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[Kotaro]

Get the inside scoop on The Duskbloods in this interview with the director, Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoftware.

Can you please give us a quick self-introduction?

My name is Hidetaka Miyazaki. I work at FromSoftware (1), and I am the director for The Duskbloods.


First off, please tell us what led to this title being developed for Nintendo Switch 2.

A while back, we had the opportunity to meet with Nintendo to discuss ideas, and during this discussion, we presented a rough outline for The Duskbloods.

It was still very bare-bones at the time—more a loose string of ideas than a proper presentation. The concept itself was different from anything we had done before, and Nintendo seemed very interested in helping make it a reality. So that’s when the project kicked off.

At first it was being worked on by a small team as a title for Nintendo Switch. However just as the game started to take shape, we were approached by Nintendo with talk of Switch 2, which led us to revamp our development path with this new hardware in mind.

The new hardware’s focus on online features allowed us to stay as true to the original vision as possible, which was very good news for us.


It sounds like the game differs from most of your previous titles. Can you give us a little more detail as to what type of game it is?

In terms of structure, we consider it a PvPvE title. At its core, it’s an online multiplayer* focused game, with both player vs player and player vs enemy gameplay.


Did you always have some desire to make a PvPvE type game?

Yes, I’ve always found the PvPvE structure very interesting. It allows for a broad range of game-design ideas, while also letting us leverage our experience of designing challenging enemy encounters.

As a side note, please allow me to address one thing. As previously mentioned, this is an online multiplayer title at its core, but this doesn’t mean that we as a company have decided to shift to a more multiplayer-focused direction with titles going forward.

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Elden Ring was also announced, and we still intend to actively develop single player focused games such as this that embrace our more traditional style.


Please tell us about the game’s characters and setting.

The game’s protagonists, or characters controlled by the player, are known as “Bloodsworn.” The Bloodsworn are a group whose members have achieved super-human abilities through the power of special blood. As a general concept, they’re similar to vampires, but they are not portrayed as the horrifying monsters you might associate with traditional vampirism.

We tried to extract the sort of romantic aspects we found interesting from concepts such as vampires and “blood” and reinterpreted them as the Bloodsworn.

In The Duskbloods, the Bloodsworn are competing for something known as “First Blood.” As human society reaches an end, First Blood flows in an event known as the “Twilight of Humanity.” The Bloodsworn are summoned to the Twilight of Humanity across a variety of different times and places in a bid to obtain First Blood.

Due to this, there is no fixed era or location in which The Duskbloods takes place. There are more traditional Gothic- or Victorian-style maps as well as those depicting the closing years of the early modern period, like the one glimpsed in the trailer with the train running through it.


Can you let us know the meaning behind the title The Duskbloods?

The Duskbloods directly refers to the Bloodsworn themselves. As mentioned earlier, the Bloodsworn are summoned to the Twilight of humanity in a battle for First Blood. “Duskbloods” is a collective term for these characters controlled by the player.


It sounds like blood plays a pretty big role in the game.

Yes. In the context of this game, blood is used more conceptually, as opposed to literal meanings like physical depictions of injury.

Blood symbolizes one of the game’s key themes—the history it holds, the power it passes on, the fates it weaves and the marker of those who have surpassed the limitations of their own humanity.

More at the link:

Creator’s Voice blog: Hidetaka Miyazaki on The Duskbloods (part 1) - News - Nintendo Official Site

Get the inside scoop on The Duskbloods in this interview with the director, Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoftware. Check out the rest of the blog Part 2: Superhuman abilities and opportunistic behaviors Part 3: Playing roles and altering fates Part 1: B…

www.nintendo.com

Can you provide some more detail on the general gameplay loop?
The game has a so-called “hub” area, where players can choose their character, customize them and enter online multiplayer*. Online multiplayer supports up to 8 players. Upon concluding an online match, players then return to the hub, at which point they receive some sort of reward whether they win or lose. Using these rewards, players can further customize their character, and so the cycle continues.
Online matches are generally last player standing, however there are certain cases where victory conditions differ. For example, players may be tasked with teaming up to take down a powerful boss enemy, or find themselves in other special circumstances.

 

[Punished Miku]

The Duskbloods directly refers to the Bloodsworn themselves

The Bloodsworn lol. This guy is so creatively bankrupt at this point.

