The Online Community Within the Souls Series
From Software’s critically acclaimed Dark Souls games have gained recognition over the years for their inventive level design, rich storytelling, and notoriously challenging difficulty. But one thing that really makes these games stand out from their peers is their approach to online interactivity between players. Though some might argue that these games veer more toward being largely single-player experiences, they also contain distinct features that create a feeling of community between players that also fits within the game's world.
To better understand the online components of this series, I feel that one needs a little context first. The fantasy world of Dark Souls is written to be one of the bleakest and most oppressive ones in gaming, and its gameplay is designed to reflect this. Incorporating rogue-like elements, the series expects its players to die over and over again due to strong enemies, ambushes and traps, and their own lack of skill or failure to learn. They are games about testing a player’s resolve by encouraging them to learn from their mistakes, repeatedly breaking them down and building them back up. As one might imagine, for some this cycle can be very emotionally draining. Fortunately, one does not have to bear this burden alone, as the series encourages its players to lend one another a helping hand from time to time.
Now, there are multiple ways through which the series' players can interact (such as summoning or viewing bloodstains) and one could honestly analyze each of these systems in-depth, but for now, I'm going to be focusing on just one example that I feel best encapsulates Dark Souls' approach to online interactivity: the series’ unique messaging system. From Software includes an in-game system for players to communicate with one another by leaving messages wherever they desire. Though there are very slight changes in each entry of the series this system largely remains the same. When placing a message, one is given a limited list of phrase templates to choose from (for example, “***** ahead”). After making their selection, players can then choose which word or words to fill the blank (going with the earlier example, “trap ahead” or “treasure ahead”) and then place their message. Other players might then see the message when they reach its location within their game. There is also a rating system that allows players to vote messages up or down depending on whether they like it; more upvoted posts become more visible to more players, and vice versa. This means that messages that are intentionally confusing or of little value to others are likely to disappear over time. And as an incentive to post something meaningful, players also receive a healing item in-game every time one of their messages is upvoted. Through these messages, players can leave tips for each other that make their journey a bit less grueling and evoke a sense of working together.
It's in this kind of subtle cooperation, these brief moments of direction and clarity between strangers that I think one of Dark Souls' greatest strengths lies. These kinds of interactions provide benefits to all those who engage in them, with both an in-game reward and the sense of contributing to a group. And because of how little these interactions actually affect the game world, the series' themes of solitude and despair still ring true. These interactions play a positive part in the main conflict that is at the core of these games: the struggle to find hope in a world completely devoid of it. And in a game world that can feel so disheartening and punishing, I believe that sometimes just being able to see evidence that other players are struggling alongside you can be enough to convince you to give a tough area one more try.
Images Courtesy of:
From Software
