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Elden Ring boss Hidetaka Miyazaki reflects on how becoming a father might influence his future gamesIt’s “very interesting to see a small human being discover or see the world”
It’s “very interesting to see a small human being discover or see the world”
Image credit:Reywan / Bandai Namco
Image credit:Reywan / Bandai Namco
“There are many elements that excite me when it comes to both video games and tabletop board games, and I think that there are many joys to be extracted from that,” Miyazaki toldGamespot, when asked about game mechanics that currently intrigue him. “But for me, personally, what brings the most excitement comes while I’m making a game. Whenever I have a good idea and I can create a hypothesis and then test that theory against, “Hey, is this fun? Is this a good idea or not?” Those moments to me bring the most excitement. So perhaps through my work, I am constantly chasing that feeling and that excitement as I’m making games.
“One other thing that really excites me right now is watching my daughter grow,” he went on. “And this might be a very short-term thing, but it’s fascinating and very interesting to see a small human being discover or see the world; see how a human is constructed or built in a way, how the personality is formed, how they start to identify and build their own identity. And this might just be being a father, but I think that there’s certainly something there that excites me.”
“I don’t think about that too much and I am not against the idea of change. In a lot of ways, I think having a daughter can expand the possibilities, and that expansion is a necessary element of continuing to make great games - a stimulant of [creativity] if you will. And I don’t mean to talk about my daughter as an object or anything, but in the process of making games, I think it is a necessary and important stimulant because it helps you see the world through a different lens in a lot of ways. And if that is causing worry for my fans or the gamers, I don’t think there’s much to worry about.
“For me, it’s again, finding and discovering that fleeting moment of beauty in a lot of these dark, cold, harsh, grotesque worlds that I think allows it to shine even more,” he went on. “That philosophy applies to how I design and direct video games. So if I find a newer, even higher or more stimulating beauty, that will just help make the worlds even darker, more grotesque, and harsher so that it can shine even brighter. In terms of a fantasy world, the brighter something shines, the darker the shadow it casts, right?”
The games often draw parallels between progeniture and the very concept of a sequel, extending their mucky dynastic parables outward to encompass the circumstances of their production. I’m interested to see how that knotty worldview might evolve, as Miyazaki grapples with the act of being a dad himself. But perhaps he’s tired of these sordid enigmas, and glimpses in the thrill of parenting an opportunity to reinvent himself as the creator of, I don’t know, sunny slice-of-life games. Let’s circle back to this thread in a few years. In other news, our ownElden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree reviewhas just gone live and, surprise surprise, it’s a humdinger.
