Twelve years after the original game, Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC later this month. In a recent interview, director Hideaki Itsuno talked about the sequel’s larger world. The veteran game designer discussed inspiration, design philosophy, and the challenges of fleshing out the world space.
Director Hideaki Itsuno talks about Dragon’s Dogma 2’s world design
As he told 8Bit/Digi, many Dragon’s Dogma players thought the game worlds were too small. “So, we considered that, and I wanted to make it bigger in Dragon’s Dogma II.”
However, he also explained his belief that big is not a synonym for good and that the map needs to be more than empty space.
“So,” he continued, “one of the goals that we had for this game was how big can we make the world while populating it with a lot of content.” This matches with the Dragon’s Dogma 2 directors’ belief that unengaging travel is a sign of a boring game.
Itsuno also described one of the ways that Dragon’s Dogma 2 tries to do that. He believes that players should be able to see their destination but not always how to get there.
“If you can see your destination and also the path is visible,” he explained, “then that is not necessarily fun because you know what to expect. But if you can see where you’re going but you’re not sure what route will get you there, then that gives you a sense of adventure.”
Itsuno then explained how he wanted Dragon’s Dogma 2’s landscape to be memorable but not over the top. To do this, Capcom drew inspiration from “weird but existing landscapes” from all over the world.
The director also described some of the new challenges he encountered when populating Dragon’s Dogma 2’s world.
“In the games I’ve created, when you have a specific quest, it’s usually made in a pre-recorded act,” he explained. However, NPCs in Dragon’s Dogma 2 are more reactive, relying on complex triggers that took extensive testing to get right.
