Line #44 Creator/HidetakaMiyazaki


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miyazaki.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:'''YOU DIED''']]
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4	->''Ever since VideoGame/DemonsSouls, I've really been pursuing making games that give players a sense of accomplishment by overcoming tremendous odds.''
5	->''If you had a game that said, "Oops, you're dead. Now switch off the game," it wouldn't be very successful. So you do need to have something to teach and be there to learn from, and we feel that death in video games is a positive experience.''
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7	Hidetaka Miyazaki (born September 19, 1974) is a video game director and company president of Creator/FromSoftware, best known for creating ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''. His games are notorious for their brutally addictive gameplay, NintendoHard difficulty, and strong usage of ShowDontTell. He's also considered the spiritual father of the Main/SoulsLikeRPG genre.
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9	Originally an account manager for the American tech giant Oracle, after playing ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'' at the recommendation of a friend, Miyazaki decided to switch careers to become a video game designer. Due to his mid-career change, very few companies offered him employment, one of them being [=FromSoftware=], where he chose to join in 2004. His first assignment at the company was as a planner on ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreLastRaven'' and he would make his directorial debut in 2006 with ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore4''.
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11	During development of ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore4'', Miyazaki would learn of a TroubledProduction with Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment regarding a fantasy ActionRPG that was suffering from numerous problems stemming from a lack of vision. As the game was already deemed a lost cause by company higher-ups, Miyazaki was allowed to direct the game while being given full creative control over it. This allowed Miyazaki to incorporate many of his ideas and design philosophies that would come to shape his SignatureStyle and future games from the company. Initially met with mixed previews when it was first revealed, namely due to its then-uncommon brutal NintendoHard difficulty, the game, ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', would be released in 2009 to vast critical acclaim and strong sales, quickly becoming [=FromSoftware=]'s most successful game at the time. The rest, they say, is history.
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13	Miyazaki would go on to create ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Demon's Souls'', while continuing to direct games including ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Deracine}}'', ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'', and ''VideoGame/EldenRing''. During ''Bloodborne'''s development, Miyazaki would be promoted to company president of From, succeeding company founder Naotoshi Zin.
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15	In addition to ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'', Miyazaki draws upon world architecture, numerous video-game LongRunners including ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' and ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'', authors like Creator/HPLovecraft, Creator/BramStoker, and Creator/GeorgeRRMartin (whom he'd later [[AscendedFanboy collaborate with]] on ''Elden Ring''), and manga like ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' and ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' for inspiration. He takes a great deal of inspiration from both Western and Eastern sources, and as a result, his games are greatly enjoyed by gamers on both sides of the pond.
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17	His massive influence on the video game industry would culminate in him receiving a spot on ''Magazine/TimeMagazine'' highly coveted 100 List for 2023, the second game developer (after Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto in 2007) to do so.
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19	!!Games directed by Miyazaki:
20	* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore4'' (2006)
21	* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreForAnswer'' (2008)
22	* ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' (2009)
23	* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' (2011)
24	* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' (2015)
25	* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' (2016)
26	* ''VideoGame/{{Deracine}}'' (2018)
27	* ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'' (2019)
28	* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' (2022)
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30	!!Tropes common to Miyazaki's works include:
31	* CreatorsOddball: ''Deracine'' is a gentle VR adventure game with no combat. Story remains cryptic as ever, though.
32	* CreatorThumbprint: Games directed by Creator/HidetakaMiyazaki tend to share a few key elements, namely...
33	** A significant focus on smooth, complex melee combat.
34	** Giving the player character canon ResurrectiveImmortality as an in-story reason for the ubiquitous gameplay loop of dying and respawning. They also have a hole in their pocket that spills all their WeirdCurrency (which pulls double-duty as dosh and experience points) when they die.
35	** Making the final battle a DuelBoss of some kind, usually a tragic one.
36	** Dense, interconnected level design.
37	** Cryptic story and lore.
38	** A PlayerHeadquarters with a loyal female NPC who either levels you up or enhances your healing abilities.
39	** His "main" games so far (Armored Core 4/ For Answer, Demons Souls and its derivatives) feature a universe where higher powers have driven the world into [[ViciousCycle perpetually miserable state of being]]. The PlayerCharacter, who is made into a part of the system that contribute to the misery, is the only one capable of making any meaningful choices by upholding the status quo, replacing it or breaking it (for better or worse).
40	** He also seems to really enjoy {{Fallen Hero}}es, {{Tragic Monster}}s, and the WasOnceAMan trope.
41	** By his own admission, Miyazaki also ''really'' enjoys making [[SwampsAreEvil poisonous swamps]]. He knows that literally everybody but him utterly despises them, but he simply can't help himself.
42	* GodNeverSaidThat: He has been misquoted in more than one way:
43	** Fans of both ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' and the ''Souls'' games often talk about ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' being a primary, or even ''the'' inspiration of ''Souls'' based on an interview where Miyazaki acknowledged that he is a ''Berserk'' reader. However, there's no concrete confirmation from him that it is. For example, after mentioning ''Berserk'' in that interview, he attributes most of his inspiration for the ''Souls'' games to his collection of Western {{Tabletop RPG}}s and FantasyLiterature, as well as the earlier [=FromSoftware=] game series ''VideoGame/KingsField'' and the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' game books. He [[http://skullknight.net/images/darksouls_berserk1.jpg does say]] in the same interview that when Art Designer Masanori Waragai showed him his Catarina armor design, he felt reminded of Bazuso from ''Berserk'' and thought that old design was appropriate for Siegmeyer's character concept, but this is one of the few parallels or {{Shout Out}}s he has actually acknowledged. While not inaccurate to say that ''Berserk'' has had ''some'' influence on the games, such as when he acknowledged that the greatsword arts and playstyle in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' were inspired by Guts, {{fanon}} blows it out of proportion and treat ''Dark Souls'' as if it were practically ''Berserk'' with the serial numbers filed off.
44	** After ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' came out, there was an urban legend that Miyazaki publicly apologized for The Bed of Chaos being such a bad boss. He made no such apology.
45	* NintendoHard: Many of his games are notorious for their extreme, but fair, difficulty. This stems from his philosophy of giving players a strong sense of accomplishment by overcoming a challenge.

Context Creator / HidetakaMiyazaki