#soulsborne
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The Nightreign.
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Night maiden ☾
(alt on patreon this month)
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I think FromSoft's creative output doesn't really get this theme discussed often, in part, due to the game's obscurity in telling their story. Given how the Soulsborne formula combine obscurity of mechanical efficacy with obscurity of plot development and obscurity of worldbuilding, players have to work at understanding both how to engage with the game as well as how to understand the events ongoing within it. Only the most dedicated initially broke the ice in the Soulsborne world, and I'd argue that a good chunk of those people would not necessarily know communist ideology if it's not blatant with hammers, sickles and thick Russian accents.
As for why these games in particular have this theme so strongly - I'm guessing it's the Miyazaki Auteruism. Auteur theory is kinda deceptive, putting all the focus on One Visionary who makes a collaborative piece of art come together - in fact, the best auteurs create and keep leading the same teams of specific,skilled people that produce the same sort of art together,collectively refining their methods. I think a good chunk of this does come from Miyazaki,especially, because he both creates the seeds for and approves the final product of character dialog and storylines. People who would have friction with his vision would probably move to or get sidelined from the games we tend to associate with modern FromSoft.
I would say that it's mostly the modern FromSoft games that resemble this (Miyazaki's first real project, Armored Core : For Answer, is bleak in a Captialist-Realism sense, and I'm not even touching on NG++ Secret Ending sees the Raven destroy the Cradle-cities that keep humanity above the polluted planet and sensing them crashing to earth, in essence becoming the most effective killer in history, because....???), and other games like Ninja Blade don't really seem to have this kind of thematic essence.
For good and ill I think a combination of Miyazaki as president, the fandom of FromSoft initially being small and passionate and slowly becoming established (complete with the "Dark Souls is Hard" bits securing its role in popular culture), and that financial security thanks to a partnership with publishers like PlayStation led to a resilient company that could take big artistic risk, including having some themes that seem astonishingly leftist. I don't like crediting one man as the source of all things in a work, but I do think that Miyazaki's legend as "that humble man who climbed the ranks and made these great games" let him have enough control to let it happen.
I do love (as the Keza MacDonald of the Guardian puts it) a "sense of hope" is integral to the modern FromSoftware games. Both, in the moment-to-moment "I will push through this" sense, to let you make it through Iudex Gundyr or Balteus, and a broader "there are things in this world that make it worth fighting for, and fighting for them is Worth It". Given the nature of global capitalism's seeming inevitability, and how it will leave you behind if you can't keep up with its demands, this gives FromSoft's stuff a lot of resonance. It feels way more possible to get ahead in Demon's Souls than in the corporate world, and that's got something special.
I don't want to wax too sentimental here - there's a big difference between the art creators make and the conditions in which they make it, and how creators with Marxist ideals don't always put this into practice: FromSoft was noted for overworking and underpaying staff (roughly a fiscal quarter after it was purchased by TenCent subsidiary Sixjoy Hong Kong, though apparently they got a 12% pay raise as of November 2024). Likewise, another famous Miyazaki is known to be a horrible tyrant and perpetuating a terrible working culture. It's important to note that that just because a work of art inspires and conveys values that affirm something so much of modernity dares not say or do,doesn't mean that artist practices what they preach.
That said: I do love how From Soft, from Demon's Souls to Armored Core 6, portrays hope and how it relates to a Marxist understanding of the world. It's Gramsci's "Pessimism of the Intellect,Optimism of the Will" - the conditions around you suck and there's no denying that. But you can learn about them - what makes them work, how and why they are the way they are, and how that applies in the here and now. Through applying that understanding, really seeing how things work, you can do something about that shittiness. FromSOft's solutions aren't always chipper at the Cosmic scale - Become the new Lord of the Broken world, transcend humanity and Become One With The Cosmos, or Burn THat Fucker Downe - but at the personal level, the human level, people - ordinary people matter.
And that's a most encouraging thought.
actually re: fromsoftware politics. i do think it's very interesting that the anti-colonialist RLF, ostensibly considered the 'good guys' of the game, were initially explicitly called the communist faction. armored core always has been a series critical of oligarchies and hyper-capitalism, but it's... very interesting to see just how blatant that is in ac6 specifically
you'd think that fromsoftware would eventually drop the ball on the "the ruling class will kill you and cannibalise itself in order to stay alive" considering that they're considered elite AAA devs rn, but thinking about elden ring and ac6's narratives, they've really only gotten more obvious about it - the horrors of colonialism and genocide and the sympathy given to the rage of its victims is something that's actually insane to see, to me, from such a big studio - fromsoft doesn't even attempt to be centrist about it.
