Dark Souls fans are trying to win $US10,000 by making videos attempting to explain the game’s confusing narrative, and a few of them are pretty brilliant.
The “My Dark Souls Story” contest, which concluded last night, is supposed to help explain Dark Souls 3 to a player who hasn’t played the previous two games. As someone who has dumped hundreds of hours into the Souls games, I barely grasp what’s happening because narrative has never been at the series’ core.
(Fans who are deep into the mythology will probably argue with me on that one. I’m not saying Dark Souls doesn’t contain interesting and moving stories, but they’re purposely obtuse. It’s not at the forefront.)
This confusion is what makes this contest particularly funny, and why I’m so impressed by the creativity and ingenuity of the few I’ve scrolled through.
“Biography of the Chosen Undead: The Dark Souls Story”, by Nerdy Inc., chose the mockumentary format, taking the storyline as historical fact.
“Embers” is a more serious affair, and appears to liberally use Valve’s Source Filmmaker to create a more cinematic vibe than the games normally give off.
“Death Is The Beginning” has a similar vibe, but the original artwork is gorgeous, and actually comes across as a video you might see in the game.
The winner has not yet been announced.
Between this and the recently revealed opening for Dark Souls 3, my body is ready. Bring on life, bring on death. Most importantly, bring on Dark Souls 3.
Comments
14 responses to “Namco Is Offering $10,000 To Anyone Who Can Actually Explain Dark Souls’ Story”
Aren’t there guys who make it their business to explain the lore of these games?
I always felt the souls games were waaaaay more interesting from a purely gameplay perspective though.
It would be cool if Namco accepted completely abstract interpretations of the story and showed a sense of humour in picking the winner.
I’ve always thought about the lore just providing flavour for the gameplay.
I had thought that some kind of award for explaining Dark Souls’ story would automatically be awarded to VaatiVidya.
Thing his, his deep, in-depth lore videos can be stretched out for literally hours of viewing.
I expect what Namco is really looking for is something they can use as a brief and concise primer for people interested in Dark Souls 3 who would otherwise be scared off by the ‘3’ at the end of the title.
It’s a very serious concern that publishers have, and it’s no small part of why we see so many games which aren’t numerical sequels but ‘title: the subtitle’, instead.
Totally agree, Vaati’s videos are excellent. Would be awesome if he could win it.
I equate my excitement for this game as the feeling people get before going overseas for a holiday
I know what you mean. Im going to Hellfest in France this June and im looking forward to DS3 more lol
Sunn o))))))) live is dark souls if you chose not to rekindle the first flame
Did it just go quiet on the Game Theorist channel? 😛
VaatiVidya is pretty good. Goes into the most interesting detail of all DS universe related games
Dark souls 3 story. It’s like anal prolapse with more bleeding and a lot tastier
Prolapse is such a nasty word, call it Rosebud like they do in movies 😉
Pink sock lollipop, yummo
Yeah Vaati is the best at stealing other peoples ideas, hope he wins for sure.
Not that I disagree; but generally when you are making a claim like that you are better to provide some proof.