From the get-go, it does a better job than its counterparts, by starting in a prison, since a clear goal is set right from the beginning: escape. Nothing feels out of place and when it does, it’s always on purpose.ĭark Souls 1 makes the best use of level design, in my opinion. Verticality is used to convey feelings as we traverse the world and also to imply the power structure between factions. Item placement is often used to connect characters, locations, and timelines. FromSoftware leverages this ability quite brilliantly and in more than just a few occasions. Moving past pure gameplay, one of the hallmarks of good level design is the ability to integrate narrative. And finally, it usually does a very good job of letting you know you’re on the right path or signaling that there might be something else over there. The maze-like maps bend over themselves, intertwining paths and interconnecting areas, which makes it very difficult to tell which way is which, at times, but up is always up and down is always down. It’s cool, yes, but it’s also a major factor for this overall sense of direction. We all have heard that Dark Souls “level design” being praised by its use of verticality, but I think that’s a bit shallow, in that it makes it sound like a novelty for novelty’s sake when, in fact, it’s so much more. Second, you often get glimpses of your objective in the distance giving you a general sense of direction. First, yes, you don’t always know exactly where any given path will take you and, quite frankly, that’s the whole point of exploration but you always have at least one clear path to follow.
Despite first impressions, from a gameplay perspective, you rarely feel lost. So, without further ado… Level Design (Designing with Intent)Įvery design decision in Dark Souls seems to have been done very deliberately, and level design is no exception. And then, once we have a clear picture of what makes Dark Souls tick, we’ll take a look at how these games fit within its action RPG genre. I’ll compare its entries to each other, regarding each individual component.
Dark souls system in angband series#
I’ll analyze each component under a broader lens, regarding the series as a whole. You can check out the author’s profile to find them.Ī lot has been said about the “Dark Souls” design and I’ll try my best not to rehash arguments that have already been presented. Part II will analyze the soulsian genre and part III will discuss the philosophy of Dark Souls. This is the first of a three-part series of articles analyzing the Dark Souls games. Any link that goes outside of Fextralife are owned by their respective authors. The following post is this author’s opinion and does not reflect the thoughts and feelings of Fextralife as a whole nor the individual content creators associated with the site.
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