ABOUT

This was the project that really launched Steamforged Games - while Guild Ball has been fairly successful it was Dark Souls that turned it into the company it is today, and I am very proud to have been involved in it from every stage, from pitch to hugely successful Kickstarter campaign to finished product.
Since the IP is held in such high regard, a lot of care was taken to ensure that all components felt true to the dark fantasy world in which it is set. Every component, from dice to cards to the iconic “You Died” cover sheet, references some aspect of the game series: sword icons are not just any swords, they are the legendary Greatswords of Artorias the Abysswalker; game board nodes are not just circles, they are representations of the Dark Sign, visually matching the cryptic messages players can leave each other on the ground in online games.
Development of the game took place over several years, and during this time I worked closely with the game design and development team to make sure that the complex gameplay was as easy to understand as possible, and playtest card designs went through many iterations before we locked down the final designs.