 

[Kotaro]

The Bloodsworn lol. This guy is so creatively bankrupt at this point.

LOL This will be his 7th game in 16 years, give him a break

 

[Bartski]

bloodsworn

 

[TintoConCasera]

At its core, it’s an online multiplayer focused game

Well, there it is. Guess people can stop with the "but all From games are PvPvE!" silly argument.

The Bloodsworn lol. This guy is so creatively bankrupt at this point.

Agreed. It's starting to sound quite derivative. The trailer even shows yet another dude wearing Gut's armor.

 

[Killer8]

Someone ask when they're going to make a new Tenchu with Acquire.

 

[SHAKEZ]

we still intend to actively develop single player focused games such as this that embrace our more traditional style.

That's all I needed to know I'll wait for those.

 

[Kotaro]

This is an interesting part

Can you provide some more detail on the general gameplay loop?
The game has a so-called “hub” area, where players can choose their character, customize them and enter online multiplayer*. Online multiplayer supports up to 8 players. Upon concluding an online match, players then return to the hub, at which point they receive some sort of reward whether they win or lose. Using these rewards, players can further customize their character, and so the cycle continues.
Online matches are generally last player standing, however there are certain cases where victory conditions differ. For example, players may be tasked with teaming up to take down a powerful boss enemy, or find themselves in other special circumstances.

 

[HenryJr]

"this is an online multiplayer title at its core, but this doesn’t mean that we as a company have decided to shift to a more multiplayer-focused direction with titles going forward"

This is all I needed to hear, won't be buying Duskbloods, but at least I'm not butthurt about anymore.

 

[Astray]

LOL This will be his 7th game in 16 years, give him a break

That's kind of the issue, he's pushing out too many similar-looking games in a short period of time. The level of quality is high no doubt, but it does get fatiguing at a certain point.

Even Kojima at Konami worked on lots of different projects (things like Snatchers, Boktai, Castlevania etc).

 

[Kotaro]

That's all I needed to know I'll wait for those.

"this is an online multiplayer title at its core, but this doesn’t mean that we as a company have decided to shift to a more multiplayer-focused direction with titles going forward"

This is all I needed to hear, won't be buying Duskbloods, but at least I'm not butthurt about anymore.

Your loss, Duskbloods gonna be fire

 

[TintoConCasera]

In a stroke of genious cope I came to realize that From is making all those cheap multiplayer slop-core games just so they can fund the new engine they are creating which will they utilize in their next big single player game.

 

[Gonzito]

"Multiplayer at his core"

 

[Toots]

LOL This will be his 7th game in 16 years, give him a break

Maybe Miyazaki should give himself a break if this pace is too much for him ?

 

[SHAKEZ]

Your loss, Duskbloods gonna be fire

I don't lose anything that I perceive as being worthless for me. If you like this direction, then by all means do enjoy it.

 

[MiguelItUp]

As someone that never cared for Souls PVP this does kind of bum me out. But I'm still curious and interested about quite a bit.

 

[Little Mac]

So in Duskblood, you, the bloodsworn, collect souls blood, from demonborne, and then take it an NPC named Sekiro, who possesses the Elden Ring.

He’s turning into Kojima isn’t he?

 

[Saber]

This is an interesting part

I wished I could discover about that multiplayer aspect later. Killed all my hype lol

 

[HenryJr]

Your loss, Duskbloods gonna be fire

Not everyone like's PvPvE, I prefer to spend my time with single-player games, but hope you enjoy it.

 

[Aion002]

"Online matches are generally last player standing, however there are certain cases where victory conditions differ. For example, players may be tasked with teaming up to take down a powerful boss enemy, or find themselves in other special circumstances."

Oh... Kinda like Exoprimal...

 

[HRK69]

 

[simpatico]

Sure From has exclusively released all-time classics, but some people are absolutely sure THIS TIME will be when they release a dud. I swear it’s for nothing to do with the $10 or Sony Bloodborn salt. I promise guys.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

Get the inside scoop on The Duskbloods in this interview with the director, Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoftware.

Can you please give us a quick self-introduction?

My name is Hidetaka Miyazaki. I work at FromSoftware (1), and I am the director for The Duskbloods.


