Latest news with #HidetakaMiyazaki
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin throws his support behind Elden Ring movie: "Alex Garland is a first rate director"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Producer and Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin has broken his silence on the Elden Ring movie and its choice of director in a new blog post. "Here's the latest about the ELDER RING [sic] movie that was announced a few days ago," Martin wrote on his site. "A24 is a kickass studio, and Alex Garland is a first rate director." While he didn't offer more information, his 'current mood' based on the blog post was "hopeful." Curiously, he also linked to a three-minute video from YouTuber Zayf the Scholar titled, 'Why the Elden Ring Movie WON'T SUCK - Director Reveals His TRUE Power Level'. So, there's that. For the un-Tarnished among you confused by George R.R. Martin's involvement in the Elden Ring movie, he famously constructed the 2022 game's lore and rich history, which director Hidetaka Miyazaki and developers FromSoftware built upon with a tale of Great Runes, Erdtrees, and Elden Rings as the player aims to take his place as the Elden Lord in The Lands Between. As of now, very little is known about the Elden Ring movie. Annihilation and Warfare director Alex Garland is helming the project, while Heartstopper actor Kit Connor is circling as lead. Beyond that, fans are hoping the big-screen adaptation will swerve the source material's focus on the player's Tarnished. Instead, their hopes are pinned on following the story of Vyke, a pivotal figure in the game's world, who ultimately stopped short of becoming the next Elden Lord – and was driven mad in the process. For more on Elden Ring and the likes of The Legend of Zelda movie and the Mario sequel, check out our guide to upcoming video game movies.
Geek Tyrant
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
George R.R. Martin Weighs in on the ELDEN RING Movie: 'Alex Garland Is a First Rate Director' — GeekTyrant
In a recent blog post, the Game of Thrones creator and co-architect of Elden Ring 's vast mythology, George R.R. Martin, offered his thoughts on the upcoming film adaptation, and on its newly announced director, Alex Garland: 'Here's the latest about the ELDER RING [sic] movie that was announced a few days ago. A24 is a kickass studio, and Alex Garland is a first rate director.' That's all he shared directly. No big lore drops or story teases. But Martin's 'current mood' at the end of the post? Simply… 'hopeful.' As for how Martin fits into the Elden Ring picture, he didn't write the game, but he did lay the foundation. Back in 2022, he crafted the world's backstory, its mythic conflicts, and that heavy, dense sense of fallen grandeur. From there, Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and the team at FromSoftware built the playable experience that we all hate to enjoy, one filled with cryptic NPCs, grotesque monsters, and just enough misery to keep you emotionally invested and spiritually broken. So far, all we know about the film is that it's coming from A24, and Alex Garland is directing. It's also reported that Kit Connor ( Heartstopper, Warfare ) may lead the dark fantasy epic. No story details have been shared, but I think it would be a samrt move to tell the story of Vyke the Dragonspear. It a really strong story, and if you're not familiar with it, you can read all about it here. It's the kind of tragic story arc is tailor-made for Garland's storytelling style. Martin also embedded a video from YouTuber Zayf the Scholar titled 'Why the Elden Ring Movie WON'T SUCK – Director Reveals His TRUE Power Level.' That doesn't technically confirm anything, but Martin is obviously vibing with the vision. You can watch that video below.
