March 22nd is getting ever closer and Dragon's Dogma 2 is preparing to make us travel again with the Arisen (here is our last test of Dragon's Dogma 2). Capcom ensures a structure very similar to that of the first chapter, but renewed in many aspects: we had the pleasure of speaking about some of these features with Hideaki Itsuno, Game Director of Dragon's Dogma 2, who also revealed part of the underlying philosophy of this truly promising action RPG.
A video game like real life
Everyeye.it: In Dragon's Dogma 2 there are no indicators for quests, there is no lock on enemies, the UI is not so rich in information. What is the philosophy behind this aspect and don't you think that novices might find themselves in difficulty?
Hideaki Itsuno: I want the experience to be as close to reality and what happens in everyday life as possible. I hope players understand that it doesn't have to be an inconvenience that we wanted to cause them, but a part of the fundamental concept of a realistic approach, which wants to simulate existence in a fantasy world.
One of the aspects I wanted to focus on is also the use of the camera, the point of view of each player: in many titles there is this enormous field of view, this fish's eye that allows us to see everything that happens to our sides and even behind us, while I have intentionally created a much more real field of view. If you are venturing into this world you must be able to feel the sense of discovery. I want to bring Dragon's Dogma 2 as close to reality as possible, as if you were waking up and suddenly found yourself in this new context. I know it can be difficult, complex, but I trust that players can understand what we wanted to create.
Everyeye.it: Such a vast world will require intense exploration, with the risk of encountering very large beasts, as you also stated recently. How did you balance exploration and combat during our journey?
Hideaki Itsuno: The problem isn't so much balance, but rather preventing a journey from point A to point B from becoming boring: the map is large, but the player cannot be put in a position to get bored while moving. Combat is one of the tricks we found to avoid making the adventure long-winded: however, it shouldn't be a problem, in fact it should be fun.
Instead of focusing on the size of the game world, we made sure to emphasize the variety of content and also the density of the environment itself. Every minute something has to happen: many things that can make this adventure emergent. Fighting must be a happy break, it must make the journey more fun. I hope I've achieved a good balance between exploration and combat, because that was the goal.
Everyeye.it: While playing we were able to really appreciate the interactions with the NPCs: they talk to you even without having to interact with them, like in real life. How difficult was it from a writing point of view to include a mechanic like that?
Hideaki Itsuno: Oh, it wasn't actually difficult writing-wise. Speaking freely or speaking only when asked did not change the narrative structure much. The most difficult aspect of going to create something like this is certainly related to the AI: you can't know where the player will go with their character, so you have to prepare the NPC to talk to him the moment he meets him.
They have to realize when the player is near or passing by, they have to follow him if he starts running, make sure to stop him if they need to tell him something and so on. These were the most complex implementations, because they are linked to that desire for truth and simulation that we wanted to achieve so much, it's as if someone stopped you on the street to talk to you.
How long will Dragon's Dogma 2 last?
Everyeye.it: The duration potential of Dragon's Dogma 2 is truly very high. How much time could we take for the main quest and to be able to reach a hypothetical 100% completion?
Hideaki Itsuno: I think that in 40 hours, going straight towards the goal, it is possible to finish the main quest. However, there are so many things to do that it is an estimate subject to variations, also because it depends on the approach that you decide to adopt during a challenge. For total completion it is not easy to estimate the hours needed: we could say a hundred, but it all depends on the player's ability, on his propensity for certain actions and also on how he wants to carry out certain situations.
We have included so much content that even one run might not be enough to see everything. New Game Plus itself is different from what we had in Dragon's Dogma, but I don't want to reveal too much for now (here's the review of the first Dragon's Dogma).
Everyeye.it: Let's talk about the Pawns, given the improvements they have received. They give suggestions during missions, they know which direction we should take, they help us in combat, but how much could they distract us from the final goal?
Hideaki Itsuno: I don't think the player needs to worry too much about it. They do a lot of things during the adventure, but they're all supportive. The player must worry about his own progression and what happens: otherwise it must be like going on a trip with your friends, who however already know what will happen along the way, giving you advice. I think players can just enjoy their presence and not worry too much about it.
The numerous contents still to be discovered
Everyeye.it: During the second test we happened to buy a house. We didn't really understand what we could do about it, but we said “why not?” and so now we would like to know more.
Hideaki Itsuno: There are a few things you can do. The most obvious – as in real life – is that you don't have to pay to sleep, you don't have to go to a hotel and you can return to your bed to rest and recover energy. You will also be able to increase interaction with NPCs, because they can come home with you, they can visit you or bring you gifts. I don't want to spoil anything more, but you'll find that there are several ways to justify buying a house in the game.
Everyeye.it: How did you think about the endgame and how much content will we have once our adventure is over?
Hideaki Itsuno: It will be practically impossible to cover everything in one run. I won't reveal any other details because discovery is part of the experience, but basically I reiterate that it won't be enough to play Dragon's Dogma 2 just once. The second time you'll have much more time and opportunity to go and discover what you left behind in the past. during the first trip. When the game is released we will have the opportunity to talk about it more, but for now we want to avoid providing spoilers that could ruin the adventure for the community.