Elden Ring Director Thinks George R.R. Martin Might Be ‘Shocked’ By What He’s Done to His Characters

Elden Ring Hidetaka Miyazaki says that George R.R. Martin may be shocked with what he has done with a number of the characters that the Game of Thrones writer created for the game.

During a recent interview with Game Informer, Miyazaki spoke further about the mythological lore that Martin had created for Elden Ring, which sets up the world before its catastrophic Shattering event.

In explaining that the writer had conjured up a number of human characters for the game, Miyazaki then went on to state that the writer may be surprised to see what inhuman monsters From Software has created from the back of his initial concepts.

“When Martin wrote these characters, and when he provided that origin story, that mythos for the world of Elden Ring, these demigods were much closer to their original form, and maybe closer to human form back then, before the Shattering, before it all started,” explains Miyazaki in the interview.

The Shattering is an event in Elden Ring’s pre-game history. The game’s location, The Lands Between, was once a kingdom blessed by the titular ring, and the Erdtree at its centre. However, a war known as The Shattering saw the ring broken, and the land’s inhabitants transformed.

“So it was more up to us to interpret this and say, ‘how did they become such inhuman monsters,” continued Miyazaki. “And how did the mad taint of the shattered shards of the Elden Ring and its power affect them?’ So that was our job to take these grand heroes and sort of misshape them and distort them into something they were not.”

“And I think if we get a chance to show Martin and if he gets a chance to see the game and see these characters, I think he might be a bit shocked. When he wrote them, he was really envisioning something a little bit more human, a little bit more traditional human drama and fantasy characters. So I hope he gets a kick out of that.”

Last week, From Software finally announced that Elden Ring has ‘gone gold’ prior to its upcoming February 25 release date. As part of a recent interview during the Taipei Game Show, Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao recently delved a little further into what fans can expect in terms of the game’s length and replay value.

According to Kitao, fans should expect to be able to complete the game’s main set of quests in around 30 hours. That being said, the producer did note that Elden Ring includes a New Game Plus option as well as dozens of additional hours of content that hardened players can sink their teeth into.

For more on Elden Ring, make sure to check out this article detailing how Hidetaka Miyazaki believes that more people will finish the game than other From Software titles, despite also stating that he doesn’t necessarily think the game is any easier.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.