Since the beginning, FromSoftware’s games have embodied perseverance and the satisfaction of overcoming obstacles. It makes sense, then, that FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki’s overall design and leadership philosophies reflect this.
In the wake of seemingly constant layoffs in the video game industry, Miyazaki has commented candidly on his own stance at From. It’s one thing to say he won’t let something like that happen at his company, but his own approach to development and his thoughts on failure seem to back that up.
Speaking to The Guardian, the Elden Ring director revealed freedom of failure at FromSoftware is what drives their creative decisions and, ultimately, makes for better games.
“No decision is based on any assumption that, hey, we did it once, it’s going to happen again,” Miyazaki told The Guardian. “Allowing for this rather conservative forecast gives us room to fail – and that in turn results in better games and better decisions.”
Miyazaki also recognizes that past successes don’t automatically pave the way for future hits, so there’s always a mix of caution and experimentation in the air.
He went on to say that this outlook is “fueling and aiding” game design at From. Avoiding the assumption that they’ll just automatically make another hit keeps them from getting too comfortable and affords them the luxury of taking risks.
You failed
Between ballooning budgets and ill-advised acquisitions, studios have little room to experiment nowadays. It’s easy to look back at all the success FromSoftware has had and say, of course, they have room to fail. But if risks hadn’t been taken 15 years ago, we wouldn’t even be talking about these games right now.
With Miyazaki and FromSoftware free to move on from Elden Ring, hopefully, that spirit remains thoroughly intact. Now, if you’ll excuse me, a bunch of enemies are waiting to thrash me in Shadow of the Erdtree.
