Elden Ring
An open-world action RPG from FromSoftware.
Where Elden Ring comes up2 episodes and tests
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testWhat Makes a Game Feel Mysterious?
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testHow Nintendo Solved Zelda's Open World ProblemElden Ring withholds a detailed map, compass and walls, because Miyazaki says adventure needs unknowns. Players chart their own routes, and curiosity leads them to key places, a balance of guidance and freedom also credited to Breath of the Wild. Its catacombs repeat one template, so players learn to predict them. Lesson: show little ahead, and vary repeated patterns to keep discovery alive.
- 1White flowersFirst part of the catacomb template
- 2Boss fightSecond part of the template
- 3Spirit ash rewardFinal part of the template
- 4Players predict contentsThe repeated template becomes guessable
- 5Mystery diesFix: break the pattern or add unique areas
From Elden Ring game design analysis
What was said about Elden Ring
Elden Ring shows little of what lies ahead, so exploration feels like discovery. It gives no detailed map, compass or walls, and tells you almost nothing about the next cave or horizon. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki says adventure needs unknowns. The lesson is to let players chart their own map with pins, stamps, screenshots and notes instead of filling it in for them.
The examples given are Caelid and Stormveil Castle. Miyazaki's line: "in order to have adventure, in order to have discoveries, you need to have some unknowns."
Elden Ring's repeated catacomb template lets players predict what is inside. Its catacombs follow one template of white flowers, a boss and a spirit ash reward. Players soon predict the contents, and the mystery dies. The fix is to mix in unique areas, or set a pattern and then break it.
Super Metroid is the model for breaking a pattern: it establishes item rooms as safe, then surprises you with a trapped one in the bomb room. The takeaway is "it's important to make sure players can't predict the answers to everything."
Elden Ring is cited as an open world that balances freedom and guidance. Mark Brown sees the same freeform feeling in Elden Ring that he found in Breath of the Wild. In Breath of the Wild, curiosity leads players to key locations without them feeling led around.
The landmark system described belongs to Breath of the Wild. Elden Ring is named only as another open world with this balance of guidance and exploration.
What Makes a Game Feel Mysterious?
It gives no detailed map, compass or walls, and Miyazaki says adventure needs unknowns. Its catacombs follow one template of white flowers, a boss and a spirit ash reward, so players predict what is inside.
Elden Ring shows little of what lies ahead, so exploration feels like discovery. It gives no detailed map, compass or walls, and tells you almost nothing about the next cave or horizon. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki says adventure needs unknowns. The lesson is to let players chart their own map with pins, stamps, screenshots and notes instead of filling it in for them.
The examples given are Caelid and Stormveil Castle. Miyazaki's line: "in order to have adventure, in order to have discoveries, you need to have some unknowns."
Elden Ring's repeated catacomb template lets players predict what is inside. Its catacombs follow one template of white flowers, a boss and a spirit ash reward. Players soon predict the contents, and the mystery dies. The fix is to mix in unique areas, or set a pattern and then break it.
Super Metroid is the model for breaking a pattern: it establishes item rooms as safe, then surprises you with a trapped one in the bomb room. The takeaway is "it's important to make sure players can't predict the answers to everything."
How Nintendo Solved Zelda's Open World Problem
Cited as an open world with the same freeform feel that balances guidance and exploration as Breath of the Wild.
Elden Ring is cited as an open world that balances freedom and guidance. Mark Brown sees the same freeform feeling in Elden Ring that he found in Breath of the Wild. In Breath of the Wild, curiosity leads players to key locations without them feeling led around.
The landmark system described belongs to Breath of the Wild. Elden Ring is named only as another open world with this balance of guidance and exploration.
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