How the Dark Souls developers called the game's characters

[@CrestfallenChannel]

Shoutout to Lokey Lore for helping with the translations: lokeysouls.com/ twitter.com/Lokey_DS www.tuneandfairweather.com/products/abyssal-archive-standard-edition

[@the-red-thing]

Griffith (Large)

[@mrlolster2144]

😳

[@Tasorius]

Femto?

[@duelort4856]

@@Tasorius Femto (Big)

[@pyrogod1041]

“Oh geuss ornstein is going to be four knights A” GRRRRRIIIIFFFIIITTTHHHHH

[@viewtiful1doubleokamihand253]

That pause before Ornstein suddenly getting revealed as Griffith was so foreboding I actually expected something as "what the fuck ?" as it eventually was.

[@2lazy2laze45]

Me I heard guts calling

[@indeedidosir]

Visually, it would actually make more sense for him to be called Guts. He is after all a dragonslayer, and he has that same scaly armor, albeit in a different color with a slightly different helm and waist.

[@Paganichi]

no@@indeedidosir

[@cactusmann5542]

7:18 Oh magician of the pot , what is your wisdom? Laurentius: If you die in the nexus in human form you dont loose world tendency

[@leightonslang]

"One who is Continually Sore" I feel you, pal.

[@donilock1930]

literally me

[@Ostsol]

Well, that's what happens when you discharge so much.

[@2lazy2laze45]

Ouch

[@dungeaterfancam]

Yes, I do love me some “Onion Knight”, “Swamp Auntie” and “Three-man Coat” in my dark fantasy game

[@juliempankinn]

i believe he is referenced as "Onion Knight" in-game as well. i distinctly remember Greirat in DS3 calling him that

[@arsenii_yavorskyi]

@@juliempankinn that's not the same dude.

[@eggman3908]

"Four knights D" is personally my favorite one

[@vampireguy24]

That Jar-Eel Demon nickname for The Four Kings opens up so much about the early lore for Dark Souls and what it might've been. Imagine: You jump down into the Abyss, come face to face with Jar-Eel and, after a lengthy battle, a cutscene begins where he contorts, twists and eventually sheds his physical form, becoming an abyssal horror. Abyss, given form. Malice, unending. Also the Wall Hugger was supposed to be The Prince of Izalith, aka the prototype of Ceaseless Discharge's lore?

[@CrestfallenChannel]

I still think that it's the parasite that infected the son of the Xanthous King. That would make them king and prince.

[@jpcsdutra]

The fact that the working name for Lautrec's companions are Ninja and Tarkus imply a lot of retconned content. The fight would be a lot harder if we had to fight Tarkus and bleed too...

[@CrestfallenChannel]

some observations: -Miyazaki talked about ''Four Knights C and D'' on an interview: Miyazaki: I remember the Channeller's design was put forward around the same time as Smough's and we all took to referring to them as the four knights; Knights C and D, if I remember correctly. I hoped that by doing this, it would ensure that Knights A and B were implemented. In the end they never were, the four knights disappeared and the design work for knights A and B was transferred to other characters like Ornstein and Artorias. The Channeller was given a different role, so that left Smough. -Priscilla was going to have the same role as the Maiden in Black and has the same in the files (heroine). This was also talked about in an interview (translation probably not accurate): (P): The reason Priscilla doesn't have a covenant, well there are many. The inside story is she was initially the heroine. (M): OH! (P): Now we have the fire keepers but that was her role. There was a time when she was the first heroine you meet, and it was like that for a while. And back then it wasn't about covenants but more like the fire keeper in the previous title. It was like that for a while. Then later on we couldn't make more covenants. There is a theme about big women, thats why Boobie Queen is so large. That's why Priscilla is big too. Kinda wanted to do a Big Girl Moe~. We couldn't do that though. -The Everlasting Dragon name is ''Zazen Dragon'', Zazen is the sitting meditating pose -Xanthous' King Crown and Parasitic Wall Hugger have the same shape. Xanthous king concept art shouls these worm-like filaments coming out of his body -The cragspider (enemy) name implies that they're quelaag's children -Gwyn's name in the files has been translated as ''king of firewood'' before by the community. Lokey Lore explained that the word 薪 isn't literally about wood, but for something that's used to fuel fire. It can mean firewood, fuel, or kindling (which is what makes sense in this context). -Snuggly the Crow is called Hawk Girl just like in Demon's Souls. -Rhea's name in the files can be also translated as ''White Holy Woman'' -Patch is Patches' japanese name (Pacchi) -Andre's face is really scary and that's why I didn't record him talking -Lautrec Helpers obviously aren't Shiva's Bodyguard and Tarkus, but this being in their AI names suggest that they were placed there at some point (maybe as a placeholder?) -The beta version of the Sanctuary Guardian has (old) written after it's name in the files -''King Oyster Mushroom'' is the real mushroom that Elizabeth has her design based of. -Shiva's japanese internal name reads ''nobushi'' -Alvina's name in the files is not the same as the other giant cats. They're called 口裂け大猫 (slit-mouthed cat) -I un-hollowed the hollows -Vamos apparently was going to have a regular enemy variant. I don't know why they took the helmet from him -things recorded on remastered: Channeler, Bed Of Chaos' flames, beta Sanctuary Guardian. Everything else was recorded on PTDE

