Sometimes It's Good to Die - Gaming Fulfillment in Dark Souls

in #gaming7 years ago (edited)

The very minute I purchased a Playstation 4 last fall, I bought both Dark Souls 2 and 3. I haven't been able to touch a console in the last 10 years due to school and living/working abroad and I had been dying to try out the new limits of gaming since twiddling on a Playstation 2 over a decade ago. I had been following gaming developments closely and it seemed that the Dark Souls series had done something never done before.



For those who are unaware, the Dark Souls series of games, (mostly) directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki – Dark Souls, Demon Souls, Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3, and arguably Bloodborne – is a line of 3rd-person “action” games where you control a character that develops physical and magical skills to combat diverse fantasy-inspired enemies. For observers, the point of the game seems simple – fight monsters and bosses until you win the game. But the devil is in the details.

What makes this game one of the most successful and currently most emulated models of production is it's brutal honesty. You die in this game, a lot. In my first playthrough of Dark Souls 2, I died 254 times. You die when you take on 3 enemies simultaneously without a game plan. You die when you mismanage your stamina and stagger after a weak block. You die when you miss you parry time by 0.5 seconds. You die when you miscalculate the enemy's next swing. You die when you miscalculate your own next swing.



You die when you're careless and don't study the patterns of the game.

This makes for one of the most infuriating yet most triumphant gaming experience I have had in years. You get better at the game when you devote your time to study the patterns and routes of the product. You are rewarded for being smarter.

Gaming is No Longer only an A-to-B Journey


There have always been “challenging” games, those that test your reflexes and learning curve. Many require great concentration. You may also die multiple times trying to finish these.



But the clear difference is that Dark Souls assumes that you are smart and doesn't offer an “easy” or “normal” difficulty in the beginning. It places you right in the story and doesn't hold your hand. Either you have the chops and gall to continue or you give up. There is no instant gratification, no robust story to detract from the gameplay mechanics. Either you commit yourself to learning or walk away.

- Source: Gamespot

This is an incredible departure from the general ethos of video gaming. Most people, even many developers, assume that video gaming is a leisurely activity and nearly all games are built that way – easily picked up and put away for later. They don't rely on muscle memory, on learned tactics, nor a skill-based dedication. They are fun, simple, and have stereotypical modes of enjoyment.

Just as it's difficult to find “fulfilling” movies, games typically lack that special something which draws your commitment. There is no button mashing in Dark Souls, only precise movements and calculated moves. The limits of your success are tied to your willingness to be better.

The Renaissance of the “Dark Souls” Genre


The proof is in the pudding. Darks Souls took the gaming industry by storm and beyond their 5 personal game titles, more and more game developers are adopting the very successful formula and bringing pieces of new innovation. Nioh, The Surge, and Salt & Sanctuary have all taken this brutally honest approach and tweaked things their own way and applied their own lore. But in the end, we refer to all of them as a “Souls game.”

What All Games and Activities Can Learn


Fulfilling games are not just limited to today's consoles. The board game industry, for instance, is also seeing a recent transformation. Monopoly seems elementary compared to games like Netrunner where you simulate hacking against an opponent. Each move is deliberate and can change the course of the game. There are fewer dive to roll, more moves to choose.

And I find this new way of playing so motivating. You have a goal and to get there it isn't about smashing a button and the forward arrow or watching cutscenes passively. Instead, it puts you in the driver's seat and you must deal with your own failure. When you begin to take each of your hundreds of deaths as a moment to learn, you'll fly forward exponentially.

- Source: Gameradar

If not, you'll just be another lost soul in the dark.


EDIT: For another in-depth look at the magic of the Dark Souls formula, check out @kevinwong's post here.

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While I haven't play any of the Dark Souls games, I'm playing The Surge right now - same premise and I gotta say the way I felt after defeating the first boss was just awesome!

Oh man, welcome to the 'souls' genre! Every boss is a triumph in itself and I haven't felt that kind of edgy rush in any game since. Let me know what you think of the game overall and I'd highly recommend playing Nioh, Dark Souls 3, and Bloodborne when you're done!

well I'm a reviewer, sadly I can't really put much time into gaming for my own pleasure these days - pretty much only play rocket league purely for fun these days.

Everything else is either for let'splay or review purposes

I'd love to learn more about your process for reviewing. I'd love to add on a more cultural aspect to the rich gaming experience I have.

well I'm a very much mechanical reviewer. I try to judge whether the mechanics of the game or working in it or not and whether I think they are fun and worth the time and price investment.
The only parts where I go into let's say "feely" parts are the story, graphical style and music.

Love these groundhog-day games. Playing the surge now in fact, and its quite a good format for an hour or two a day! Somehow i managed to squeeze in dark souls and steem in the same post too lol https://steemit.com/philosophy/@kevinwong/soul-as-currency

Sweet! Completely missed your piece and will check it out @kevinwong. Maybe we can institute a soul-like combat system for STEEM hehehe....

How's the Surge so far? I'm wary of the futuristic tech-y enironments. Nioh was a goddam blast.

Good review. I'm currently playing "Divinity - Epic Encounters". I recommend everyone try it. It's the Dark Souls of strategy rpg.

I can't wait for Divinity 2 to come out, I've heard such great things. I'll definitely check out the EE mod.

It is looks like very intersting game.
But I do not play games at all because I am not good at games.
But nowadays, I think that the game is very interesting, and I regret it little. ^^
I am glad that steemit is like a game for me now.
By the way, I first knew @hansikhouse nim liked games. ^^

@sochul 님! It's never too late to start!
I would highly recommend playing something with your 아들.
I love games, more than movies or tv or music. They offer an incredible adventure and expands the possibilities of storytelling.

I know the meaning of what @hansikhouse nim say
But I really do not seem to be good at games.
Even if a game machine in a movie theater needs money to go beyond a chapter.
That's a lot of money ^ ^

But now I have more fun STEEMIT than money I'm okay ~
But my son likes games very much.
So I can not play games, but I learned a lot from my son 's words. ^^

It's AWESOME that you support your son's hobbies.
많은 한국 부모님들은 gaming을 반대해서...

I do not object.
This is also for fun.
If my son can control it properly, it's okay to enjoy it. ^^

I do not really know about games.
But people like you seem so cool.

ㅎㅎㅎ 감사합니다 @lovedj님!
I don't know if I'm cool but I do want to foster a beneficial image about gaming. They offer an entire new world.

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