First off, please tell us what led to this title being developed for Nintendo Switch 2.

A while back, we had the opportunity to meet with Nintendo to discuss ideas, and during this discussion, we presented a rough outline for The Duskbloods.

It was still very bare-bones at the time—more a loose string of ideas than a proper presentation. The concept itself was different from anything we had done before, and Nintendo seemed very interested in helping make it a reality. So that’s when the project kicked off.

At first it was being worked on by a small team as a title for Nintendo Switch. However just as the game started to take shape, we were approached by Nintendo with talk of Switch 2, which led us to revamp our development path with this new hardware in mind.

The new hardware’s focus on online features allowed us to stay as true to the original vision as possible, which was very good news for us.


It sounds like the game differs from most of your previous titles. Can you give us a little more detail as to what type of game it is?

In terms of structure, we consider it a PvPvE title. At its core, it’s an online multiplayer* focused game, with both player vs player and player vs enemy gameplay.


Did you always have some desire to make a PvPvE type game?

Yes, I’ve always found the PvPvE structure very interesting. It allows for a broad range of game-design ideas, while also letting us leverage our experience of designing challenging enemy encounters.

As a side note, please allow me to address one thing. As previously mentioned, this is an online multiplayer title at its core, but this doesn’t mean that we as a company have decided to shift to a more multiplayer-focused direction with titles going forward.

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Elden Ring was also announced, and we still intend to actively develop single player focused games such as this that embrace our more traditional style.


Please tell us about the game’s characters and setting.

The game’s protagonists, or characters controlled by the player, are known as “Bloodsworn.” The Bloodsworn are a group whose members have achieved super-human abilities through the power of special blood. As a general concept, they’re similar to vampires, but they are not portrayed as the horrifying monsters you might associate with traditional vampirism.

We tried to extract the sort of romantic aspects we found interesting from concepts such as vampires and “blood” and reinterpreted them as the Bloodsworn.

In The Duskbloods, the Bloodsworn are competing for something known as “First Blood.” As human society reaches an end, First Blood flows in an event known as the “Twilight of Humanity.” The Bloodsworn are summoned to the Twilight of Humanity across a variety of different times and places in a bid to obtain First Blood.

Due to this, there is no fixed era or location in which The Duskbloods takes place. There are more traditional Gothic- or Victorian-style maps as well as those depicting the closing years of the early modern period, like the one glimpsed in the trailer with the train running through it.


Can you let us know the meaning behind the title The Duskbloods?

The Duskbloods directly refers to the Bloodsworn themselves. As mentioned earlier, the Bloodsworn are summoned to the Twilight of humanity in a battle for First Blood. “Duskbloods” is a collective term for these characters controlled by the player.


It sounds like blood plays a pretty big role in the game.

Yes. In the context of this game, blood is used more conceptually, as opposed to literal meanings like physical depictions of injury.

Blood symbolizes one of the game’s key themes—the history it holds, the power it passes on, the fates it weaves and the marker of those who have surpassed the limitations of their own humanity.

More at the link:

Creator’s Voice blog: Hidetaka Miyazaki on The Duskbloods (part 1) - News - Nintendo Official Site

Get the inside scoop on The Duskbloods in this interview with the director, Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoftware. Check out the rest of the blog Part 2: Superhuman abilities and opportunistic behaviors Part 3: Playing roles and altering fates Part 1: B…

www.nintendo.com

Wow Miyazaki managed to hype me up about this game. He can't keep getting away with it!

 

[Fbh]

So it's an online only match based PVPVE game.
Will people continue pretending it's totally a normal souls game because "Dark Souls and Elden Ring have PVP too"?

I'm glad he went out of his way to mention FROM is still working on single player games. But man it sucks that FROM has 2 games announced and I have zero hype for either of them.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

Sure From has exclusively released all-time classics, but some people are absolutely sure THIS TIME will be when they release a dud. I swear it’s for nothing to do with the $10 or Sony Bloodborn salt. I promise guys.

From has been releasing duds since 1994. Nobody cares about From Games till demons souls on PS3.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Cannot wait for people to suffer from From's netcode combinded with NSO shenanigans.

Will be glorious.

If anything, this inteview completley killed my interest in the game on any platform.