CNET
01-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
Elden Ring Nightreign Director Interview Part Two: Why There's No Poison Swamp and Future DLC
Elden Ring and its DLC Shadow of the Erdtree have been phenomenal successes for FromSoftware, which enabled the studio to grow beyond its devoted but niche following to explode into the mainstream. Its spinoff, Elden Ring Nightreign, takes a different approach with a co-op multiplayer focus and repeatable run-based gameplay. Nightreign is a bold direction for the studio, which had found success with dark fantasy single-player adventures like Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series of games. Most of its hits were directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of the Souls formula of tough third-person combat games. The new multiplayer game, Nightreign, builds on Elden Ring's success by remixing its elements into a new gameplay format of fast-paced action. Fitting this new direction, Nightreign is the directing debut of Junya Ishizaki, who had worked on many earlier FromSoftware titles and been the combat director on Elden Ring. Over video chat, CNET got to talk with Ishizaki about his thoughts on Nightreign and many other topics. In part one of our interview, we discussed how things changed over the course of the game's development, from dropping fall damage to collapsing multiple maps into the final one we see today. And, yes, how he solo'd every boss in the game. In part two below, we chat about Ishizaki's favorite Nightfarer class to play and least favorite boss, as well as DLC info and what FromSoftware learned that it'll carry into future games (like, potentially, the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods coming next year). Of course, we also had to ask the poison swamp question. Woods infested with scarlet rot are the closest you'll get to a poison swamp in Nightreign. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET David Lumb: I feel like I need to ask about the absence of another element that's been present in many other FromSoftware games: Where's Nightreign's poison swamp? Junya Ishizaki: I think the main reason is that this is not a Miyazaki title so that could be one explanation. Jokes aside, I think it's just a serendipitous factor of game development and what goes into the idea process and what comes out. So who knows what could happen in the future with Nightreign? DL: Considering Elden Ring, Bloodborne and two of the three Dark Souls titles are Miyazaki games, what makes Nightreign an Ishizaki game? JI: I think one of the aspects that not necessarily sets me apart from Miyazaki, but that I like to think of as my specialty, is that I like to prioritize the "game feel" more than a lot of things -- these detailed and fine-tuned things, like what happens when a player falls from a height and hits the ground? How is this supposed to feel? And how does this translate into good-feeling gameplay and into player comfort? So as you know, Nightreign doesn't feature any fall damage but there are ways the characters behave when they hit the floor from various heights and what you can do to counteract that. So these are areas that I like to look at -- the relationship between player and controls and how that translates to game feel. Hidetaka Miyazaki, director of Elden Ring and other FromSoftware games, at CNET's 2024 interview alongside the release of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. David Lumb/CNET DL: This is a question I asked Miyazaki-san last year when the Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, came out: Of all the FromSoftware games you've worked on, which is your favorite child? JI: That's a tough question. I've worked on Dark Souls 1, 3, Bloodborne and Elden Ring, of course. I think I'd say the project I have the most memories with is the original Dark Souls. This is the first project I was involved in at FromSoftware and it was my first foray into serious game development, learning the game systems and architecture and every aspect of what goes into these games at this company and what we wanted to convey to the user through gameplay. Learning all of this was extremely valuable to me. Of course, I was new at the time so I was very earnest in helping to make it succeed. DL: During my runs in Nightreign, I ran into memorable Dark Souls bosses like the Gaping Dragon. How did you choose which of the Dark Souls series' many bosses to include? JI: From a gameplay perspective and our sense of, first of all, would they be a good fit for the world and structure of Nightreign. It's the same for the bosses that appear from Elden Ring's world as well. Whether they fit and use the base boss battle format of Elden Ring, we wanted to make sure that they adapt to Nightreign's framework and gameplay as well, and add to that in order to make the experience fresh. Gladius (shown above) and the other eight Nightlords were created for Nightreign. Other bosses, found in the field and appearing at the end of the first two days, are from Elden Ring and Dark Souls games. Bandai Namco DL: Speaking in terms of crossovers, it's great to see Dark Souls bosses in Nightreign, as well as some character costume skins that look straight out of Bloodborne. When are we going to see the Armored Core crossover? JI: We have a very high level of respect for the games that other directors and other creators in the company have created and we never wanted this to feel like a random grab bag kind of approach. We have very fond memories of each of these titles and there was very careful selection that went on in order to choose the right fits and what we felt could be interesting for Nightreign. We didn't want this to feel like too lighthearted of an effort -- we wanted it to feel like there was some love and care and respect put into it. As to the question of an Armored Core or mecha crossover … who knows? It's very difficult to say right now what the future could hold for the company. I think if someone was so inclined, they could approach a crossover of worlds in such a way. But right now, there's really no hint of that. DL: Now I need to know more about how you've played your own game. What's your favorite Nightfarer class? And what's your least favorite boss? JI: I'd have to say my favorite Nightfarer, from a character perspective, is probably the Guardian. I like to feel like I'm protecting the team and that I'm a strong anchor, very unyielding in my approach to any enemy that I've come up against. But he also has some cool aspects to him. He doesn't feel like a full-fledged tank, he feels a little more flexible than that. The Duchess is a powerful and fragile but nimble fighter who pours on damage in fights. