Why I Loved: Dark Souls

Strap yourselves in, this is going to be a long one.

People around Paragon Studios talked a lot about Demon Souls, the prequel to Dark Souls, and how tough it was. I wanted no part of it. The stories of frustration and agony didn't really appeal to me at all. I was done with games that were out to destroy me. However, I was curious. The stories had a certain appeal to them. I resisted, though. It wasn't until Dark Souls came out that my resistance lowered bit by bit. Cord Carney, the world designer who worked on Dark Astoria and the Summer Event in City of Heroes, regaled me with stories of Dark Souls. He insisted that it was a hard game, but it was fair, and that I would enjoy it. I eventually broke down and purchased the game. Then, it all began.

I was prepared to die when playing Dark Souls, but I was not prepared to be as scared as I was when I played it. I feared for my poor player character's life. I was amazed by the world and the little bits of story that were put into it. I played tons of hours, the exact amount being something I will never fully admit. I don't play it now anymore, but I still rate Dark Souls to be one of the top games I've ever played. It's my job as designer to ask why it was so good in order to help myself become a stronger designer and writer. There are several things that made Dark Souls amazing, and a few points that could have been stronger:

A World Connected

The level design and world design of Dark Souls was amazing. Nearly everything in the world was connected, save for Anor Londo and the Undead Sanctuary (that'll come up later in the weaknesses). There's a great sense of scale when you look up from the bottom of a swamp and see, miles high, one of the landmarks of the Undead Chapel. You feel like you're playing in an actual world. There are shortcuts between places that help emphasize the connectivity; the Undead Chapel has a hidden elevator that takes you to the Firelink Shrine, the Giant's Tomb has a view showing the underground lake. The connectivity made me want to explore the world more to find little things and possible connections between areas. This exploration would come at a price, however, moving to point two...

Fear of Death

You will know this man a lot in Dark Souls.

I was genuinely afraid of dying on my first play through. The reason was that I didn't want to lose my accrued souls and I didn't want to go through the challenges I had just faced. Exploring the world of Dark Souls meant, at certain points, longing for a bonfire, a place to spend all my hard earned souls and a place to rest and regain my Estus Flasks, items that were used to heal. There were many moments (Blighttown, I'm looking at you) where I was begging the screen to give me a bonfire, only to be met with more monsters. It wasn't a frustrating moment, however; it felt like a challenge, and when I found that bonfire the victory was all the more sweeter.  The monsters were tough, but skill was a factor. Gear was good to have, but the best gear in Dark Souls wouldn't protect you if you didn't understand how the enemies fought and how to counter them. This leads into the third point...

Hard but Fair

For the most part, the enemies in Dark Souls are hard but fair. I say for the most part because I'm sure there were a few that caused me frustration. The enemies rely on patterns when they fight, patterns that you watch, learn, and use against them. There is a feeling of accomplishment when you defeat a new enemy; you know not to attack when they adopt a certain pose, you know that when they jump back they're going to charge, etc. When I died in Dark Souls, I knew that it was because I did something wrong, but I learned from it. Every death was a learning experience, and it made me a better player of the game afterwards.

Ref, come on! That stab clearly missed my MAJOR arteries!

I especially enjoyed the combat because there was weight to it. Slamming down a giant claymore feels powerful and IS powerful. Wearing heavy armor burdens you down, makes you move slower, but adds damage resistance; wearing light armor lets you move faster and dodge attacks easily. It's because the combat has decent weight that I cared more about my character and the story that he was in, which leads to my next point...

Mysterious Story

You meet a depressing man after the game's initial tutorial. He tells you that there's a legend that when you ring two bells, one at the top of the castle, and one at the very bottom, something will happen. No one knows what, but it's supposed to be part of the undead pilgrimage. That's all you know going forward, and it's up to you, the player, to piece together the puzzle of the story. I was excited by this; there was no telling what could happen when those bells rang, what was up ahead, or why these bells were even around. I had a sense of wonder going into the story because there were no figures of authority detailing why things were happening in the story. It was up to me to pay attention and find out. The game gave out hints about the storyline through the descriptions of items, which made me want to dig even deeper into the story to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, this leads into some of the game's weaknesses...

Really Mysterious Story

Dark Souls has a very obtuse way of following the story lines of characters in the game. Some character's stories have slight hints the game to give you a heads up, while others leave you scratching your head going, "How was I supposed to know THAT?". Here is an example from one of the game's wikis to show some of the more obscure parts. Note that the directions of, "go to this place" are not given in any UI for the game.

"Drop into the pit and kill all but ONE of the octo-demons. Then head back up and speak to Siegmeyer. He will offer to help you out. He will jump down and start fighting the last demon while shouting an epic battle chant. Jump down and quickly help him kill it. Make sure Seigmeyer has MORE than 50% of his life remaining. After killing it. Speak with him and he will take a nap. You are done here. Carry on with the level or warp back to Firelink Shrine and speak with Seiglinde. Tell her you have seen her father again and she will thank you. Warp to Path of the Dragon Covenant Bonfire in Ash Lake. Head to the first bonfire in the area and you will find both Seigmeyer and Sieglinde alive and well. Speak to them and you will receive a Titanite Slab. You want this outcome as after its all said and done you can kill Seigmeyer for his ring. Be careful though as you will have to fight both of them at once. END QUEST LINE"

This was one of three options on the wiki page. And part 7 of the series.

