Although not a part of the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne is being created by the same studio, and the trailers seem thematically similar. Thus, this article will be discussing some of the failings of Dark Souls II, and how Bloodborne could avoid them.
One of the most notable issues DS II had to contend with was its lighting system. In trailers the game was shown to have areas where light was almost nonexistent, forcing players to either fight in near blindness or risk carrying a torch. Unfortunately, processing constraints forced the lighting system to be gutted. The inevitable outcome of this was the reducing of areas of tension and risk, to only slightly dark caves. This also was apparent in well-lit areas, where lighting quality was once again subpar. Thankfully, Bloodborne should not suffer from this. Being both a next gen game and having a different development team should prevent this from happening.
Another issue DS II faced was the manner in which the PVP covenant the Brotherhood of Blood was designed. Players would rank up in the covenant by killing other players in PVP, granting them unique rewards for each rank. Unfortunately in order to do so they would need to beat other Brotherhood of Blood players in arena style combat. Normally players are restricted on whom they can fight based off accumulated currency from defeated enemies. But in the Arena, players would face opponents with gear and experience far outweighing their own. This made acquiring Cracked Red Eye Orbs, an item used to invade and attack other players, an incredibly slow and frustrating challenge. This was doubly irritating because players that were invaded were not guaranteed to be defeated, resulting in a wasted Orb. The final nail in the covenants coffin was how many players a member would need to kill to rank up. The short version was, 500. The problem however, was that these victories needed to outweigh the players defeats. So if a player lost every third match, he could still advance in rank, but less skilled players would forever be stuck at rank 1. Ideally Bloodborne shouldn't have to deal with this, by dint of the developers being able to observe which systems worked best. Unfortunately, this is reliant upon them considering this aspect of gameplay a flaw, and not a feature. However, this still was a major flaw developers should seek to avoid.
The final major problem DS II exhibited was limiting the number of times a player could reallocate their stat points. With PVP being so exacting, players often would seek to find the "Magic Build", that legendary combination of stats, weapons, and skill that would allow them to dominate on the battlefield. Even disregarding PVP, players would still come across weapons or imagine play styles they'd like to try. But with limited respeccing, they could only change their stats a few times. So if they found a build cumbersome and lacking, they would need to use another of their precious respecs to return to what they were comfortable with. This entire system stifles creativity and fun, punishing players for wanting to experiment with something new. Bloodborne should be able to avoid this pitfall by not limiting the number of a respecs a player can do.
All of these failings can be easily remedied with just a little effort on the part of Bloodbornes designers. With the game still in development as of the launch of DS II, they will have no doubt heard feedback much like this article. And because of that, the game should be all the better for it.
One of the most notable issues DS II had to contend with was its lighting system. In trailers the game was shown to have areas where light was almost nonexistent, forcing players to either fight in near blindness or risk carrying a torch. Unfortunately, processing constraints forced the lighting system to be gutted. The inevitable outcome of this was the reducing of areas of tension and risk, to only slightly dark caves. This also was apparent in well-lit areas, where lighting quality was once again subpar. Thankfully, Bloodborne should not suffer from this. Being both a next gen game and having a different development team should prevent this from happening.
Another issue DS II faced was the manner in which the PVP covenant the Brotherhood of Blood was designed. Players would rank up in the covenant by killing other players in PVP, granting them unique rewards for each rank. Unfortunately in order to do so they would need to beat other Brotherhood of Blood players in arena style combat. Normally players are restricted on whom they can fight based off accumulated currency from defeated enemies. But in the Arena, players would face opponents with gear and experience far outweighing their own. This made acquiring Cracked Red Eye Orbs, an item used to invade and attack other players, an incredibly slow and frustrating challenge. This was doubly irritating because players that were invaded were not guaranteed to be defeated, resulting in a wasted Orb. The final nail in the covenants coffin was how many players a member would need to kill to rank up. The short version was, 500. The problem however, was that these victories needed to outweigh the players defeats. So if a player lost every third match, he could still advance in rank, but less skilled players would forever be stuck at rank 1. Ideally Bloodborne shouldn't have to deal with this, by dint of the developers being able to observe which systems worked best. Unfortunately, this is reliant upon them considering this aspect of gameplay a flaw, and not a feature. However, this still was a major flaw developers should seek to avoid.
The final major problem DS II exhibited was limiting the number of times a player could reallocate their stat points. With PVP being so exacting, players often would seek to find the "Magic Build", that legendary combination of stats, weapons, and skill that would allow them to dominate on the battlefield. Even disregarding PVP, players would still come across weapons or imagine play styles they'd like to try. But with limited respeccing, they could only change their stats a few times. So if they found a build cumbersome and lacking, they would need to use another of their precious respecs to return to what they were comfortable with. This entire system stifles creativity and fun, punishing players for wanting to experiment with something new. Bloodborne should be able to avoid this pitfall by not limiting the number of a respecs a player can do.
All of these failings can be easily remedied with just a little effort on the part of Bloodbornes designers. With the game still in development as of the launch of DS II, they will have no doubt heard feedback much like this article. And because of that, the game should be all the better for it.
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