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A new interview with Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki reveals where the concepts of summoning players originates from.
In an interview with The New Yorker last month, just as Elden Ring was launching around the world, FromSoftware's president revealed what inspired the summoning mechanic present in FromSoftware's games. Miyazaki revealed that years ago, his car got stuck on a hill while driving in snow, and a group of strangers appeared and helped push him to the top, only to silently vanish straight away.
This, as Miyazaki puts it, is what inspired the creation of Dark Souls's summoning. Throughout the Dark Souls trilogy, as well as Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, and now Elden Ring, players can summon in allies from around the world to help them battle through tough gauntlets or brutal bosses, before soundlessly vanishing into the digital aether after the fight is won (or lost).
It's a wonderful little anecdote from the FromSoftware president, and a rare look behind the curtain at the design process of the games the developer has become so acclaimed for. In fact, we'd absolutely recommend reading the entire feature from The New Yorker on Miyazaki's ethos, because it's not everyday you come across an interview with the FromSoftware leader. Elsewhere, he discusses how he "feels apologetic" towards players who can't handle his games' notorious difficulty.
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