees (adopted in the middle) often said 'the floor was eerily quiet' and 'felt super serious'. ”
However, President Shin naotichi's dream is not to become a pig tycoon, to do business in order to make money, but what he did not expect was that in the early 1990s, Japan's bubble economy collapsed, the original business shrank, and if you want to continue to work, you have to find a new way out. The sudden sense of crisis made him realize the impasse of the traditional business model, and he was a game fan, at this time, he did not know whether he was idealistic or really saw the commercial potential of the game industry, in short, this became the opportunity for From Software to enter the game industry.
Of course, it doesn't mean that you can do it; for a long time, the company still maintained its original business and slowly developed a new skill tree. Putting aside others, Shen Zhili put forward two requirements: one is the robot theme; the other is to make a 3D game. But you know, at that time, the computer performance was limited, and everyone was generally still in the 2D market, not to mention the strength of the company at that time, it was difficult to meet his expectations. Until 1994, the first PlayStation machine, which was good at handling 3D polygon graphics, appeared, and From Software took a fancy to this machine, and sony also urgently needed to recruit third-party game developers to supplement the game lineup, so the two sides hit it off.
Thanks to the fact that they had been fooling around, they had accumulated a lot of material, and it took only six months for the game to finish. In December 1994, just half a month after the PlayStation went on sale, From Software's first work, The King's Secret Order, went on sale.
Engrave the "hardcore" into the bones
I don't know if you're like me, and I often hear the saying that the Soul series is actually a spiritual sequel to King's Field. So the question is, what kind of game is the much-talked about "King's Secret Order"?
Let's start with the most conspicuous label on it.
The Secret of kings is one of the first 3D role-playing games. Thanks to the excellent 3D performance of the machine and the president's persistence, From Software directly in place, a big step into the 3D era. Therefore, the others are put first, and the temperament must be put in place first. A seamless 3D world is the first step in creating a sense of atmosphere; the game's best bet is the shaping of the worldview, which takes the player to a medieval fantasy world where swords and magic coexist, followed by dullness, darkness and loneliness.
As for the gameplay, it is mainly role-playing; it has a first-person perspective, supplemented by a light decryption element. In real-time combat, players need to control the slow-moving protagonist, seduce the enemies in the maze, and break them one by one. However, in the design at that time, the swing of the sword was slow and heavy, and it needed to consume all the energy points, and the enemy not only attacked high blood, the giant shield could not break the defense, and as long as a mistake was exchanged for the other party was still alive, you broke the defense yourself first. There are no bells and whistles, you move me one way, no one dares to be greedy for a knife; it is in this way, the ancestral energy bar and extremely hardcore difficulty laid the foundation for the soul series to be ridiculed as a "turn-based battle" after that.
However, it is conceivable that the company itself is in the process of transformation, coupled with the rush to work, the game has not been favored by the media after it was made, but the sales have surprised them. The specific figures are probably not available except for the parties involved, but it is certain that the sales volume is twice as much as they expected. It is also gratifying that the unique atmosphere created by the company for its own game has attracted many fans, and the difficulty has also left a psychological shadow, and even after a few years, the area of the shadow has been expanded repeatedly, and "hardcore" has become the first impression of Players on From Software.
Now that it's going well, keep up the good work. Since then, FromSoftware has continued to export at a steady annual development rate, successively producing two sequels, King's Field II and King's Field III. While word-of-mouth and sales have been abundant and their influence is getting bigger and bigger, they have also established a long-term and friendly cooperative relationship with Sony; for a long time, they continued to produce content for the Sora console.
At this time, Shen Zhili did not forget his original intention, thinking that he still wanted to make a robot-themed game. Experience and technology have been accumulated, and opportunities are at hand. Tidy or not? whole!
"Boys, whoever dreams of making robots to arm their hands and feet."
With such a thought, the project was put on the agenda, but Sony was not very optimistic:
"In fact, Sony told us that the basic market for targeting users for this kind of game that makes mech combat will be much smaller, which makes us very worried. However, during the development process, we all enjoyed it and were quite confident in its performance. ”
In July 1997, "Armored Core" was officially unveiled. First of all, the game invited the famous mechanical designer Masaharu Kawamori who participated in works such as "Time Fortress", "Ghost in the Shell", "Interstellar Cowboy" and other works to design mecha for them, ensuring that players can at least pass the eye addiction, and secondly, the game does not impose too many constraints on the player, let us play a mercenary, you can do a variety of things at will; in combination, the level also adopts a very open design, the sky is high and the birds fly, the sea is wide and the fish leaps, in short, every player has the space to play freely.
