Xbox Dark Souls II (From Software)

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It’s in the works from series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki who will supervise the development, and it will be directed by From Software’s Tomohiro Shibuya.

The game stars a new protagonist in an all new storyline, and the multiplayer has been “revamped” with a Dark Souls twist to the server-based mode.

Shibuya said in the press release that the game will be “fresh while not forsaking its roots.”

Namco Bandai has said the game will release on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

More details surrounding Dark Souls 2 will become available in the months leading to its release, and you can view the teaser site for it here.

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- Edge says they were shown a 10 minute playthrough of Dark Souls 2, and it is a huge step forward graphically. It looks on par with Watch Dogs and Star Wars 1313 in terms of "next-gen"-ness, or so they claim.

- Miyazaki is not working on the development of Dark Souls 2. He is not a director or producer, and is merely a "supervisor".

- Even as a supervisor, he isn't making any development decisions. He only tried to reinforce the team's commitment to releasing things on time, because of the bad experience they had with the patches in Dark Souls, and he also recommended the return to server-based gameplay ala Demon's Souls.

- The new directors, Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura, are indeed the From Software staff who previously directed the Another Century's Episode series. The decision to have the two directors replace Miyazaki was a company decision made by both From Software and Namco Bandai Games to help move the series forward in a fresh direction.

- Miyazaki is working full time on directing a new game. He will not disclose if it is a new IP or a sequel to something else.

- Darks Souls 2 will be a direct sequel, and have an open world of about the same size, but more dense with content.

- It does not take place on Lordran. The name of the world is the key of the story, they will reveal it at a later date.

- One thing Shibuya wants to enhance is the action in the game. He feels that he can contribute because of his experience working on action games in the past.

- Shibuya says he wants to make things like the Covenant system clearer and more accessible, and he wants to make the story and messaging less subtle.

- He promises there will still be "hidden" elements in the story and world which can be missed.

- Development started in September last year, and was done in parallel with some of the Dark Souls patches and DLC content.

- The game is 25% complete, and the team is substantially larger than Dark Souls. The world creation internal staff for the sequel is nearly double that of the first game.

- The game might not make it for 2013.

- They showed a fat grotesque creature, which Shibuya said was the result of the fusing of different creatures by a mad scientist character in the game, like Frankenstein.

- Another new enemy is a Nazgul-like black rider, who apparently serves as an executioner of evil doers. Shibuya confirms there is some sort of morality system in the game.

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II AndrePT II disse:

Aposto para finais de Setembro.

O DarkSouls foi dos jogos que mais me deu gozo jogar.

Um jogo estupidamente difícil como este mas conseguir recompensar o jogador por cada gota de suor....não é qualquer um! Estou ansioso e com o Hype bem lá em cima para este DarkSoulsII

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Dark Souls II detailed in Edge

Miyazaki takes the back seat for new directors.

The latest issue of Edge Magazine has the first preview of Namco Bandai and From Software’s recently announced Dark Souls II. The magazine staff saw a 10-minute playthrough of the game, which it describes as on par with Watch Dogs and Star Wars 1313 in terms of graphics.

Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura, who have previously directed the Another Century’s Episode series, will replace Hidetaka Miyazaki as the sequel’s new directors—a decision made by both From Software and Namco Bandai to help move the series in a new direction.

“For the IP to evolve and provide a new experience within the Dark Souls world the new wind from directors Shibuya and Tanimura is key to providing players with a brand new Dark Souls experience,” reads the mag. “In order to maintain expectations and satisfaction and the rewards players experience this was the time to bring in new characteristics and tastes of the directors for the series to continue evolving.”

Miyazaki will still serve as a supervisor, but won’t be making any development decisions. He only reinforced the team’s commitment to releasing things on time, and suggested the revival of Demon’s Souls‘ server-based gameplay. He is currently keeping busy as director of a new project, which he can’t talk much about.

Dark Souls II will be a direct sequel to the first game, and have an open world about the same size, but with denser content. It is not set in Lodran, but the world’s name is key to the story, and will be revealed at a later point.

Shibuya said he wants to make elements such as the Covenant system clearer and more accessible, and the story and messages less subtle. He believes his experience on previous games will help enhance the game’s action. He also promises to include “hidden” elements in the world and story.

A fat, grotesque creature was shown. Shibuya said this is the result of a fusion between monsters by a mad scientist-like character in the game. A Nazgul-like black rider was also shown. He serves as an the executioner of evildoers. Shibuya confirmed the game will include some sort of Morality system.

Dark Souls II is currently 25 percent complete, and might not make a 2013 release. Development began in September last year, and boasts a team substantially larger than that of the first game. Internal staff for world creation has almost doubled.

Thanks, NeoGAF.

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Dark Souls II To Have Slightly Larger World; Won’t Be Open World

In an interview with 4Gamer, former Dark Souls director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, and new director, Tomohiro Shibuya, discuss their new roles and plans for Dark Souls II.

No longer in the director’s chair, Miyazaki is now acting as the “supervisor” for Dark Souls II. What exactly will he do as a supervisor?

First of all, Miyazaki would like to reassure fans that might have concerns about the change of directors to not worry.

“As far as being a developing games, Mr. Shibuya has far more experience than I do,” Miyazaki says. “He understands exactly what it takes to do a great job and we’re on the same page regarding where we’d like to take the Dark Souls franchise. I fully trust him and his judgment.”

Due to personal reasons and more, Miyazaki and From Software came to a mutual agreement regarding his change to supervisor for the next installment. Although he’s saddened that he will no longer be the director, he’s satisfied by the fact that he’ll still have a role in the development of the series he’s grown to love. He believes there’s still a lot of potential in Dark Souls, which will only be realized better over time.

Miyazaki says his role as a supervisor will allow him to have a say in what he likes and dislikes during the ongoing development for Dark Souls II, which he considers selfish but at the same time, crucial.

A couple of those decisions that are already in the works include: a game server for Dark Souls II and to refrain from having DLC weapons and items.

As a supervisor, Miyazaki will monitor development and will make sure it stays true to its core as a Dark Souls game. However, he’s going to hold himself back when it comes to the world, story and artwork, as he believes that most of that should be up to Shibuya, as the new director.

Tomohiro Shibuya is known for his work in the mecha all-star game, Another Century’s Episode. Aside from A.C.E., Shibuya has worked in developing a new high-end graphics engine, which he plans on implementing in Dark Souls II. He recently stated that he’d like to evolve the overall experience of Dark Souls II, but in order to do that, he believes that it needs to start with the overall graphics.

Shibuya shares: “Rather than focusing on shading and lighting technologies, I believe that having a more realistic atmosphere while showing better details of the monsters and their expressions would definitely have a bigger impact.”

In regards to how Dark Souls II will connect to its predecessor, it will take place in the same world, although it won’t be a direct sequel. The story will take place in a different area with different people. Shibuya decided to stick to the original Dark Souls map style, instead of opting for an open-open world. As far as recurring characters go, not much can be said for the time being.

Shibuya believes that the most important thing is to stay true to the original game, which already has many fans. Rather than making something completely different as the new director, he’d like to see what he can do to make it better.

“My concept is to get Dark Souls and what made it great, and give it a major upgrade,” he states. Shibuya also clarifies that there are currently no plans to increase the game’s size. If anything, it will just be slightly larger than the first. He’d also like to keep the overall gameplay time required to beat the game as close as possible to Dark Souls.

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