Let's set aside the story background for now and just focus on gameplay.
Whether it's stat upgrades, gear, or the combat system with rolls, parries, backstabs, and other mechanics—
Honestly, in other action or RPG games, none of that is new.
But the biggest thing that Dark Souls did differently was combine those existing elements with level design and boss battles to create a clear, level-driven experience.
Everything was built around pushing the player to keep going, defeat tough enemies, and get that sense of accomplishment and pride.
With help from the memory capsule, the draft took Lucas more than a full day to finish.
And it still wasn't the full version.
It only covered the core mechanics. Broader things—like the full story—weren't included at all.
After all, this was just a first draft. Some details still needed refining before he could move on.
Everyone had arrived early in the meeting room, sitting in their seats and chatting quietly.
But as soon as Lucas opened the door, the room went silent.
"I'm sure most of you already have a guess about what today's meeting is about. Yes, it's a new game."
"No need for small talk—let's jump right into it. This time we're working on a Western fantasy story."
"The art style will be quite different from what we've done so far."
"The game will have a realistic art direction with a dark, heavy tone. It'll be based on Western European architecture. In the game, players will explore different regions—Fort Farron, Undead Town, Frost Valley, and more. These places will show off different cultural elements, like Baroque architecture or Roman-style cathedrals."
Lucas placed both hands on the table as a projector behind him showed his hand-drawn concept art.
If the story of Dark Souls was the skeleton and the gameplay was the soul, then the visuals were definitely the skin.
That's also why players would encounter the art first—so Lucas had made sure the CG was top-quality and showed it off at the expo.
Classic Western European buildings, a dark fantasy style, and medieval weapons and armor—all combined, the art of Dark Souls had already struck a chord with players at the showcase.
Lucas then began explaining some of the systems in Dark Souls.
For example, the combat system. Besides invincibility rolls, parries, backstabs, and durability—features common in many action games—most of the team already had a rough idea of what to expect. It would just need some fine-tuning later.
There would also be some unique features.
Like every weapon having its own special skill.
And thanks to the tech level of this parallel world, Lucas could push the game's visual quality even further than in his past life.
Of course, this isn't the main core of the game, but more about the finer details in the experience.
"Also, in the early stages, our main work will be focused on producing art assets. As for your part, Hector, I'll need you to make the game's actions stand out even more," Lucas said, looking at Hector.
Hearing Lucas's words, Hector and the others nodded.
Although Dark Souls isn't an action game in the traditional sense but more of a stage-driven game, that doesn't mean action elements aren't important. On the contrary, they are actually a core part of the Dark Souls experience.
In fact, any game involving action tends to have very strict requirements for how it feels.
When it comes to action feedback, to put it plainly, it's all about the feeling of impact and smoothness.
For example, in the famous Skyrim from the previous life, the feeling of impact was basically like swinging at thin air.
As an ARPG, this didn't stop it from being great overall, but the combat experience was really not that good—bad enough that it even turned some players away.
One of the most common ways to create a sense of impact, aside from using sound effects, is the so-called "hit pause" or "hit stop."
Simply put, if a weapon swing takes 60 frames from start to finish, you pause for a few frames at the moment it hits an enemy. This makes it feel like the blade is cutting into flesh—that's the sense of impact players talk about.
Games like Monster Hunter, God of War, and Street Fighter were masters at doing this.
But for Dark Souls, getting the right feeling of impact without making it feel like you're hitting air requires a lot of parameter tuning.
Hit pauses don't work for every game. For example, the smooth, fast pace of Ninja Gaiden's "cutting tofu" style or the long combo chains in the Devil May Cry series aren't suited to this technique.
All of this requires constant tweaking from the team. Relying on Lucas alone to handle it all personally would be unrealistic.
And in the future, it's not like he's going to stop making action-oriented games.
So the team needs to keep experimenting and refining. Back when they were developing Outlast, Lucas already had this in mind.
During the two months working on Fall Guys and Legends of the Three Kingdoms, Hector's team mainly worked on improving action feedback.
So far, the results have been… okay, but there's still plenty of room for improvement.
As for the rest of the game's content, it's relatively simpler—mainly outsourcing the production of art assets.
For example, in level design, the different areas in Dark Souls are all interconnected, which is fairly complex.
This is a classic "seamless world" design.
For instance, a player might travel from Area A to Area B, only to find a small path in Area B that leads back to Area A.
Later, after reaching Area C, they might discover another path that also loops back to Area A.
This is actually the standard map design used in Metroidvania games.
The difference is that in Dark Souls, it's not a 2D side-scroll—it's a fully 3D world.
It also includes puzzle-solving and exploration, which is one of Dark Souls' unique charms.
In the previous life, Dark Souls III disappointed many veterans of the first game, who felt it wasn't as good—mainly because of the changes in map design.
But for new players, this kind of design was actually a blessing.
Even so, as Lucas explained the details of the game, Rachel, who was in charge of the maps and levels, still looked completely lost.
"No mini-map in the game?" Rachel caught on to one of Lucas's main points and asked in confusion.
"That's right. This way, players can really appreciate the charm of the game's world. Why do more and more games shrink their UI, or even try to make it disappear completely?"
"It's to make players feel more immersed. Think about the world of Dark Souls — it's a place full of despair. Not having a mini-map helps strengthen that feeling, and the way the map is interconnected also lets players feel a sense of surprise when they discover new things," Lucas explained with a smile.
Not having a mini-map is one of the hallmarks of Souls-like games.
Even Elden Ring, though it has a map system, still makes players collect fragments by hand — just like in Hollow Knight — a truly classic design.
As for getting lost?
Die a few times, run around a bit, and you'll remember the way!
It's all for the players!
Players spend money on a game — if you don't think about how to make them feel more immersed, are you even human?
(End of the Chapter)
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