In addition to this, they will also be known as the "armored core" of the robot machine is highly modular, allowing players to customize it in large quantities, and as players complete more missions, they will earn points to purchase different items and parts. The combination and assembly of parts are ever-changing, the appearance and performance are different, and the colors, badges and other liveries can be adjusted according to personal preferences, making almost every player's body a unique presence in the game.
Thus, the second front of From Software was successfully opened.
Of course, they did not give up the previously well-received elements, and after the rough extraction, they burst out a creative spark, and successively released two games, Echo Night and Shadow Tower.
In "King's Secret Order 4", you can see that many of the designs that are later familiar to players, the preservation points in the safe area also have the prototype of the campfire; and in the "Tower of Shadows", its gameplay and art style have been highly similar to the later "Demon Souls", the three elements of health, magic, and energy are alive together, and they no longer use the design that requires a big breath for each slash, which is not so much like a turn-based game - just relatively speaking.
Then, as a friendly partner of Sony, FromSoftware also continued to contribute its own contribution with its many works. With the goal of multi-line blossoming, we continue to try new IP while maintaining the stability of the output of "Armor core". During this time, they went further and further from fantasy adventure, trying to make the horror game "Kuon" featuring Haruaki Abe, designing the duo game "The Adventures of Cookie & Cream", and bringing Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Village to Capcom. I have also accumulated a lot of experience in the development of action games.
More importantly, after several changes in the copyright of "Heavenly Curse", they finally succeeded in taking the once-famous IP from Activision. As a digression, after becoming the publisher of "Heavenly Curse", they also jumped at it and developed a related work by themselves. Unfortunately, it was a mess, so I temporarily refrigerated it.
As for the other series of works developed by the company, due to the time relationship, we will not list for the time being, if you are interested, you will first make a triptych, you will do it, you will really do it.
The "soul" came
Since the "soul" is mentioned, it is natural to avoid the man.
Hidetaka Miyazaki described himself as a weird kid. "Unlike most kids in Japan, I don't have dreams," he said. "I'm not ambitious."
In accordance with the rules of society, examinations, promotions, jobs, employment, Miyazaki Hidetaka's results have always been good. Although aimless, his excellent performance earned him a fairly well-paid job at Oracle, an IT company in the United States.
By chance, after coming into contact with Ueda's manga "Castle Lost" (ICO), Miyazaki Hideo burst into tears after playing; he secretly made up his mind: I want to make such a game too. It has been nearly established, there is no game development experience, there is no relevant achievements, and there is no noble person to carry, only the identity of IT talent can add a little chip.
Like a hairy boy who had just come out of society, he submitted resumes to several companies, but few accepted his application. From Software saw that he was willing to give up Oracle's generous job treatment, cut his salary by 80%, and did not hesitate to make a game, thinking that he could expect a future and could try. Given a valuable opportunity, Hidetaka Miyazaki was involved in the development of the Armored Core series.
After participating in the development of two armored cores, Miyazaki was given an unexpected opportunity to take over a new project for the PS3 platform as a supervisor.
"There were problems with the development of the project, and the prototype of the game could not be compelling. But when I heard that it was an action role-playing game with fantasy overtones, I was very excited. I can make it what I want it to be, and most importantly, if my idea fails, no one will care. ”
Obviously, such a new project, in addition to the difficulty can not come up with enough gimmicks to attract players, the game was released in Japan was coldly received. SCE, who was in charge of the release, did not have high expectations for the game, only releasing it in Asia, and after the quiet launch of "Devil's Souls" in 2009, sales were mediocre in the first week. If this development continues, it should probably be the end of the unfavorable teacher and the old thief quitting the jianghu, but things have ushered in a turning point.
Interestingly, unlike the responders in the Japanese market, the game ignited a passion for discussion among European and American players, and continued to radiate outward through the spark of stars. Open low and go high, and finally sales exceed the million mark.
Next, From Software took the road wider, no longer limited to a single platform, and tried an all-platform strategy. Dark Souls was the first attempt. There are no big changes, many small adjustments optimize the experience, I don't know how you feel, at least for me, it is much easier to play and look at the handle in your hand. Steadily played to win the applause of the whole house, and the sales volume reached another million.