for example, the frenzy flame ending. the only thing melina can tell you to dissuade you from pursuing it, ie literally destroying the world forever, is that there's still beauty in the world, apart from the suffering the golden order had caused. at no point however is the sheer despair of the people that the flame represents villanized. if anything, it's portrayed as a self-fulfilling prophecy, it is a tragedy. the only villain is the order who slaughtered all of these people, the flame of despair is something that emerged in them as they were buried alive. and the flame isn't even intended as a revenge upon the world, it's simply a means to end the pain they feel for being subjected to this.
their grief isn't something for the player to judge, it isn't something they're forced to overcome, it's simply a physical manifestation of the reality that was forced upon them. and these people, the merchants, are still kind to us, even knowing the order that we pursue. (in fact, the true, considered best ending of elden ring, is literally just sacrificing yourself in order to achieve complete anarchism. and getting a cool wife to endure the loneliness of space along the way)
in ac6 then, ayre is so terribly forgiving towards us, knowing what we are, knowing what made us, knowing what we participate in. some of this undoubtedly is because of her narrative role, she has to be a sympathetic character. but we do get to see her rage at the end, her grief for her species being seen as nothing more than a resource to be exploited or burned fully vocalized. but the RLF is sympathetic too as resistance fighters who want their home back. the only criticism the game ever leverages towards the RLF is that they're actually not radical enough in their pursuit of freedom, and that criticism is made by a villain.
it's so... i almost want to say optimistic? other games would have tried to pull a "ooh but what if the good guys did bad things (poor attempt at moral grayness)" but no, the RLF is justified at every step of the way. idk it makes me feel things. i dont particularly want to portray fromsoftware as these bastions of political correctness or sth - they're not perfect and i don't expect that ever lmao, but it's so fucking weird that their games are this progressive and have been for a long ass time.
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"Be still now, Little One. Avert your eyes."
Everyone's favorite What if scenario for Bloodborne 🐗🔪🩸 drew this for Soulstober, but I actually have been playing with the idea of a fancomic with Gascoigne's Daughter... Should I?
#bloodborne#soulstober#bloodborne fanart#the good hunter#soulsborne#from software#gaming#artofchinara#artwork by chinara#digital painting
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The next Halloween-in-December article! Decided to just quickly round up my favorite Elden Ring DLC fellas in one post!
bebys
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making a turnaround of micolash for. reasons. i need u all to know he has NO ass
#soulsborne#bloodborne#micolash host of the nightmare#micolash#there is no juiciness present in his glutes#his cervix is another story though (i get immediately dragged off stage and shot)
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are you cold?
Bloodborne. The Doll
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Another year has passed so I’ll do a little self promo for my birthday!
Hi! My name is Rin! I’m a 22 year old pre law student from the Philippines! I’ve been a transformers fan for as long as I remember while most of my major projects are focused on bloodborne! Thank you so much for supporting me through the years and looking forward to more brainrot! Thank you and merry advanced Christmas!
#rin draws#bloodborne#soulsborne#laurence the first vicar#ludwig the holy blade#lady maria of the astral clocktower#bloodborne art#vicar Amelia#good Hunter#good hunter oc#great one mergo#Saint Adeline#Mariadeline#transformers#maccadam#humanformers#starscream#soundwave#Rodimus prime#soundrod#knockout#megatron#Orion pax#Optimus prime
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Redraw of a piece from the beginning of this year! I remember being super proud of the Varre I did in January, I do be seeing improvements! :]
#artists on tumblr#art#digital art#digital illustration#my art#catatonic2024#fanart#elden ring#soulsborne#white mask varre#redraw
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My class concluded, I learnt a lot in cinematics keyframes! Some keyframes of my soulsborne dinosaur concept prj!
#concept art#soulsborne#dark souls#art#dinosaurs#ds art#illustrations#shincha#original art#WOW felt a huge improvement in my 3D skill and art overall#great course i wished it was longer ;v;
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Make thy opp a squiddy.
#bloodborne#bloodborne meme#bloodborne memes#hunter#yharnam#squid#soulsborne#dark souls#fromsoft#fromsoftware#soulslike#elden ring#concept art#soulsborne concept art#meme#memes
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vicar amelia from bloodborne, i might colour this one idk yet
#artists on tumblr#art#sketchbook#artbook#sketch#artwork#beginner artist#drawing#anime art#bloodborne fanart#bloodborne#fromsoft#fromsoftware#fromsoft fanart#vicar amelia#beast#monster#hunter#bloodborne vicar amelia#gaming#soulsborne#sketching#anime#manga#pencil sketch#dark souls#dark souls 3#ds3#ds1#the witcher
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[ID: fanart of Iron Fist Alexander from Elden Ring. he's a large pot with arms and legs. he's leaping into the air, one fist held aloft and wreathed in red flame. END ID]
Warriors within, grant me strength!
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Just a few more hours
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Saw someone mention the new Boston Dynamics' robot was introduced like a Souls boss. Was not expecting it to come out so creepy.
#boston dynamics#Atlas#robotics#bloodborne#ludwig the holy blade#ludwig the accursed#Dark Souls#soulsborne
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