Creative Director for the Demon’s Souls PS5 Remake Describes Game’s Use of Hardware

An article published today, November 2, 2020, contained quotes from Gavin Moore, the creative director for SIE Worldwide Studios, about the way their Demon’s Souls PS5 remake interacts with the PlayStation 5 hardware. [Thanks, Washington Post!]

One aspect Moore commented on was in regards to the PlayStation 5’s haptic feedback. Haptic feedback is a way in which the DualSense controller creates a sensation of in-game elements and it can effect both development and player experience. Moore described how rumble features of previous consoles were added at the end of development to respond to camera shake. This may not be the case for haptics, according to Moore, who says, “It’s something you have to think about from the start because it works with the visual and the audio.”

The level of immersion from the haptic feedback is also expected to increase. “You can feel arrows rush past your head in this game. It’s quite disturbing,” explains Moore. He goes on to describe how he sometimes moves his head in response to these moments. As an additional example, Moore muses on the way metal against metal feels, how effective damage dealing is denoted, and how the timing of a “perfect parry” is clarified by the feedback. It’s another medium for communicating information, in essence.

The PlayStation 5’s solid state drive might lessen the frustration of character death in Demon’s Souls, as well. Moore says this is because an element of the frustration was the loading times players had to endure before they take revenge on whatever killed them and retrieve the currency they lost as a result of dying.

The PlayStation 5 has an activities UI that can advise on in-game tasks. According to Moore, there are over 180 videos available through the interface that depict ways to overcome aspects of the game. The UI can be accessed without leaving the game.

Demon’s Souls is a remake of a game that originally released for the PlayStation 3 and footage of the game’s graphical overhaul has been made available. Demon’s Souls releases for the PlayStation 5 on November 12, 2020. A Digital Deluxe edition of the game will contain items that provide extra souls, shards, and grains in addition to a digital version of the soundtrack.