[@ayylmaotv]

Wonderful video and very interesting insights. I'll always be sad that they scrapped Priscilla being the main heroine. Dark souls 1 is the odd one out compared to the rest of the series and i think they realised after release that it was a mistake to get rid of the waifu role.

[@scantyer]

I always thought it was obvious from playing the game that the cragspiders were supposed to be quelaag's offsprings that hatched from the various eggs we see in her domain. I'm surprised not many people got that...

[@Sinhsseax]

@@ayylmaotv I still think, DS1 had the superior implementation of level up because of that. In the end Elden Ring did the best of both worlds with having a level up waifu yet allowing level up on your own.

[@nachalnik5738]

Will you make the same kind of video for DS2 and 3?

[@erin1569]

Regarding the channeler. I think they did the reverse in Elden Ring, afaik sewer Mohg was supposed to be a generic Omen boss before they made him into an actual relevant character

[@Demokaze]

If I understand right the channeler's model was going to belong to one of the four knights of Gwyn and Smough was going to be one of them too. Glad that changed if so because the current ones feel more valiant whereas those two look villainous.

[@f1fanatic241]

Smough would’ve been a very excellent depiction of one of the four knights. Would’ve definitely cemented that they are monstrous and powerful.

[@AnatoliasAce3341]

I like how they didn't use Kalameet as the beginner name, only Black Dragon, because Kalameet is essentially Black Dragon Guyra.

[@kyoufo]

i'll start calling her swamp auntie too

[@LudwigZand]

Mildred being referred to as swamp auntie was the highlight of the video!

[@kyoufo]

@@LudwigZand i cracked a laugh on that part

[@technologicalwaste7612]

This is a slight mistranslation. Better would be "Swamp Lady".

[@oldcowbb]

​@@technologicalwaste7612 obasan is older than lady, more like old lady of the swamp

[@technologicalwaste7612]

@@oldcowbb If you want to go there, I think `middle-aged woman of the swamp` is even more accurate.

[@Nick154999]

Despite what most people think Ciaran name is gaelic and is pronounced Keeran

[@danielantony1882]

Is it Kīran? Or Kēran?

[@SirSaladAss]

@@danielantony1882 /'ki:rən/

[@LosFurros]

Laurentius, Magician of the Pot... and he uses blazing fire magic, huh?

[@irvindness3488]

>jareel king >jar-eel Could you somehow unpack both the models of four kings and jar-eel and put one into another just to see which parts of them are similar? I mean, their facial structure - especially the nose - looks somewhat alike, and the growth on the left shoulder is kinda reminicent of jar-eel's armor shape on the same side

[@romanthegambler6966]

imagine a 2 stage fight in the abyss, starting like one in Elden Ring on the bridge to frozen lands against the two omens, but with Jar-El running at you with his sword with animations set of DS3's darkwraiths, and in second phase it's the release version of 4 kings, but with the models actually being a single entity teleporting around, rather than four different ones, sharing a healthbar, like you see jar-el step back with a hole from your sword in his chest, only to transform into the corrupted king of the abyss, that'd phase in and out in the arena like a ghost he is

[@advancedgarbage]

There's something incredibly funny about Crestfallen's nickname being "Heartbroken warrior"

[@danielantony1882]

Literal translations are not your friend. The Japanese text could easily mean that he lost heart. And heart being the metaphor for spirit.