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET In terms of pure gameplay, I like the Duchess. She's really quick, fun to dodge with, uses teammates' attacks effectively and, I think, she's very intuitive for me to play. She's the kind of character I would choose in another game. I can really immerse myself in the gameplay without worrying too much about what's going on. As for my least favorite boss fight, obviously I love all boss fights equally [laughs]. The one I have most trouble with is Fulgore, sort of a centaur type character missing one arm. That one really requires me to keep on my toes and keep focused. That's a tricky one for me. DL: Interesting, he definitely wiped the floor with me when I went against him -- and I appreciated how tough he was without seeming unfair. Broadly speaking, have players responded to the game as you expected or surprised you? JI: The overall response to the network test and to the cycle of the game has been incredibly strong. I'm really glad to see all the feedback we've been getting and we have a lot of great points to learn from and to examine in terms of balancing the game's difficulty, bringing up the highs and tweaking the lows up until release. Personally, I love playing multiplayer games and being part of that community discussion, so seeing this take off with Nightreign, seeing what players thought was [overpowered] or what was meta or what's going to be the new meta when a new character is released -- this was really fun to see. This really made me glad to see these kinds of divisive opinions and discussion. I can't wait to see everyone play it at launch. DL: Great segue -- what is the future of Nightreign? Does that include more content beyond the announced DLC? JI: For future content, we have the already-announced DLC, which we're currently underway on developing. The content for that will be focused on mainly new playable characters and new boss encounters, so please look forward to that. And then of course, beyond that, we can't say definitely right now but we will be continuing to support the game with patches and updates according to what we see from player data and player tendencies. So sticking tight to the game and watching for balance changes that need to be made and generally supporting the game as we have done with our previous titles. Elden Ring Nightreign launched on May 30 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles for $40. Owning the original Elden Ring is not required to play this game.
CNET
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Elden Ring Nightreign Director Interview: He Solo'd Every Boss and So Can You
Elden Ring launched in 2022 to great acclaim as the culmination of director Hidetaka Miyazaki's successes with the Dark Souls and Bloodborne series of games. When calls went out in studio FromSoftware to explore more modest spinoff projects, Elden Ring combat director Junya Ishizaki raised his hand -- and proceeded to direct the just-released Elden Ring Nightreign, the multiplayer-only spinoff game. Nightreign is an ambitious attempt to distill the Elden Ring experience into under-an-hour repeatable runs killing enemies and mini-bosses before taking on a unique and deadly Nightlord main boss. Faster, meaner and in some ways tougher than the game it originates from, Nightreign is FromSoftware's expedition into multiplayer. And while it inherits a lot from Elden Ring, the studio's next game was developed to scratch a very different player itch -- a co-op pressure cooker to produce the highest and lowest moments that Souls games are known for. There are a lot of ways the games differ, but Nightreign's director summarized it by saying "I would describe the Elden Ring experience as more of a journey while Nightreign's experience is more of that on the battlefield." In part one of my interview with Ishizaki about his directorial debut in Nightreign, we chatted about what was kept and cut from Elden Ring, how the map design changed over development and whether he himself beat every boss in the game he helmed. (Yes, he solo'd them all.) Read more: Elden Ring Nightreign Beginner's Guide: The Essentials for Not Getting Wrecked in the First 5 Minutes Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET David Lumb: With its co-op focus and fast pace, Nightreign's gameplay is different than Elden Ring. What was kept and what was cut from the latter? Junya Ishizaki: While it's not limited to Elden Ring, with a lot of our games, we keep this sense of exploring the world and traversing the world. Building on these RPG systems and growing your character was definitely an element of Elden Ring that we wanted to keep and transfer into Nightreign. I think in terms of, not what what we cut because boss battles are still a large part of Elden Ring, but more as a good focus point on where we had to deliver something new for Nightreign -- we wanted these large-scale boss battles to feel really epic and really unique to this game. DL: What's it like to tweak the difficulty in a FromSoftware game, especially one built upon Elden Ring's specific challenge level from the lethality of everyday enemies to the biggest bosses? JI: These challenging elements to our games are always under scrutiny and that we're always looking at closely. We felt like we needed to step back and review that process for difficulty balancing with Nightreign in particular … being a multiplayer-focused title, the player is constantly evolving and changing their power level on the fly during any one session. So you really need to focus on what that power curve and that difficulty curve looked like within each session quite closely. Of course, as I say, we do look at this approach carefully from title to title. It's not just