 

[near]

Summary:
- project started off small as a Switch title, then was revamped for Switch 2
- online multiplayer focused game
- Miyazaki reassures fans that they haven't shifted as a company to more multiplayer focused games
- Main characters known as Bloodsworn, similar to vampires
- Players compete for 'First Blood' in a instance known as 'Twilight of Humanity'
- No fixed era or location. Multiple maps.
- Over a dozen character to choose from
- Will have character customization
- Rewards earned at the end of the match based on 'Victory Points' which are used to customise characters
- Victory Points determined by both PvP and PvE encounters such as beating bosses
- You can summon entities to assist in battle
- Matches will have an occasional event system with such as special enemy spawns and objectives for bonus rewards
- The giant stone face we see in the trailer is an example of an occurring event
- Lore and worldbuilding details can be found on items used to customise characters ("blood history and fate"). Customising a character will reveal a piece of information
- Character customisation: "abilities, appearance, and inner characteristics to the role they play in the world and relationships with other characters"
- Roles can be assigned to any character via blood customisation
- Roles have different victory conditions such as finding a specific rival for there role in a match or forming a bond with a designated companion - a special reward is awarded if achieved
- The winged rat in the trailer functions are like fire keepers in Dark Souls and remain in the hub area providing advice and guidance

 

[simpatico]

From has been releasing duds since 1994. Nobody cares about From Games till demons souls on PS3.

So just the past couple decades?

 

[Ebrietas]

Sure From has exclusively released all-time classics, but some people are absolutely sure THIS TIME will be when they release a dud. I swear it’s for nothing to do with the $10 or Sony Bloodborn salt. I promise guys.

I take it you were there day 1 for demons souls, bloodborne, and deracine? Oh wait those weren’t on a Nintendo. I forgot you guys only became from software enthusiasts 48 hours ago.

 

[TintoConCasera]

-Roles can be assigned to any character via blood customisation
- Roles have different victory conditions such as finding a specific rival for there role in a match or forming a bond with a designated companion - a special reward is awarded if achieved

Sounds like the covenants in other souls games.

Honestly, all that sounds kinda cool. Too bad I'm not into these kind of games.

Oh and thanks for posting the summary.

 

[Sgt.Asher]

Even if it's good, the servers will be dead in a year.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

They should partner with Nintendo and make a mature Zelda spin-off.

Like the NES ones.

Or a LOTR game

 

[Ebrietas]

So it’s what everyone with a brain said it would be. A small scale online multiplayer only side project. Easy skip, even if I didn’t have to spend $500 on an otherwise useless switch 2. Will wait for their next real game.

 

[Saber]

So it's an online only match based PVPVE game.
Will people continue pretending it's totally a normal souls game because "Dark Souls and Elden Ring have PVP too"?

I don't. I just though from the trailer it would be just the normal Souls singleplayer experience having multiplayer aspects. I didn't expect them to make online only a norm. Probably reduce drastically any expectation I had with this game.

 

[Lokaum D+]

TLDR ?

Edit: - online multiplayer focused game

 

[HRK69]

TLDR ?

Summary:
- project started off small as a Switch title, then was revamped for Switch 2
- online multiplayer focused game
- Miyazaki reassures fans that they haven't shifted as a company to more multiplayer focused games
- Main characters known as Bloodsworn, similar to vampires
- Players compete for 'First Blood' in a instance known as 'Twilight of Humanity'
- No fixed era or location. Multiple maps.
- Over a dozen character to choose from
- Will have character customization
- Rewards earned at the end of the match based on 'Victory Points' which are used to customise characters
- Victory Points determined by both PvP and PvE encounters such as beating bosses
- You can summon entities to assist in battle
- Matches will have an occasional event system with such as special enemy spawns and objectives for bonus rewards
- The giant stone face we see in the trailer is an example of an occurring event
- Lore and worldbuilding details can be found on items used to customise characters ("blood history and fate"). Customising a character will reveal a piece of information
- Character customisation: "abilities, appearance, and inner characteristics to the role they play in the world and relationships with other characters"
- Roles can be assigned to any character via blood customisation
- Roles have different victory conditions such as finding a specific rival for there role in a match or forming a bond with a designated companion - a special reward is awarded if achieved
- The winged rat in the trailer functions are like fire keepers in Dark Souls and remain in the hub area providing advice and guidance

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

Thank you so much for the info Mr. Miyazaki, I hate it.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I swear I read Bloodborne multiple times in that interview.

