Why Western Developers Are So Angry About Elden Ring's Success

This is going to be fun to talk about.

Twitter: @EndymionYT
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Song: "Dust & Dreams" by VELDA

[khristophertanase]

"Elden Ring", is my first time playing a FromSoft game. I am a 57 year old, who has been playing video games, since their inception, and "Elden Ring" is quite possibly my favorite game of all time. I look forward to any opportunity to play, more than any game that I've ever played. Bravo, FromSoft! Bravo!

[Leemasterflex]

The best explanation I’ve heard was from a tiny podcast : “game executives are going to think the way to get Elden Ring success is to make it open-world and really hard but the real reason is that they made a whole game”

[emeraldo]

Elden Ring is great to me because
- It is a complete game
- Playable offline
- No monetization
- No hand holding

[nyxebit]

Whenever I watch Elden Ring clips and gameplay it feels like I am watching a scene from a movie, I have my eyes focused on the character and not at the multitude of add-ons like compasses or maps or whatnot scattered on the UI. It actually feels so refreshing to watch a clean or at least a minimalist UI of Elden Ring

[NekoNekoKainushi]

I am Japanese and have been a game designer for a Japanese game developer company (not FromSoftware) for about 20 years now.
However, even Japanese game designers cannot help but envy FromSoftware's development style and the values and track record that allow them to maintain a certain auteuristic quality despite being commercial.
The subject of this video says "Western game developers, " but I feel that it is a kind of pathology that hovers over the game industry all over the world, regardless of East or West.

It seems to me that FromSoftware is special in that they have so much faith in the player's "will to finish the game".
On the other hand, many other development sites try to avoid game design that relies on the player's effort, curiosity, or observational skills.
In other words, the type of game that leads you to a Disneyland-like hand-holding, such as the one mentioned in this video.
They lead players to their next destination with annoyingly glowing icons, which everyone is tired of seeing nowadays.
It is a cynical reality that this specification, originally born from good intentions, has become a detriment to the gameplay itself.

But as Eldenring proves, players are inherently active when it comes to the fascinating world, mysterious story, and something they want to get their hands on in the first place.
A game design that is always being led by the hand by a guide dog, despite the open world represented by the Assassin's Creed franchise, is a contradiction in the first place, and game designers are not so incompetent as to not notice this.
However, on the other hand, the values of the management side, which seeks only "understandability" from a commercial standpoint, tend to take precedence in the industry.
I can't help but feel that there are many major companies that should all realize this sooner, but have yet to do so.

[jokerledger]

Elden Ring wasn't just a game developed over 5 years but also the culmination of more than a decades of experience in refining the system over multiple games. It a damn good game.

[csmedia]

I remember the first open world rpgs where you're totally alone to discover dungeons, plot points, areas and no idea where the story will continue. Loved it, today i hate quest markers and glowing arrows telling me what to do.

[michaelhouse]

I liked how Elden Ring was a complete game, that was not loaded with micro transactions or bugs, had so much hidden content and secrets to find which really made it feel special and gave it some depth and it also gave you the freedom to do whatever you wanted so it wasnt totally linear which gave people the option to play the game how they want and make it more or less challenging depending on play style, character build and even the pace at which you push into the later areas in the game. I also love how for a game where you need to be able to parry and dodge you were able to actually see what is going on around you where a lot of other games these days have so many flashy moves with explosions and particles effects you cant tell up from down let alone see an incoming attack you need to dodge. The only real thing i wished they would change as a ps5 player would be the ability to play seemless coop.

[eckee]

Elden Ring is a game, not a business. That’s why we love it.

[sanddry]

Seeing the sheer success of Elden Ring makes me happy. In a world where soulless money dictates everything in western games it’s so refreshing to see a game absolutely crush the sales without micro transactions and a company that cares

[milesskagen]

I've played a ton of games where combat largely consists of button mashing overpowered weapons and abilities. Being forced to perform elden ring's very demanding combat mechanics without any prior explanation is truly challenging and rewarding.
Elden Ring is the game I needed but didn't know I needed.

[PorkotylerClips]

I’m a western developer and I loved the game. I hope to reach that kind of level before I die

[kinetikafilms]

I'm a Western game dev and I think a more accurate title would be "Why Western Game Executives Are So Angry About Elden Ring's Success". All of the devs I've talked to who have played Elden Ring love the fact that it's doing so well and are obsessed with the game design, including myself. Just like BotW I hope this continues to set a great example for open world games. It gives us more ammo when we go into meetings with execs to pitch why our games don't need tons of extra shit tacked onto them.

[bobjim]

I'm predicting a super jaded and almost "this is what you asked for" level of game design coming from the west in the next few years... they are gonna miss the point and think putting in less effort into quest design and stuff equates to eldend rings less oppressive take on quest design, before the devs hit the Internet to say "I don't get it"

[jacobdittmer]

The only thing i wish it had was like a notepad to tell me where i left off on random questlines. Cause when i get on after a couple days, i have no memory of what im supposed to do next to progress it

[mischa]

I found Elden Ring quite refreshing. I had great doubts if the "Souls" formula would work in an open world environment. How wrong I was, it works like a charm.
What I absolutely love about Elden Ring is its architecture. When you step out from the starting area you immediately get a glimpse of things to come. A giant castle in the background, vast open lands, an area to explore. No quest markers, just go explore, look what you want to explore, the whole world is open to you.
I recently finished Valhalla with all extra content apart from the master's trials and the roguelite part. I spent 250 hours into the game but what I hate most about it os its permanent desire to tell you "HEY LOOK! THERE'S A QUEST NEARBY!" and when you go there other quests and places pop up. In the end the map is full of quests and yellow and white spots to explore, it's just too much.
Some more hidden events like the Excalibur sword are way more interesting but in the end you have to face the truth "the way is the reward, not the sword itself". Weapons you earn for solving a series of puzzles are just not worth it. I ended up using my axe from the beginning until the late game, then I switched to Thor's hammer. I didn't use any more weapons because I didn't feel it was necessary.

In the end I made the platinum trophy on Valhalla but somehow it didn't feel "good". Didn't feel like a reward, I was more feeling kind of exhausted for all those things you had to do in order to get it.

So yeah I hope Elden Ring's dlc will be good.I expect a lot and as sources say it'll be released early 2024 after the release of the next Armored Core.

[FrostReave]

Elden Ring is the perfect example of “Make a good game that fosters good will and the people will follow it religiously”

[whoisj]

honestly, the most important facts, on why Elden Ring is designed the way it is, are:
- From Software is more interested in building mythology than on satisfying completionists, maximizing profits (they still want profits, but dropping a few pennies / yen on the floor is OK)
- Bandi-Namco is willing to let it's development studios to thrive on their own merits, and make money from sales as opposed to online transactions

[shelthedon]

Elden Ring is unlike any game I’ve ever played, yet so familiar feels like a games game that challenges you and rewards you, just feels so good and fun to play I love it, the difference is the game is made with love ❤️

[Louis-ygqr]

Recently I was playing a game and it felt like im just in a simulator and that's the same feel i get from most of the games. There's no "escapism into the new world" feel that i used to get from playing. Which is why I have so much respect for the developers of Elden Ring to put so much effort into maling the game as it brings back that joy of playing games