Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin's starting point for Elden Ring evolved so drastically that Hidetaka Miyazaki reckons he'd be surprised how the open-world RPG turned out

The world of Elden Ring changed so significantly from the starting point established by Game of Thrones' George R. R. Martin that game director Hidetaka Miyazaki thinks his collaborator would be surprised by the end result.

Speaking with Game Informer, Miyazaki explained that while Martin helped lay the groundwork for the world-building and some character backstories, FromSoftware's narrative team were the ones that brought them to life within the world of the game itself. In some instances, he suggests, those changes were so substantial that Miyazaki thinks Martin would be surprised by exactly what ended up in the game.

The reason Miyazaki takes over, he explains, is because "as a player walks through this world, [...] they have a very fragmented understanding of the lore, the surroundings, and the type of monsters, whereas I don't." As someone who knows the game and its world in their entirety, he wants to make sure that the game's most important moments "aren't lost." To do that, he says that he brings "the map and level design" together "to serve as a guide, to help players pick up more information and piece together what they think that world is."

It might surprise GRRM – who did actually say that he thought the game "looks incredible" – but Miyazaki certainly thinks his approach was successful. Experimenting with the narrative base provided by Martin allowed the entire game to coalesce into an experience that he claims is a game that remains "in a league of its own," even several years after launch.

FromSoftware head Hidetaka Miyazaki says games like Elden Ring and Dark Souls aren't about "simply cranking up the difficulty; it’s doing so fairly"