Hidetaka Miyazaki facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hidetaka Miyazaki
宮崎 英高
Miyazaki in 2022
Born	(1974-09-19) September 19, 1974 (age 50)
Alma mater	Keio University
Occupation	Video game director game designer writer
Notable work	Demon's Souls Dark Souls Bloodborne Sekiro Elden Ring
Title	President and Representative Director, FromSoftware
Term	2014–present
Children	2

Hidetaka Miyazaki (Japanese: 宮崎 英高, Hepburn: Miyazaki Hidetaka, born September 19, 1974) is a famous Japanese video game director, designer, and writer. He is also the president of the game company FromSoftware. He joined FromSoftware in 2004. He first worked on the Armored Core series. Later, he became very well known for creating the Dark Souls games.

Miyazaki became the company president in 2014. He has directed many other popular games. These include Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. His games are known for being challenging. They also tell stories through clues in the game world. Many people see him as a unique creator in video games. His work has even led to a new type of game called "Soulslike" games.

Miyazaki's Journey in Gaming

Hidetaka Miyazaki was born on September 19, 1974, in Shizuoka, Japan. He went to Keio University and studied social science. After college, he worked for a company called Oracle Corporation. He did this to help pay for his sister's college education.

One day, a friend told him about a video game called Ico, which came out in 2001. Playing this game made Miyazaki want to become a game designer. It was hard to find a job in the game industry at age 29 without experience. But FromSoftware was one of the few companies that hired him.

Starting at FromSoftware

Miyazaki began working at FromSoftware in 2004. He started as a planner for Armored Core: Last Raven. He joined the game's development while it was already in progress. After that, he became a director. He directed Armored Core 4 and its sequel, Armored Core: For Answer.

Creating Demon's Souls

Miyazaki heard about a new fantasy action role-playing game project. He was very excited and offered to help. This project later became Demon's Souls. Before he took over, the company thought the game was failing. Miyazaki believed this allowed him to take full control. He felt that any new ideas wouldn't make things worse.

When Demon's Souls was shown at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, it didn't get a good reaction. It also sold less than expected when it first came out. But after a few months, more people started playing it. Soon, other companies wanted to release the game outside of Japan.

Becoming President and Beyond

After Demon's Souls became successful, Miyazaki directed Dark Souls, which came out in 2011. This game was also a big hit. Because of his success, Miyazaki was promoted to president of FromSoftware in May 2014. It was very unusual for someone in Japan to change careers and become a company president in less than 10 years.

In 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment asked FromSoftware to work together on a new game. Miyazaki wanted to make a game for the newest game consoles. This idea led to the creation of Bloodborne. Even though it wasn't connected to his other games, Miyazaki said it had the "DNA" of Demon's Souls. This meant it shared similar level design ideas.

Miyazaki supervised Dark Souls II but didn't direct it. He couldn't direct two games at once. He returned to direct Dark Souls III, which was released in 2016. After its release, he said he would stop personally directing Dark Souls games. His next projects were Déraciné, a virtual reality game from 2018, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, an action-adventure game from 2019. Sekiro won many awards.

In 2022, Miyazaki directed Elden Ring. He even asked American fantasy writer George R. R. Martin to help create its world. Elden Ring sold over 25 million copies. It is considered one of the greatest video games of all time. Miyazaki also served as the first director for Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (2023).

Miyazaki's Creative Ideas and Influences

Miyazaki is inspired by architectural designs and often uses them as a part of environmental storytelling in his games. One such example is Anor Londo, a central location in Dark Souls, with parts being modeled after the Milan Cathedral in Italy (top) and Château de Chambord in France (bottom).

When Hidetaka Miyazaki was a child, his parents couldn't afford many books. He loved to read and often borrowed books from his local library. He read English fantasy and science fiction books. He didn't always understand every word, so his imagination filled in the missing parts using the pictures. He says this greatly influenced how he designs games.

Miyazaki also played gamebooks and tabletop games. These included Steve Jackson's Sorcery!, Dungeons & Dragons, and RuneQuest. His parents didn't let him play video games until he was old enough for university.

Inspirations for Game Design

Once he started playing video games, Miyazaki became a big fan of Ico, the early Dragon Quest games, The Legend of Zelda, and the King's Field series. He says these games influenced him a lot. He also enjoyed manga like Berserk, Saint Seiya, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and Devilman. His favorite authors include H. P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, and George R. R. Martin.

Miyazaki is also inspired by architecture, especially old European buildings. He often uses these designs in his games to tell stories through the environment. Ideas from Psychology, anthropology, and sociology also help him make design choices.

How He Designs Games

As the main creative director, Miyazaki usually writes most of the story, dialogue, and item descriptions. He also has the final say on how characters, monsters, and game levels look.

The multiplayer parts of the Souls games came from a real-life experience. Miyazaki was driving up a snowy road. Cars ahead of him were slipping. Other people got out and helped push the cars uphill. Miyazaki couldn't thank them before they left. He wondered if the last person in line made it safely. This feeling of silent cooperation inspired the multiplayer systems in his games. Players help each other without speaking, like those people on the snowy road.

Miyazaki says his games aren't meant to be difficult just for the sake of it. Instead, the difficulty helps players feel a great sense of accomplishment. It makes them feel good when they "overcome huge challenges." It also encourages players to try different ways to play and use different weapons. He believes that dying in his games is a way to learn through trial and error. He noted that this idea became popular after Demon's Souls succeeded.

Miyazaki doesn't dislike direct storytelling. But he prefers players to figure out the story for themselves. He thinks players get more out of the game when they find hints of the plot from items or side characters. Many game journalists and critics call him an "auteur" of video games. This means he has a very distinct and influential style, especially seen in Dark Souls and his other related games.

Games Directed by Miyazaki

Awards and Recognition

Miyazaki received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards. This award was given to him by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, who were some of his inspirations. In 2022, he won the Special Award at the CEDEC Awards. He also received the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Award at the Japan Game Awards. In 2023, Time magazine named Miyazaki one of the 100 Most Influential People of the year. He was only the second game developer to be on this list, after Shigeru Miyamoto in 2007.

Miyazaki's Family Life

In 2019, Miyazaki shared that he had a son. In 2024, he also revealed that he has a daughter.

Images for kids

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  The Milan Cathedral in Italy.

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  The Château de Chambord in France.

See also

In Spanish: Hidetaka Miyazaki para niños