The author of Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Elden Ring explained why his worlds are simultaneously as dark and frightening as they are beautiful and elegant

Japanese game designer Hidetaka Miyazaki's games are characterised not only by their high complexity and allegorical plot, which can be interpreted in different ways, but also by their own visual style.

PC Gamer journalist talked to Miyazaki and found out what motivates him to create worlds that combine realism, grotesque, refinement and emphasised gloom.

Here's What We Know

The FromSoftware studio head explained that he cares about "refinement, elegance and dignity" in games, but is not interested in creating worlds that don't emphasise naturalistic depictions of violence, mutilation and mangled bodies. Hence the bizarre design of most of the creatures in Miyazaki's games, and the best (in our opinion) example of this is Bloodborne.

The developer sees beauty not only in appearance but also in hidden meanings and subtexts:

This is my personal ideal and approach to aesthetics - it doesn't necessarily apply to the whole company. We employ people with different ideals and their own aesthetics. But yes, that's the design approach I tried to keep at Elden Ring.

I think ultimately I'm trying to portray something beautiful. How you interpret beauty obviously depends on the viewer's perspective; it doesn't have to be something physically charming or beautiful externally. It can be something internal that allows you to empathise on a deeper level.

Certainly, Miyazaki's beauty can sometimes be not only scary but even shocking, yet it's always appealing, unusual and gives his games an added charm and relatability.

In a few days Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring will be released, where gamers will see new creations of Hidetaka Miyazaki's fantasy.

Source: PC Gamer