[@Lofirainbows]

Creast fallen has much the same connotation

[@ayylmaotv]

Very interesting that Domhnall Of Zena, Ingward and Oswald all have radically different code names. Probably to do with cut content or them having a bigger role originally

[@donilock1930]

Ingward isn't really different tho. IIRC all 3 sealers are also known in lore for their healing powers, with Ingward curing curses and the other sealer in Blightown having the Remedy spell

[@scantyer]

With domhall, I think his internal name is more based on his looks as a jester. I don't think this translates as lore at all

[@zent8324]

i think oswald is especially interesting when noting his armor set can be found in the dragon shrine in ds2.

[@dorongrossman-naples9207]

​@@zent8324it isn't his armor specifically, just armor of Velka. Presumably, any priest of Velka would have the same armor.

[@serene-illusion]

For those who still don't know what Ornstein's file name means or what it's referring to: it's a reference to the main rival/antagonist in Berserk, Griffith. It's likely just a joke made by the devs to call Ornstein "Griffith", since the two don't have much in common. But no one knows for sure if it actually was his original intended name. But the inspiration is clear nonetheless. anyway; GRIFFIIIIIIIITHHHH

[@yankoelgueta1116]

I'll beat the shit out of him more then, he's griffith inside that armor

[@vampireguy24]

GRIFFIIIIIITHHHH

[@squirtbrainz1219]

Yeah just didn’t expect Ornstein out of all the characters to be nicknamed Griffith, would at least expect Gwyndolin or something, but maybe he had a different design or concept during development

[@mikedangerdoes]

Can we all just admit that Swamp Auntie should have stuck, and it was a crime to remove everyone's headgear.

[@TheAlison1456]

Crazy how we're still talking about this (and Demon's Souls and Kingsfield) a decade later. 3:13 I like Meditating Dragon. 5:53 which Ostrava do you mean? The city? 7:21 Magician of the Pot, Senpai of the Pool. 7:38 This is the first I've seen Domhall's face, but he looks just like I expected. 9:59 Havel looks nothing like I expected!

[@ohmyEleanor]

Ostrava of Boletaria from Demon's Souls

[@thien0300]

Yeah i dunno know how but FS almost alway make the NPC faces look like how i imagine them to look like, with the Dung Eater being the best one.

[@kakiboi8267]

The dragon looked indeed pretty zen

[@PurpleSun8933]

Ma man is a magician of the pot.

[@danfish88]

Aaaah I’ve always wondered what the developers call the giant crow, enlightening 🤔

[@jonnymario771]

Daigarasu?

[@Marco-lr6yd]

Thank you for bringing content about my favourite game after 12 years 😢 best channel

[@TOTFAHRER]

Is there something you always wanted to see in it or changed?

[@Marco-lr6yd]

@@TOTFAHRER theres a lot i wanted to see that i already found on this channel. Only thing i'd change about the game is centipede demon and bed of chaos

[@LazyGamerPerson]

Mildred, aka Swamp Auntie......sounds fitting haha

[@gorgeousgentleman5390]

BIG BONED MINER 💎 ⛏️

[@PurpleSun8933]

Was expecting Shiva of the East's nickname was Shiva the Deceased.

[@mark0183]

Lol

[@janthehuman1679]

Ornstein being called Griffith by the developers actually tracks. It’s a reference to a relatively similar character in the manga Berserk, which Miyazaki derives lots of inspiration from for the Souls series. Didn’t think I’d get confirmation of the direct influence in this form, though 😂

[@WALTAH2000]

Griffith and Ornstein are not similar , though. That’s what’s funny about it

[@keknov4962]

Lol how are griffith and ornstein at all alike

[@MaximillionPegasusJ.Crawford]

Oswald, the Dragonpriest? Say, is there any cut content related to him? My man is literally just a cackling game mechanic.

[@dorongrossman-naples9207]

There was originally going to be a covenant for Velka, but it got cut. So, maybe?

[@GuardianOwl]

It's kinda weird that in both Dark Souls 1 and Dark Souls 3 the royal female Lord character of highest importance seemingly started with a different familial relation to Gwyn in early development. Gwynevere as "Imperial Mother" would be the wife of the previous ruler, but the new ruler is not her blood relation. The new ruler is the blood offspring of her husband and likely a royal concubine. So that would have made "Maria" wife of Gwyn and stepmom to the new ruler of Anor Londo when Gwyn left to link the Fire. Though in some Asian countries it is just the title given to the widow of the Ruler, which would still make her wife of Gwyn. A similar thing happened with Filianore in the Ring City DLC. According to Zullie the Witch, her in-game reference translates to "wife" which means she was likely _also_ originally going to be wife to Gwyn before they turned her into another offspring.

