Here is a concise summary of the provided text:
**From Software & Dark Souls History**
* From Software founded in 1986, initially developed office software, then shifted to video games in the early 1990s.
* Their first game, King's Field (1994), was a challenging, unforgiving title, setting the tone for future games.
* The company gained success with Demon's Souls (2009) and Dark Souls (2011), known for their brutal difficulty.
**Dark Souls Trivia & Insights**
* Andre, the blacksmith, is one of the few characters with animated lips, possibly a remnant of an unused storyline.
* The game's name was changed from "Dark Race" to "Dark Souls" due to potential racial connotations.
* Unused content, including armor sets, was discovered in Dark Souls III's game files.
* The series features anachronisms, such as a Heineken can in Dark Souls II (later corrected).
* The Poise system, affecting character stagger, was altered across games, with its effectiveness in Dark Souls III being debated.
**Lore & Game Development**
* The Dark Souls series is known for its vague, cryptic lore, intentionally left unexplained by the developers.
* Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki acknowledges the vast, unexplained aspects of the game's world.
* The series' fragmented mythology is a deliberate design choice, mirroring the uncertainty of historical knowledge.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text, keeping each fact a short sentence and excluding opinions:
**From Software and Early Games**
1. From Software was founded in 1986 to develop practical office software.
2. The company shifted focus to video game development in the early 1990s.
3. From Software released its first game, King's Field, in late December 1994, exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation.
4. King's Field was released just 13 days after the PlayStation console itself was released.
**Dark Souls Franchise**
5. The sequel to King's Field was released in 1995 to an international audience.
6. From Software released Armored Core in 1997, a game in the mecha genre.
7. Demon's Souls, released in 2009, is considered the spiritual successor to King's Field.
8. Dark Souls, released in 2011, is the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, not a direct sequel.
9. Dark Souls II was released in 2014, followed by Dark Souls III on April 12, 2016.
**Game Development and Design**
10. Andre of Astora, a blacksmith in Dark Souls, is one of the few human characters with animated lip movements.
11. Andre initially had a more significant role in the story, possibly as Gwyn's descendant.
12. Unused content, including armor sets, was found in Dark Souls III's game files.
13. From Software held a "Shield Design Contest" before the release of Dark Souls and Dark Souls II.
**Easter Eggs and Corrections**
14. A Heineken beer can was mistakenly included as a texture in Dark Souls II, later corrected.
15. A texture resembling a modern rubber tire was found in The Gutter, later corrected.
16. Sir Alonne, a boss in Dark Souls II's DLC, has a unique death animation inspired by samurai seppuku.
**Game Mechanics**
17. The Poise stat in Dark Souls games determines the character's ability to withstand enemy attacks without staggering.
18. The Poise system was altered between the first and second Dark Souls games.
19. In Dark Souls III, the Poise system appears to be toned down, with some players claiming it might be deactivated.