Dark Souls world to be one and a half times that of Demon's Souls

Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki has said the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls will sport a map at least half again as large as its forerunner.

"For simplicity of explanation, as compared to Demon's Souls, the map will be approximately 1.5 times the size," Miyazaki told 1UP.

"It may feel even bigger to the players."

The director said the maps would sport small, non-essential areas to reward players who explore, and while there would be no formal side quest system, there would be goals outside the main storyline.

"We will implement small events to encourage players to create their own mini objectives," he said.

Miyazaki also commented that the game's story would be communicated in a similar low-key fashion to Demon's Souls largely embedded narrative.

"I wanted to create a game where, ideally, the player's game play would, 'become a story in itself'", he said.

"Hence, there is little difference in terms of approach to the concept of a story from Demon's Souls."