[@jbark678]

Ornstein being called Griffith is wild 🤣

[@RuslanHod-m7z]

It's really interesting! Ornstein - griffith OMG 😱

[@darkbeetlebot]

I can't believe knights of catarina are literally called onion knights in the code lmao

[@Kampfender_Krieger]

GRIFFIIIIITH !!!

[@KosOrSomeSayKosmo]

THANK YOU for this wonderful content! So excited for (hopefully) the rest in the series! 🖤

[@RichterBelmont2235]

Magician of the Pot Laurentius is pretty high.

[@meekaboo_]

I have always thought a compilation of the dev names and internal names for NPCs and bosses would be cool, but in video form it's even better!

[@joejoe1711]

Ornsteins Nickname 😭😭😭

[@chavzone]

7:18 >Magician of the Pot >Pyromancer that likes to blaze it Coincidence???

[@mt2r-music]

Such a good and well made video. Thanks a lot!

[@quanha7490]

Holy shit, Gwyndolin was supposed to be female. Wonder who decided to make him male.

[@kushalos]

Magician of the Pot, what is thy Wisdom?

[@markoklisuric1752]

Mildred loooks... Less horrendous than I expected to be honest, also swamp auntie?

[@MoonDisast]

Holy cow, Solaire is so handsome

[@crozraven]

2:19 Now we know who's the main waifu of DS according to the devs LOL

[@Lord_Chaos000]

That was very interesting! Good work!

[@MrDibara]

1:44 _A'ight, I won't._ *_I'll still uphold my right to stare at Ornstein in a very different light, however._*

[@vwts]

Great video. Some of these like Ciaran and Gough probably just sounded about the same to Japanese devs tho

[@wall7421]

name: Havel nickname: Havel💀

[@pratikmandal1350]

Havel

[@cactusmann5542]

Also swamp Auntie... Yeah....they knew what they were doing IYKWIM

[@WelcomeToDERPLAND]

Interesting to see the channeler was once perhaps part of Gywn's knights retinue.

[@kokorochacarero8003]

10:05 Can't really say for sure because they didn't use kanji, but: I'm pretty confident おばさん makes more sense as "(middle aged) woman" that "auntie" in this particular case Swamp Auntie has definitely got more charm tho

[@umukzusgelos4834]

Interesting that the Channelers were also labeled Four Knights D was one of them supposed to be among Gwyn´s Four Knights in an earlier build? that would have been funny

[@Glowerer]

Looks like after he was done with the Infinity Stones, Thanos took up smithing in Anor Londo.

[@liamace1107]

What the hell is Ornestein named Griffith for lol I don't even know how to react

[@metalman9696]

Ornstein is Griffith, Artorias is based on Guts. While Artorias went off into the Abyss alone like a fool, Ornstein and Ciaran did it and Artoria died corrupted by the Abyss and a cuckold. I bet Ornstein deflowered Ciaran too.

[@Lofirainbows]

Mayfly dragon is beautiful

[@HansVinlin]

"Giant Slave"

[@EggBastion]

Swamp Auntie?

[@Nick154999]

I think it obvious that they meant Divine Mother Maria, refering to Mother Mary from Christianity

[@jaimerojas6578]

10:49 Great Chest ahead.

[@Lofirainbows]

Ciaran in Gaelic Irish is a name meaning "Little Dark one", perfect translation; conveys even more meaning, but the same. Golden Chimera, I wonder if he's just a magical golden the people of Oolacile to serve as guardian "King of kindling" to "Lord of Cinder" is eloquent also; adds a connotation being he, his flame, Kingdom have been reduced to Cinder.

[@normalhuman4951]

Funny how gwyndolin is called "sister" despite being gwyns son

[@Slayer_of_Demons]

another banger video nice work

[@heirofthesun5988]

solaire is...... majestic

[@Caribucho]

Guts: ORNSTEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIN

[@core-nix1885]

Hawk Eye Go = Hawk Eye V He sells Prism Stones. References to Thomas Pynchon's "V." and "Gravity's Rainbow"

[@SirFunksalot-u2k]

Magician of the pot 🥦🔥💨 7:15

[@Lofirainbows]

Ha

[@Sinhsseax]

4:39 Where exactly do we get the normal name (Grana) for the Witch's Daughter from? I don't think she has a nametag like a normal NPC.