an all-in, make-it-hard approach. That said, Elden Ring, we did go too far in some areas and I feel we didn't go far enough in other areas. So we're always learning from our projects and past experiences, trying to create a game that feels fair and satisfying and gives you a feeling of accomplishment when you do overcome these challenges. DL: Hold on -- I think everyone would like to know your opinion on which bosses in Elden Ring went too far and which didn't go far enough! JI: This is not necessarily related to the difficulty specifically, but I think in terms of the battle system with Elden Ring -- which is something I was quite involved in the development of that game -- where the player feels too pressured or too restricted in what they can do within that framework and that setting, I feel like that created a lot of the feeling of difficulty for a lot of players. That is somewhere that we felt we were able to release the valve a little bit with Nightreign and allow for more player freedom and to have a more liberating experience. So with Nightreign, I think really leaning into something new was at the heart of this game, even though we're using Elden Ring as a base, that really gave us a lot of room to explore these battle systems and explore how the player traverses the world. Really really lean into creating a fresh experience there that doesn't feel like it's too tied to the original game in that sense. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET DL: Speaking of traversal, I can't be the only one who's wondered this: Was there ever fall damage in the game? I love dropping down from a great height. JI: There was actually fall damage at one point, very momentarily. We did study it and try it for a bit but we felt like the game could exist without it. We felt like the game stood up on its own and didn't need it in order to feel thrilling or to feel trepidation of other areas of the game. DL: What are other things players might be surprised to discover had been cut during development or refined into something totally different? JI: I'd say one example of this is the terrain changes that occur in Nightreign. At one point, there was the idea to have different maps -- specific set maps for when you play each session. At one point, we had the idea to try to collapse this into a single map, and instead have these different layers and transformative changes that occur during that session. We thought this could be a new challenge that could set it apart from previous and existing games, give us a new challenge to work with on Nightreign and provide a different gameplay experience as well to extend the breadth of each play session by having this layering feature to the terrain features. We found this added very different gradients to the exploration and to the way each session pans out. When we tried this, we felt like there's no one right answer. There's no one correct way you can do this, it just depends on the game. And this presented a new and interesting challenge for us and a way to, again, spice up the new gameplay in Nightreign. DL: That's interesting and sounds like a lot of development in the game experience. Was Nightreign ever considered as a full-size game like Elden Ring? JI: In a word, no, Nightreign was always considered a smaller, lighter title in comparison to the likes of Elden Ring. But to give a little bit of context to that, during the development of Elden Ring, I myself expressed interest in wanting to direct my own title, and this was picked up by Miyazaki and the other staff at From and I was given this opportunity. Being a new director, we wanted to take things from a smaller scale and a smaller perspective and start with a strong base with Elden Ring. Of course, having had this experience as director, I'd very much like in the future to start completely from scratch and have my own project and see where it can go scope-wise, so I'm looking forward to that opportunity as well. Bandai Namco DL: Now that you've finished Nightreign, what's your favorite part of it? JI: There's a lot of nice things to choose from, a lot about the game I like. But I think one thing we've honed in on with Nightreign in particular is the feeling of being both approachable and light in terms of an RPG, but also quite involved and quite in-depth if you want it to be. I think this is an area that we've managed to hit quite well. DL: And what have you and FromSoftware learned from making Nightreign? JI: I think there's a lot of experience we can take forward into future projects. One thing in particular I think has been really successful and really valuable to work with is this new approach to characters and character design, both from a gameplay and narrative perspective. I think this is a really unique aspect of Nightreign and it's something I think could be developed even further with our future titles, characters feeling unique and interesting in terms of the way they play, the way their controls translate to their unique game feel, and also how you as a player approach and explore their backstories and narratives. These are areas that make Nightreign stand apart from other titles and I think this is something we could definitely improve on and refine going forward. DL: Great. Last question: I beat the final boss yesterday and I just want to know -- have you, in fact, beaten every boss and the final boss yourself? Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET JI: Yes, I can hopefully give you reassurance to know that I have beaten all of the game's bosses. I've seen everything it has to offer, both in multiplayer and as a solo player. So I want you and players to know that this is very possible and I want you to have the confidence to give it a try yourself. And in terms of secrets and a narrative as well, I think there's a lot there for players who were invested in that side of it to uncover and I hope you look forward to experiencing everything that Nightreign has to offer. DL: Just to clarify: you solo'd every boss in the game? JI: Yes. And without relics. Elden Ring Nightreign launched on May 30 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles for $40. Owning the original Elden Ring is not required to play this game.
