[IronBeer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPJaJ5ys_G0

These trailers seem to be having a hard time staying up, but I'll try to keep this thread updated with a good link. I wish I had some more information to share at this juncture, but about all I can offer right now is: Dark Souls II is going to be a thing. Given that the current Dark Souls made me flat-out disappear for about a month and a half, I'm very excited and a little anxious to see if FromSoft can match or surpass my most recent obsession.

[watsisname]

This is my first time hearing of Dark Souls.  Looks pretty interesting and the original received very positive reviews.  Think I'll go grab a copy when I can.

[Turey]

Oh dear lord, a third Souls game? There goes another couple hundred hours. I've been enchanted with these games ever since Demon Souls first came out, and I picked it up on a whim.

watsisname: If you wait for the Steam holiday sale, you should be able to pick up a copy pretty cheap. Make sure to install DSfix if you want the game to look really pretty while it's killing you constantly.

[FireSpawn]

Damn it! It's like they're endorsing self harm and masochism (as that is pretty much all the game is). ****, I've not even rang the first bell and already the stress has shaved a week from my life. So can someone please explain to me just why I feel the need to scream "Shut up and take my money"?

[Mikes]

Damn it! It's like they're endorsing self harm and masochism (as that is pretty much all the game is). ****, I've not even rang the first bell and already the stress has shaved a week from my life. So can someone please explain to me just why I feel the need to scream "Shut up and take my money"?

It's a hook into your brains accomplishment mechanism.

Feeling that you have "accomplished" a hard task will make you feel good.
The harder you perceive the task to be, the better you will feel once you have accomplished it.

Having to feel good about it and praising it is natural reflex after you committed so much time and effort, as acknowledging that all this "hard work and frustration" was really just arbitrary bad gamedesign would be too painful to admit subconciously.

I guess it is some form of masochism. - just not of the physical variety.
If Masochism couldn't - on some level - feel good, there wouldn't be any Masochists.

Understanding this fact is the first step to stop jumping through every idiotic hoop the entertainment industry comes up with.

[phatosealpha]

For me, the payoff is in the multiplayer.  There's something cathartic about tossing a summon sign down in front of O&S, getting summoned by someone who clearly isn't prepped for this battle - and then laying a smackdown of epic proportions on Fatboy and Slim. 

"You tormented me.  Now I'll have my revenge, and then I'll travel through the multiverse and kill every version of you I can lay hands on."

[FireSpawn]

For me, the payoff is in the multiplayer.  There's something cathartic about tossing a summon sign down in front of O&S, getting summoned by someone who clearly isn't prepped for this battle - and then laying a smackdown of epic proportions on Fatboy and Slim. 

"You tormented me.  Now I'll have my revenge, and then I'll travel through the multiverse and kill every version of you I can lay hands on."

When I get Live, please come and save me from the bad monsters.

[IronBeer]

When I get Live, please come and save me from the bad monsters.

If you're playing on PC and are willing to coordinate, I can make my iridescent sign available.