New Dark Souls details revealed

Dengeki Playstation’s new issue is carrying details about Dark Souls. Neogaf’s got the lot translated by a moderator and we’ve have them for you below.

The details are part of an interview with the director/producer of the game. Read them below:

They received a lot of feedback from fans after the previous game, and he’s really excited to be working on a game which is eagerly expected by so many people, but it also means he feels a lot of pressure on the project. After working for a long time on this game, they’re finally nearing the final stage of development, and he’s pretty happy about it.
In regards to news updates about the game, he says that it’s a very tricky thing to market this game properly, and the release of information is something that they’re trying to get just right. Because the nature of the game is such that it is meant to surprise the player as he/she plays and discovers things, they don’t want to give everything away. At the same time, if they don’t reveal much at all, it feels like they’re not communicating with the fanbase. So he’s trying to find a balance.
Dark Souls is not a story narrative driven RPG, even though it has a story. The game setting is one where the main character is an “Undying” who comes back to life even after being killed. He has cast himself out from normal society.
There is a new Oath System that is being revealed. This is one of the elements of the mutual roleplaying system previously mentioned. Basically, as the player explores the world and plays the game, there will be certain discoveries which allows the player to make an oath to a person or regarding some subject. Some of these discoveries can be pretty rare.
When an Oath is made, it determines the player’s position on that topic, and that will impact the player’s interactions with other players online. This could mean that making an Oath for something could make you allies with another player, or deadly enemies. The Oath System is not an all encompassing fixed alliance like a MMO Guild, instead it should be thought of as a system which serves as a guide for active roleplaying.
The director also states that one of the most important things in terms of designing the game is emphasizing the importance of healing items and how useful they can be. Because of this, a lot of effort has been put into placing healing items around the world in the right places, so when the player works a little to look for stuff, there is a genuine feeling of satisfaction when such items are found.
Because of how important healing items are, the Campfire System being used in part to create healing items is something they put in so that beginner players will not find themselves completely stuck when playing the game.
Dark Souls is going to be a pretty hard game, but the director feels that it is a positive thing because the challenge gives the game value. To actually have challenging gameplay for the player to discover, learn, and overcome makes the game content much more satisfactory and worthwhile. He wants Dark Souls to be considered an “intriguing game”, and they’re keeping that in mind as they put on the final touches to the game.
So far, the information released about the game constitutes about 1/5 of the total amount of details they plan on covering regarding the game before release.