 

[StueyDuck]

OP is putting his entire personality on the line for this game to be a success

MP plus exclusive on a console I don't plan on getting straight away, I'll wait for the inevitable PC port.

 

[StueyDuck]

Cannot wait for people to suffer from From's netcode combinded with NSO shenanigans.

Will bbe glorious.

If anything, this inteview completley killed my interest in the game on any platform.

I remember trying to actively get into PvP with DS3 and after what felt like the 20th time of some dude dodge rolling and teleporting behind me from like 3 meters away and doing an instakill backstab i gave up on the PvP.

like you say the netcode is atrocious in these games.

Elden ring Seamless co-op mod is the best these games have ever been for online play and its a mod

 

[Kurotri]

My biggest fear was that Miyazaki is the director of this game. FUCK. How long will it take to get the next big game from him now? Power to all the peeps that like this but this just ain't it for me.

 

[simpatico]

I take it you were there day 1 for demons souls, bloodborne, and deracine? Oh wait those weren’t on a Nintendo. I forgot you guys only became from software enthusiasts 48 hours ago.

I haven’t owned Nintendo hardware since Wii.

 

[Shodai]

It's really unfortunate that its Switch 2 only. I'd trade Nightreign for this on PC in the heartbeat.

 

[Fbh]

I don't. I just though from the trailer it would be just the normal Souls singleplayer experience having multiplayer aspects. I didn't expect them to make online only a norm. Probably reduce drastically any expectation I had with this game.

Yeah I think at first it made sense as the trailer didn't really explain what the game would be like.

It was just funny seeing some people stubbornly refuse to accept this isn't a normal souls game despite the repeated hints that it wouldn't be.
It was like
"OMG it's literally Bloodborne 2 but with a different name, just like they did with Demon Souls -> Dark Souls"
"Ok Nintendo is calling it a multiplayer game in the tweet, but all souls games have a multiplayer component, so that's why they are calling it that"
"Ok FROM literally describes it as a multiplayer PVPVE game, but if you think about it Souls games are technically PVPVE with the player invasions and all that"

After this interview I don't know how much clearer they can make it that it's not a traditional souls game.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Bloodborne

Bloodsworne

Miyazaki you motherfucker

 

[FreeY$L]

Sure From has exclusively released all-time classics, but some people are absolutely sure THIS TIME will be when they release a dud. I swear it’s for nothing to do with the $10 or Sony Bloodborn salt. I promise guys.

From was laughing stock until Dark Souls, people say Demon’s Souls but that was relatively niche in the grand scheme of things. Dark Souls was their breakout hit, Elden Ring ascended them into the mainstream. Anyway, prior to Demon’s Souls, they released clunky ass titles and were known as a C-tier developer, they’re not immune. Anyone who partners up with Nintendo is writing their own death sentence, Platinum games is a prime example.

 

[Ebrietas]

Yeah I think at first it made sense as the trailer didn't really explain what the game would be like.

It was just funny seeing some people stubbornly refuse to accept this isn't a normal souls game despite the repeated hints that it wouldn't be.
It was like
"OMG it's literally Bloodborne 2 but with a different name, just like they did with Demon Souls -> Dark Souls"
"Ok Nintendo is calling it a multiplayer game in the tweet, but all souls games have a multiplayer component, so that's why they are calling it that"
"Ok FROM literally describes it as a multiplayer PVPVE game, but if you think about it Souls games are technically PVPVE with the player invasions and all that"

After this interview I don't know how much clearer they can make it that it's not a traditional souls game.

Obviously Miyazaki has no idea what he is talking about here.

This is clearly bloodborne 2. Deal with it ponies.

 

[Hohenheim]

I hope dlss makes it possible to play this at 60fps.
Going back to 30fps will be extremely rough. I'd rather take a low res smooth 60 here for sure.

 

[Stitch]

PvPvE

 

[Loomy]

LOL This will be his 7th game in 16 years, give him a break

This is wild. And not in a good way. He talked about more people at the studio taking on director roles, so that's good for the future, but damn. Man needs a vacation.