The obscurity is good for certain points, but when it's so obscure that you have to look up what to do next in a wiki, you've pulled me out of the immersion of the story. In addition, the sense of mystery goes away when you meet a character called Kingseeker Frampt. At this point, you've rang both the bells and are about to go into Sen's Fortress to see what's next. Everything is still mysterious and you still have no idea what you're getting into, but you're beginning to piece together the story. You meet Kingseeker Frampt, who goes:

Frampt: Ahh, hello. Was it you who rang the Bell of Awakening? I am the Primordial Serpent, Kingseeker Frampt, close friend of the Great Lord Gwyn. Chosen Undead, who has rung the Bell of Awakeing. I wish to elucidate your fate. Do you seek such Enlightenment?

Very well. Then I am pleased to share. Chosen Undead, your fate is... to succeed the Great Lord Gwn. SO that you may link the Fire, cast away the Dark, and undo the curse of the Undead. To this end, you must visit Anor Londo and acquire the Lord Vessel.

This was a bit of a dissappointment for me, as I was very proud of piecing together bits of the story, only to basically have a giant chunk of it handed to me. However, Frampt's proposal leads to another issue in the game, which is whether or not it is good to help him out. The game has two options to go with - Frampt, the supposed good guy, and Kaathe, who is supposedly  the bad guy. However, here is Kaathe's dialog explaining the situation from his end.

Hmm… You are astonishing.
The truth I shall share without sentiment.
After the advent of fire, the ancient lords found the three souls.
But your progenitor found a fourth, unique soul.
The Dark Soul.
Your ancestor claimed the Dark Soul and waited for Fire to subside.
And soon, the flames did fade, and only Dark remained.
Thus began the age of men, the Age of Dark.
However…
Lord Gwyn trembled at the Dark.
Clinging to his Age of Fire, and in dire fear of humans,
and the Dark Lord who would one day be born amongst them,
Lord Gwyn resisted the course of nature.
By sacrificing himself to link the fire, and commanding his children to shepherd the humans,
Gwyn has blurred your past, to prevent the birth of the Dark Lord.
I am the primordial serpent.
I seek to right the wrongs of the past to discover our true Lord.
But the other serpent, Frampt, lost his sense, and befriended Lord Gwyn.
Undead warrior, we stand at the crossroad.
Only I know the truth about your fate.
You must destroy the fading Lord Gwyn, who has coddled Fire and resisted nature,
and become the Fourth Lord, so that you may usher in the Age of Dark!

This is an interesting problem, to be sure. Is the Age of Fire directly opposed to the Age of Man? There's no real clear answer here. There are a lot of debates on the internet regarding this, as the game didn't make it clear. That's not a bad thing, to be sure, but it leaves the player's in a bit of a sticky spot. At the end of the game, kindling the fire leads your character to physically burn to death. Choosing to not light the fire leads to a more triumphant-ish ending, where primordial serpents bow and proclaim you the Lord of Death. The former ending has no more fanfare other than that, which feels a little cheap, all things considered. The new DLC for the computer, which I haven't played yet, apparently clarifies that an Age of Darkness is NOT an age of man, and that Kaathe is indeed the bad guy. If that's the case, then the good ending still feels like a bit of a rip off.

This post is going fairly long, so I'll try to tie it up with a small bit of how I would have done it. I won't address the issue of Kingseeker Frampt explaining everything to you, but I will address the good ending. I enjoy the fact that it's still a little ambiguous as to which is the truly good ending. However, it would be nice if there was a little more to it than, "you die in a fire." Here is a video for the original good ending:

How I would have done it is that during the fight with Lord Gywn, he steals away the player's humanity, if they are human, turning them undead. After he is defeated, the player lights the fire, just like in the ending above. However, it focuses back in on the player, who is now human and alive. The fire being kindled has literally burned away the undead curse from the player and, assuredly, the entire world. Kingseeker Frampt's voice echoes in the area, telling the player that the darkness has been pushed back, but it has not been vanquished. Someone must take Lord Gwyn's place as the Firekeeper for the Kiln of the First Flame, the most important flame in the entire world. It is now the player's responsibility to ensure the curse of the undead and the Age of Darkness never returns. The player character nods and walks over to the fire to begin their vigil as Frampt declares the player the, "Firekeeper of the World".

I feel like this ending has a bit more explained and is a little more uplifting than just "die in a fire". There are probably a few problems with it as well, like being a little too happy/explainey. It should still also keep the ambiguous factor - is this a really good thing, or would it have been better to be a Dark Lord?

Whoever is still reading this, congratulations! You've made it to the end. In summary, I loved Dark Souls for its mysterious story, atmosphere, and weighty combat. It relies on the player to pay attention to everything, both combat and story. The story has some weaknesses, but I always find myself wanting to know more about it, so that can't be a bad thing. And, as always, I am prepared to die and be terrified while playing Dark Souls.

But please, don't make me fight this again.