Dark Souls Boss Arenas Were Made to Leave an Impression

FromSoftware held a presentation regarding the Dark Souls series, and Sekiro, during CEDEC + KYUSHU 2021. The presentation focused on the creation of environments and textures. Specifically, the CEDEC + KYUSHU 2021 FromSoftware presentation dug into the details of how it creates maps and boss arenas for the Dark Souls series. Several members of the graphics team spoke in detail about the process of creating backgrounds and boss arenas. Additionally, they revealed just how much thought goes into the environmental storytelling aspects of the Dark Souls series. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Specifically, the presentation focused on the creation of textures for these environments. It went into detail regarding how specific stone tiles are created to invoke an idea of an area being destroyed. The same goes for the use of cloth as texture, as it shows how time has eroded certain areas. Additionally, regarding the emphasis of boss arenas, the presentation mentioned that these arenas are created to leave an impression on the player. It also revealed that the team designs these areas without obstacles that could potentially interfere or disrupt the camera in some way.

In May 2020, Bandai Namco announced cumulative sales for the Dark Souls series had reached 27 million worldwide. Additionally, it revealed that sales for Dark Souls III had reached 10 million units worldwide. Bandai Namco thanked its player base for the success of the franchise.

The Dark Souls series is immediately available on PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One.