39

I mean a really small change.

For example: Have Fist Weapons in Dark Souls 1 do double damage. That's a small change, which could be implemented by changing a couple of values. A big change would be: Adding the sixth Archstone in Demon's Souls with the Northern Limit area. That's a big change, and it would take a team a couple of weeks to implement, but that's not what this post is about. I'm talking about really small changes that could be implemented in a lazy afternoon or two.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] MissingInteger@lemmy.zip 2 points 5 days ago

feels more immersive for me

Oh, you put me on the spot here. I never had to really articulate why it feels so immersive to me…

Different topics and different thoughts get dispersed in different dialogue prompts. So the NPCs don't just exposition dump you. You talk to them, they go back to their task - smithing, reading, having depressive thoughts (mostly that); you talk to them again to start a slightly different topic, they interrupt their task and talk to you again. For me, it also adds, in a way, a progression of time to it? Like you talked, you could do something else, then you talk again. But even if my character doesn't do anything in between, it still feels like a progression to me; does that make sense?

But I also really like the dialogue in Souls games. It's well voice acted and well written (for the most part), and I simply like how it's presented with "player-controlled pauses".

I'm not really satisfied with my explanation of why I find it immersive… Maybe I could at least give you a small insight?

AddendumHaving an indicator on the NPCs dialogue would also eliminate the need to listen to the eloquent 'go away' dialogue that so many NPCs have, making the dialogue feel probably significantly shorter and less of a chore.

[-] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 2 points 5 days ago

I mean, I agree that an NPC giving you a whole monologued spiel in response to you saying "hello" is also not immersive. I just don't think the Fromsoft way is particularly immersive either. To me it just feels like a design choice that Miyazaki or whoever wanted because it adds friction, like every part of the game has to actively fight the player. It adds to the sense of "this game is weird and difficult", but (for me at least) not really to immersion.

But then I don't really get that progression feel either. If it was the case that there was a timer built in, then yes I could see it. Coming back later and the conversation progressing because time has passed. But again, that is not what is happening in practice. What is happening is just going up to everyone and pressing A repeatedly until they tell you to go away. Maybe an indicator would be better, but I mean... in itself it's kind of unimmersive that you can mind read that the NPC has run out of dialogue. Though honestly, in a game that does not have dialogue options and has a completely silent protagonist I am unsure how immersive it is even possible to make NPC dialogue full stop. It may just be an unsolvable problem.

Also, none of this has anything to do with the quality of writing or voice acting. I really enjoy the characters in Fromsoft games, they're charming, unique and interesting, even small things like tending to end with laughter in various ways definitely adds a lot to the "strangeness" of these games and their distinctive vibes and atmosphere. Fromsoft do have a way of writing that evokes a mood that very few others can emulate. Closest I've felt to it was Withering Rooms. But that has nothing to do with the way it's integrated into the game mechanically.

this post was submitted on 25 May 2026
39 points (95.3% liked)

Soulslike - Discussion, News, Memes

1162 readers
21 users here now

This is a community for discussion, news, and memes pertaining to the video game sub-genre "soulslike".

Given Lemmy's size, the definition of soulslike may be treated relatively loosely. While games like the numerous FromSoft titles, the recent Star Wars Jedi games, Lies of P, Nioh and similar games should be the focus, games that incorporate soulslike elements - like Hollow Knight and Blasphemous, for example - may also be discussed here.

Basic Lemmy-quette applies. Additionally, since flairs don't exist yet, please do make sure to include a marker to denote what game your post is about in square brackets for clarity's sake. An example could be:

[BB] This enemy is so difficult!

or

[DS1] Anyone struggling with the gargoyles?

Friends:

!liesofp@lemmy.zip

!bloodborne@lemmy.zip

!sekiro@lemmy.zip

!eldenring@lemmy.world

!shittydarksouls@lemmy.world

Should you have any questions, please do let me know.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS