Dark Souls II director on accessible approach

GamesRadar - When Dark Souls II's new co-director Tomohiro Shibuya said he wanted the game to be "more straightforward and more understandable," he kicked the hornet's nest. The more detailed Edge interview with Shibuya, who along with Yui Tanimura is taking over from Demon's Souls and Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki, reveals what he hopes to alter to make the series a little bit friendlier.

[Conan-O-Brady]

My hopes for this game were lost when I read that Miyazaki had been pushed aside so the franchise could move forward in a more accessible manner.

Perhaps the fans need to petition for Miyazaki to be put back at the helm of the Soul series. Maybe a little public outcry or a threat of boycott will avert the casualization of the franchise... LOL

[rdgneoz3]

I know, and that article just led to further doubts about the game. I loved all the hidden things that you'd never find till the 2nd or 3rd playthrough (different areas and covenants for example).

Also, the throwing people into the game is what the game has been known for. There are a ton of messages at the beginning telling you how to do certain things, and then it sets you free and beats you over the head with a club. The series has been a break from all the hand holding games that come out these days and it's why people love it. Also, they've never been hard, just unforgiving. Screw up and have fun making your way back to the spot you spent the last 30 minutes getting to.

[Conan-O-Brady]

I hope that we the fans get a sequel that doesn't stray too far from what made it great. I just don't see that happening without Miyazaki....Time will tell.

[ThanatosDMC]

This sucks... From Software devs all ready proved they could do it. Accessibility for more $$$$$... greedy bastards.

[Psychonaughty]

There are alot of assumptions made in you comment. For all we know Miyazaki may have stepped aside to make a new Souls game (or something similar) himself that isn't a direct sequel and so could be far more ambitious and not stagnant as I know he's worried this will happen.

I suspect he's working on this new "Souls" game for next-gen consoles as we speak, if you're gonna make assumptions try to err on the side of optimism, it's going against the grain I know...

[Conan-O-Brady]

I'm sorry, from what I've read everything points to Miyazaki being asked to step aside in favor of Shibuya and Tanimura and that his role in the sequel will be in name only.

"Miyazaki is not working on the development of Dark Souls 2. He is not a director or producer, and is merely a “supervisor”.- Even as a supervisor, he isn’t making any development decisions."

http://gamingeverything.com...

So you think Namco-Bandai ask him to step aside so he could continue working on a sequel to the first Souls game? I'm sorry but that assumption is laughable....I wouldn't hold my breath for a Demon's Souls 2.

[Psychonaughty]

I don't want a Demon Souls sequel, you made another assumption! I'm just saying that Miyazaki may of stepped aside himself or may have been asked to step aside in a positive context, because he is now highly esteemed inside and outside the company.

He may have been given free reign to do what he wants after making two excellent games with a relatively low budget that went on to sell very respectfully.

Basically your are taking a little bit of info and putting a negative spin on it and I am taking the same info and putting a positive spin on it.

Why are you so jaded?

[Conan-O-Brady]

You're right I'm taking the information given to me and making an assumption based on that information...Your assumption may differ from mine and that's ok....No spin just my opinion...Now we can proceed

Nowhere in anything I've read are there any indications that Miyazaki is working on a new souls game separate from DS2...Also his role in DS2 will be minimal at best... This saddens me and many other fans of this series

Not being jaded just being real.

[Psychonaughty]

Opinion/twist whatever... All I know is that whatever Miyazaki is working on I'm sure it will be worth the wait and the worst that Dark Souls 2 could be is still better than no sequel, so I'm optimistic about both projects.

[League_of_Draven]

He's probably working on Demon's Souls 2 with SCEJ instead.

[sdozzo]

Everyone will buy it just like me. Even if it's easier. We love Souls.

[Root]

Hmmm thats funny because that didn't work with Resident Evil when Capcom ruined that for a wider audience.

I love RE but I never bought RE6

Mate when developer does something like this the outcome is going to be bad. It's happened before, gamers really need to learn from past mistakes...RE5, RE6, Skyrim, FF13, dmc, DS3, Lost Planet 2 I could go on.

[sdozzo]

C'mon it's Souls!

[specsmatter]

Seriously add Socom to that list. And also Kz3 with the floaty controls for the sake of making it more accessible. I put hundreds of hours more into Kz2 mp than i did with Kz3.

[DarkBlood]

this is sonys chance for demon souls 2 to shine

[christheredhead]

I think its clear that this game will be a Souls game in name only.

If they want to take the series in a different direction that's fine, but I'll stick with Demons Souls and Dark Souls instead. Making minimal changes can have drastic consequences to such a deeply intricate formula.

The whole idea just doesn't sit well with me, especially with whats been said so far. They should have let Miyazaki create Dark Souls 2 and then started a new Souls series with new directors. I really don't get why Namco wants to ruin, what could have been, a great game.

[Dark11]

and let the bitching begins!
and nope , i don't want to try the game or wait for a gameplay ..
i will just stay here and bitch about the game on N4G.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Let the bitching about bitching begins. Let us not voice my concerns on one of our favourite franchises . I will just sit here and bitch about people who do.

[specsmatter]

Bitching? so thats what it is? Its not ppl seeing games they love massacred for the sake of accessibility then seeing the game fail anyway lol Someone already make a list of at least 7 games that have gone that accessible route and failed hard game play wise and sales wise lol

I added Socom to that list which bombed hard because they switched it up. Also Kz3 mp suffered greatly bcus of accessibility and making the game more floaty smh.

[Dark11]

Don't get me wrong , fans have every right to complaint .. but i think they should at least , wait for gameplay and some real information

every one should read this

http://i.imgur.com/EsGbE.jp...

[specsmatter]

Ok your last comment made sense and i agree as well they should wait to see how its turning out but catch phrases like "accessibility" in gaming usually means bad things lol

But yeah lets see how it turns out. Im sure many thought Dark Souls would stray far from Demon souls yet it didn't and was awesome as well (although the main person worked on both and will not in this instance)

[StrawberryDiesel420]

People need to calm down until actual gameplay is revealed. We all will be able to tell if the gameplay has been dumbed down as soon as we see a nice bit. I'm willing to bet whatever is revealed will be true to the methodical gameplay the series is known for, rather than some dumbed down hack and slash gameplay. I would be very surprised if the formula is drastically different from what has made the series successful. I'm definitely gonna laugh when they reveal a trailer that looks almost identicle to Dark Souls' gameplay with amazing graphics. All the nay sayers will praise it.

[ThanatosDMC]

We said the same thing about fake DmC. Look how bad it's become.

[jessupj]

I'll reserve my final judgment until I see a gameplay demo, but from everything I've read I am very very concerned.

DS is one of the last games, if not THE last game that is a challenging and rewarding experience for those with the skill, patient and ability to learn from their mistakes.

There's enough dumbed down games for the casuals to trick themselves into thinking they've accomplished something hard. Don't ruin the last game we have.