Every time you pass through the boss fog gate for the first time, you will know what this behavior really means, even if you know the terror lurking behind the door, you will lose the hard-won soul because of a mistake. You die, you learn from it, and you keep improving. Playing the soul series of games, it is like Miyazaki Hidetaka chasing after the player's back with a whip, telling everyone the truth of "falling behind will be beaten" with practice, so that people cannot relax for a moment.
However, when it came to the development of the sequel, Miyazaki Hidao did not choose to participate, but devoted himself to a new project called "Project Beast". This is also the future PS4 exclusive game "Bloodborne Curse".
In May 2014, Hidetaka Miyazaki, who had been in the business for just a decade, was appointed president of From Software and became the company's top leader. In fact, his position brought unexpected benefits.
"I went to places I wouldn't have gone before," he said. "I can see different things, which is important. This gives me new experiences to learn from. "Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team went on field trips to Romania and the Czech Republic, immersed in Gothic magnificence." Now I'm the president," he said, "and I'll meet a lot of other corporate presidents." They are all very strange people. I was fascinated by them. He added: "I made some of them into the game as enemies. ”
On March 24, 2015, Bloodborne, developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio in collaboration with FromSoftware, was released. Pack light and lead the foreigners one by one to the dark world of Victorian style. Abandoning the defensive counterattack style of play, the big shield has no longer taken advantage of the hand, the newly added firearms can not only hit the damage, but also make the opponent hard and straight at the moment of the enemy attack, which is commonly known as the "gun counter"; plus the player can restore the health of the enemy in the damage counterattack, the two complement each other, the achievement of encouraging the battle, but also encourage the player customer service fear to take the initiative to attack the combat system, people are addicted.
In March 2016, FromSoftware brought Dark Souls 3, a collection that was equally popular. Still an obscure but in-depth plot, or playing to the point where people want to spit out the fragrance, or the familiar story of passing fire, everything is back, but everything is coming to an end with the end of the work. With more players and more sales, The From Sotyware's reputation was blown away, and Hidetaka Miyazaki became a man who repeatedly jumped on the altar. According to their statistics, the current sales of the Soul series have exceeded 3000W, which will undoubtedly be a significant part of the history of games.
Development of Only Wolves: Shadow Dead Twice began in 2015, followed by Bloodborne Curse's DLC "The Old Hunters." After several generations of additions, Hidetaka Miyazaki began to try to streamline the game system; cutting out the class and previous character development parts. Compared with "Blood Source", this game once again introduces speed-up, using the posture bar to speed up the pace of battle, while the balanced setting also allows the assassination and one-hit kill of the "Heavenly Curse" series to be retained. At the same time, the addition of hooks and ninja gear makes the exploration of the stereo map more abundant, and there are more options for skipping class in addition to hard-hitting battles. After the annoying foreigners, more despicable ninjas have been born in the world.
Therefore, After Using "Only Wolves" to teach players around the world how to write the word "death", Miyazaki Temporarily exempted himself from the punishment of sit-ups on the altar.
Maybe it's a cacophony, maybe it's a pity, all in all, after finishing the finishing touches of the Dark Souls 3 DLC and the development of Only Wolves, Hidetaka Miyazaki and George Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire, looked right. While readers are eagerly awaiting the seventh volume, Mr. Martin "does not do the right thing" and helps "The Ring of Eldon" to design the world view.
Combined, this title has probably the most ambitions and expectations since The founding of From Software, and is their biggest game to date. Similarly, developers have poured in and players have gathered expectations. And it's coming to us.
In a recent interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki, Sony said the following words, which we might as well use as a closing remark for this issue:
"Regarding The Ring of Eldon, I designed it to encourage players to overcome adversity. We don't work hard for the sake of being hard, and want players to use their cunning to study the game, remember the problems, and learn from their mistakes. We don't want players to feel that the game has only unfair punishment, but rather that it's a tough game to have a chance to win. We know that soul games are often associated with high difficulty and high barriers to entry, but we try to make the cycle of repeated attempts to overcome these challenges enjoyable by design. We therefore hope that the Ring of Eldon and the new options it offers will succeed in that regard. ”
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Pay attention to the "Broken Thought Workshop", spread the game culture, and make the game more than just a game.