FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanese video game development company founded in November 1986. The company is known primarily outside Japan for being the developers of the Armored Core and Souls series, as well as Bloodborne. Miyazaki: Thank you. I'm very happy with the area overall. It was the important first map we made and I think I was able to incorporate the new ideas I had while not taking anything away from the original design of the area. When collaborating with the team I often come up with ideas, and I enjoy trying to fit them in as we develop the world. Of course, I also have to be careful not to break anything. I think this method of continuous improvement can really help add to the atmosphere of an area, in fact we also used this method on the last game I worked on, Demon's Souls, the problem is that there is a tendency to overproduce things and before you know it, the project can spiral out of control and work can slow down. I love Dark Souls and its in-game designs, but this art book is honestly very underwhelming. It doesn't feel like it is doing much justice to the games vast world and numerous enemies. There is too little of, well, everything basically. Not much environmental art, very little item art. Miyazaki: Probably, relief from his pain at last… Although it's extremely difficult and I doubt anyone will ever discover it, I seem to recall there being a way to progress through the game without killing him, although in truth, it's more of an exploit than a valid method.

Miyazaki: I think it turned into a good silhouette in the end, he looks like someone who doesn't like other people… I can empathise with that, haha. Miyazaki: As with Priscilla, I had a pretty clear image of how I wanted the character to look and behave so I entrusted his design to an out-of-house artist. I'm sure made the designers and programmers really angry because I forced them to make his armour equippable.Miyazaki: The Crow Demons came about during the initial concept stages. I think the animator did a really incredible job. Hatsuyama: I drew a lot of designs for underwear so I'm a little disappointed he didn't emerge wearing one of those instead. Of course, in cases where I had a clearer idea of what I wanted, the design process was slightly different. For example, this is going to be used in this place, to perform this function or, the area is designed in this way so it must adhere to these conditions. In cases like this I often had a clear image of how I wanted these things to look, for example the mimic and the gargoyles. But regardless of which design process was used, rather than appoint a person to take charge of each concept, I took the designs, talked them over with each of the artists and developed them in that way. -

Miyazaki: Yes, that's right. Firelink Shrine serves as the hub for the game so I initially wanted it to be a very healing place with water, greenery, soft light and subtle music, and while that never really changed, as Mr. Satake said, factors like the introduction of kindling and Frampt's arrival later in the game meant that the water gradually disappeared from the area. We realised that when Frampt appears, he bursts through the ground, so the water that used to fill that area would all have to drain away… Nakamura: I heard later that Satake and Miyazaki were discussing my designs over ramen and saying how pleased they were. Waragai: I suppose it does. I've always liked fantasy but it wasn't until I started working on these designs that I really began to think about how the armour was put together. Then I started thinking, "how would you construct armour for someone who was really overweight?" and this design was the result.

Miyazaki: Priscilla was designed out-of-house. I had a pretty clear image of what I wanted for the character so I trusted it to a separate art studio. In 2009, they released Demon's Souls for the PlayStation 3, which brought them international exposure. Its spiritual successor, Dark Souls, was released in 2011. In March 2014, Dark Souls II, was released, while Dark Souls III was released in 2016.[8] A title inspired by the Souls series, Bloodborne, was released in March 2015. The Souls series, along with Bloodborne, received widespread critical acclaim, as well as strong sales domestically and internationally.[9][10][11] They have also received a number of awards, primarily those for the role-playing genre, including multiple "RPG of the Year" and Game of the Year awards.[12][13][14][15] Since release, Dark Souls and Bloodborne have been cited by many publications to be among the greatest games of all time. Miyazaki: What are you saying! Let's talk, you were in charge of the last boss Gwyn Lord of Cinder, how was that? Waragai: I remember you said that to me when I was working on the zombie dragon. Originally it was covered with maggots, but you told me that I needed instead, to try and capture the sadness of this great creature as it marches towards extinction.