Geek Tyrant
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Here's the Story That Alex Garland's ELDEN RING Movie Should Tell — GeekTyrant
Alex Garland is officially heading to The Lands Between. A24 and Bandai Namco have tapped the Ex Machina and Annihilation filmmaker to write and direct a live-action Elden Ring movie. This is a big move for both Garland and A24. Known for cerebral sci-fi and grounded psychological storytelling, this is uncharted territory, a sweeping dark fantasy epic loaded with monster gods, obscure lore, and more emotional trauma than a family reunion at Stormveil Castle. It's easily the biggest swing either has taken: a sprawling, high-fantasy world born from the minds of Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. Expectations are appropriately colossal. But the big question is: What story are they going to tell? If you're familiar with Elden Ring , you know the game gives players the freedom to piece together their own path through fractured lore and cryptic NPCs. It's not exactly screenplay-friendly. That's why the best approach for Garland might be to focus not on your Tarnished, but one who came before: Vyke the Dragonspear. Before the player ever touched grace, Vyke wasn't just another warrior trying to become Elden Lord, he was the Tarnished to watch. A once-loyal knight of Leyndell's Ancient Dragon Cult, Vyke's story is tragic, beautiful, and perfect for the screen. According to lore, Vyke trained under Lansseax and pursued the Elden Ring with a determination that mirrored the player's own journey. But everything changed when he tried to save his Finger Maiden from her destined sacrifice. That's where the tragedy really kicks in. "Vyke's story revolves around his desire to save his Finger Maiden from being sacrificed to become Elden Lord, a fate that seemed inevitable for him. He sought out the Three Fingers, potentially on the advice of Shabriri, and embraced the Frenzied Flame, ultimately becoming a Lord of Frenzied Flame." A man chasing glory gives it all up for love, not for power, not for dominion, but to save someone who was viewed as disposable. And in doing so, he loses his mind, his purpose, and is eventually imprisoned, his journey cut short. 'A fate worse than death' doesn't begin to cover it. This is pure Garland material, a character at war with himself, torn between love and destiny, slowly unraveling under the weight of a cursed world. Vyke isn't a Chosen One. He's not a god or a myth. He's a tragic reflection of the player, the path that could have been, and that makes him the perfect protagonist. "Vyke's story is a cautionary tale about the consequences of choosing the Frenzied Flame path and the struggle between love and duty. He represents the player's mirror image, a Tarnished who embraced the Frenzied Flame to avoid a seemingly inevitable sacrifice." With Garland's eye for psychological nuance and A24's appetite for boundary-pushing cinema, this could be as massive and epic as The Lord of the Rings. This could be a stunning fantasy film that gives us something intimate, brutal, and emotionally honest, and Vyke's story is exactly that, a poetic nightmare about love, power, and the cost of choosing your own path. If A24 and Garland are serious about doing this right, they'll let us burn with Vyke first.