[@CrestfallenChannel]

It's in the japanese official guide

[@neanderthalknight9417]

the bad game runescape reference threw me off

[@MizanQistina]

It seems to have a total different story

[@francescogulisano2917]

2 things: First, the way they write Astora in Japanese can be read as "Ostra", like Ostrava from Demon's souls Second, I wonder why Gwynevere is often addressed as a mother when, in game, we get no actual hints to her having children (except for maybe Priscilla)

[@minespatch]

"Younger sister"???

[@AssholeTingler69]

Gwyndolin was supposed to be a girl but they made him a guy

[@donilock1930]

If Smough and the Channeler are knights C and D, then who exactly are knights A and B? I vaguely remember that Gough and Ciaran were always supposed to be them, but I am not sure

[@scantyer]

Check the pinned comment

[@kendlerkendler2667]

Really interesting! 08:57 so is that Tarkus? That's kinda weird...

[@CrestfallenChannel]

It's not Tarkus, they almost certainly just placed him and Shiva's bodyguard there for testing at an very early stage. They are also referred as ''Lautrec's helper A and B'' in the files.

[@scantyer]

these are internal names for dev purposes only, most of them don't say anything about lore.

[@Syreal92]

Griffith hahah 🤣

[@Ciaurrix]

Havel: Havel (Havel)

[@Diobrando-no1wy]

Griffith

[@moon__blade]

Knight of the Sun 🥰☀️

[@emeraldwolf7920]

Name: Havel Nickname: Havel

[@ericschuster2680]

Swamp Auntie😳

[@CleopatraKing]

The fact her nickname is Kiran means that you prolly pronounce it that way

[@pl_on]

H E R O I N E

[@Pekaj]

I dont need it I dont need it I dont need it I dont need it I dont need it I dont need it I dont need it

[@saadkhaldi3094]

Best outro

[@Mesferto]

In the italian version the gaping dragon is actually called the ravenous dragon

[@king_of_frauds]

Griffith? GRIFFITH!? GRIFFITHS!!!

[@notquitenil]

Wait, where did that alternate form for Kalameet come from? I don't remember ever seeing that.

[@CrestfallenChannel]

It's the prototype version of it. Probably what it looked like before being corrupted by the abyss

[@SomeWheats]

It would have been so nice to have Priscilla act as our maiden

[@subject_of_ymir]

No... Quelag Or the fair lady instead.

[@DagothBob]

Could you do one for the rest of the enemies you didn't mention?

[@minespatch]

Wish I could figure out how to name the two Lautrec Companions in Japanese. I need to hashtag them for Pixiv but since they don't have official names, it's a bit troublesome. I've drawn them several times now.

[@OldManMcLoyf]

Why would they have Oswald of Carim be called a Dragon Priest?

[@scantyer]

Based on other internal names we have 3 options 1- This was his role early when he was created 2 - They put a placeholder before finishing his look 3 - A reference to some anime

[@OldManMcLoyf]

@@scantyer Ironically I find Option 3 to be the most likely lol

[@GuardianOwl]

Velka Talisman (the talisman he uses) is about using intelligence to power up miracles instead of Faith. Perhaps there was originally a sect of the Vinheim dragon school that received the training of sorcerers, but used it to cast miracles. Dragon Priest would be an apt name for that.

[@EwiwasSmile]

I also found that interesting specially considering that in DS2 you find his armor set (the Judgment set) in the Dragon Shrine, so maybe he was originally meant to have a bigger role in the series.

[@swag_tortoise]

that artoriussy

[@thesassyjackal551]

B I G C R O W

[@Chen_YaFumo]

2:10 Imperial Mother's Younger Sister ?

[@xxfalconarasxx5659]

Apparently Gwyndolin was originally intended to be an actual woman before they settled on making him an effeminate man. The character is not only referred to as Gwynevere's sister in some of the in game files, but the character model even seems to have breasts too.

[@SuscriptorJusticiero]

10:21 *JENKIIIIIINS!!*

[@The_Custos]

You have been invaded by *Swamp Auntie*

[@romerobritto9094]

10:30 , onde?

[@davidf.morais6916]

Não pergunte, só vamos.

[@ksolo1239]

Tenho medo, mas vamos

[@ThrowAway-gu2lw]

Swamp auntie

[@eliteknightfanboy1619]

OSCAR!!!!😭