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[mitch1971]

Yeah, fuck Elden's ring.

I mean Elden Ring.

 

[InterMusketeer]

What are you talking about? FromSoft totally had to earn their success and their unique brand of gameplay. Demon’s Souls was niche as fuck. It had a small but dedicated fanbase that grew with each entry in the genre.

I'm talking about how the devs seem to think that you need to "earn the privilege" to frustrate players. Not only is that statement a petty dig at FromSoft, implying they're allowed to "get away" with frustrating players with bad game design, it's also just not true. FromSoft made games like that before they were even popular. No matter how you look at it, these guys are just wrong.

Phantom Blade Zero doing exactly what FromSoft has done is the anti-FromSoft. That’s why the market is flooded with so many forgettable Soulsborne games. It seems that this studio is trying to take a different approach (which is commendable). I don’t want more knockoffs simply because hard is supposed to be cool.

It's great that they're making their own unique game according to their vision. What I'm criticizing is how they bring up FromSoft while talking about their own game, only to insult them and whine about how they lack some vague privilege that limits their creative freedom. That's all a bunch of nonsense and paints the studio in a bad picture.

 

[fallingdove]

I'm talking about how the devs seem to think that you need to "earn the privilege" to frustrate players. Not only is that statement a petty dig at FromSoft, implying they're allowed to "get away" with frustrating players with bad game design, it's also just not true. FromSoft made games like that before they were even popular. No matter how you look at it, these guys are just wrong.

I didn’t read it as a dig. You can earn the right to make something difficult by creating deeply engaging, highly rewarding gameplay systems. Too many companies misinterpret the difficulty in a FromSoft game and poorly implement it in theirs. Thereby failing to earn the right to difficulty.

 

[InterMusketeer]

I didn’t read it as a dig. You can earn the right to make something difficult by creating deeply engaging, highly rewarding gameplay systems. Too many companies misinterpret the difficulty in a FromSoft game and poorly implement it in theirs. Thereby failing to earn the right to difficulty.

So you're saying they themselves feel they haven't earned that right because their gameplay is not deeply engaging and highly rewarding? Seems counter-intuitive to communicate that while promoting your new game.

 

[fallingdove]

So you're saying they themselves feel they haven't earned that right because their gameplay is not deeply engaging and highly rewarding? Seems counter-intuitive to communicate that while promoting your new game.

You can make a great game without making difficulty central to your systems.

 

[InterMusketeer]

You can make a great game without making difficulty central to your systems.

Sure. But then there's no reason to bring up FromSoft and their so-called privilege in the first place.

 

[fallingdove]

Sure. But then there's no reason to bring up FromSoft and their so-called privilege in the first place.

There’s plenty of reason. From the day they showed the first trailer, people assumed it was yet another Soulsborne clone. I’m sure they are looking for all sorts of ways to expand their audience and speaking to the frustration some players experience with FromSoft games is a way to do that.

Soulsborne games ARE frustrating but they are also incredibly satisfying. People also know what they are getting into when the buy a FromSoft game. This is a newer studio with a new IP. They haven’t earned the right to explore the soulsborne genre. It takes developer experience and a good amount of brand awareness before a title in the genre can find its fit.

I still see no issue with the statement. It’s not a FromSoft dig.

 

[Rawbutt Jellybean]

Sounds like they aren't too confident in their game.

If it's good it'll sell with or without difficulty options.

 

[InterMusketeer]

There’s plenty of reason. From the day they showed the first trailer, people assumed it was yet another Soulsborne clone.

They could've just said they wanted to focus on accessibility and offering a different type of experience from your average Soulslike. The statement they ended up making is very strange to me. It's fine if you disagree.

 

[AZRoboto]

I don't think From had that privilege going into Elden Ring. Now yeah, because Elden Ring vastly outsold every other title they made and those sales validated that formula.

It's odd for them to be phrasing and framing their game this way. But I am excited for a new take at a Ninja Gaiden type of combat

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

No.

Err.. no

 

[Filben]

As a new studio with a new IP it's even more risky to bar people from your game because of its difficulty. From Software took that huge risk with Demon's Souls (which did well financially but only required a fraction of sales you'd probably need today for the same game) and had the luck and competence to move on like this and earned their privilege over the course of several games. They can afford to (keep) making these (kind of) games. Not sure if other studios can, too.

That's how I understand what's been said.