Dragon's Dogma 2director Hideaki Itsuno has shared that the game's most devastating feature was being considered as early as the series' 2012 original.
Dragon's Dogma 2 expands the original game's absolutely daft NPC affinity system
07.03.2024 - 17:35 / rockpapershotgun.com / Hideaki Itsuno / Yoshiaki Hirabayashi
One of the sillier aspects of the original Dragon's Dogma was accidentally falling head over heels for some rando innkeeper, and having them appear aside you as your sweetheart during the end credits, much to the surprise of many players who didn't realise they were hitting on every NPC they did a favour for.
The game's Affinity system saw NPCs organically forming an attachment to players when you interacted with them, gave them things or carried out tasks for them. Towards the end of the game, one NPC is selected as "Beloved" and promptly abducted by a dragon for you to quest forth and rescue. There are a few characters who are positioned more obviously as romanceables, but the brilliance of the system is that you can raise your Affinity with pretty much anybody. If you want to end the game staring passionately into the eyes of the court jester or that hearty bloke who runs the armour shop, it's within your power.
The Affinity system returns in Dragon's Dogma 2 and is considerably more involved, according to series director Hideaki Itsuno. "There will be a lot of it, and it will be even more pronounced," he told Automaton in a new interview today. "It's almost the entire reason why we made the game open world.
"There will be many events that occur [or] don't occur depending on Affinity, and relationships between NPCs will also be important," Itsuno added. "For example, if you raise your Affinity with the parent of a child, your Affinity with the child will increase as well. On the other hand, NPCs can also fall out with each other. We've "powered-up" the Affinity feature a lot... and sneaked in a lot of things."
The sting in the tail here is that Dragon's Dogma 2 NPCs aren't just sympathetic emotional beings, they're also eminently killable. "Our basic premise since the start of the series has been 'creating a fantasy world simulator,' so NPCs dying is a normal occurrence," Itsuno commented later. "If there's an NPC you care for in a town, you will need to protect them as you fight, or hold them and run."
That's "hold them and run" not as in "cling together desperately in the face of an unkind world" but "throw them over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes and gallop off into the woods". Picking people up in Dragon's Dogma is as effective a means of safeguarding treasured NPCs as it is removing stubborn guards from checkpoints.
Should an NPC die, you are able to resurrect them using a Wakestone, but Wakestones aren't exactly growing on trees, and Capcom's hope is that the threat of losing your favourite villagers will teach you to play kindly. "When there is death, we take it seriously, and it affects how we act," producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi commented, in what I consider to be a
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gamesradar.com
25.03.2024 / 15:49
Dragon's Dogma 2 director wanted to add the polarizing Dragonsplague mechanic to the original 10 years ago, but couldn't due to technical limitations
Dragon's Dogma 2's most divisive feature, the dreaded Dragonsplague, was first thought about 10 years ago but couldn't be realized because of the technological shortcomings of the time.
gamesradar.com
25.03.2024 / 15:49
As Dragon's Dogma 2 players desperately try to stop Dragonsplague from killing off NPCs, they're resorting to the only surefire cure - throwing their Pawns into the Brine
The Dragon's Dogma 2 community has been left shaken by the existence of Dragonsplague – a deadly illness introduced in the sequel that can result in entire towns being killed. Left unchecked, the contagious disease – which can be spread game-to-game by hiring infected Pawns – has the potential to result in numerous NPCs, including important quest-givers, being wiped out overnight.
screenrant.com
22.03.2024 / 17:21
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Map Size Compared To The First Game & Dark Arisen
has just been released, and along with it comes a large, open-world map filled with content. The original, released in 2012, took place on the sprawling island of Gransys, which was quite big in its own regard. That said, ups the ante and features an even larger map, taking place in the two new regions of Vermund and Battahl, with a host of other new locations and towns added to the game.
gamingbolt.com
21.03.2024 / 07:53
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Developer is “Aware” of PC Performance Issues, Working on Fixes
In the run-up to the release of open world RPG Dragon’s Dogma 2, developer and publisher Capcom has revealed that it is aware of inconsistencies in the game’s frame rate performance on PC in particular. In a statement to IGN, Capcom has revealed that it is looking into ways in which it can improve the performance of the game.
screenrant.com
21.03.2024 / 01:51
You May Want To Hold Off On Getting Dragon’s Dogma 2 On PC (For Now)
Capcom's highly anticipated fantasy RPG, is finally due to be released on March 22, 2024, more than a decade after the release of the original game, but PC players may want to hold off on purchasing the game for now. Recent reports indicate that the game experiences severe frame rate performance problems on the platform.
gamesradar.com
20.03.2024 / 17:49
Early Dragon's Dogma 2 scores put reviews far above the original and even its Dark Arisen revision as one of 2024's best RPGs
It's taken 12 years, but Dragon's Dogma 2 is finally swooping onto store shelves this week, and judging by the early review scores, the wait has been worth it.
polygon.com
15.03.2024 / 18:07
The original Dragon’s Dogma arrived at a dark time in Capcom history
Nearly 12 years after game director Hideaki Itsuno released Dragon’s Dogma on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is finally almost here. Since the original game debuted, Capcom has released Dragon’s Dogma spinoffs, semi-sequels, and ports to varying degrees of success, but the highly anticipated sequel looks poised to break out.
gamesradar.com
12.03.2024 / 13:33
Dragon's Dogma 2's lack of multiplayer is "one of the basic original ideas of the first game" that its director doesn't want to stray from
If you were hoping to dive into Dragon's Dogma 2's huge open world alongside your friends at some point in the future, you might want to temper those expectations. According to director Hideaki Itsuno, the devs haven't been considering "any form of multiplayer" at all.
screenrant.com
12.03.2024 / 11:57
Dragon's Dogma 2 Map Is So Big Even Devs Can't Keep Track
is already known to feature a map much bigger than the original game but not even the developers can agree on how much the space has grown. While the first boasted an expansive open world for players to explore at their will, it was also criticized for feeling empty and barren given the vast amount of space players needed to traverse to reach major locations. Capcom has confirmed that the sequel is looking to fix this issue by not only expanding the map but also including more interesting landmarks to discover.
gamingbolt.com
11.03.2024 / 18:31
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Director Says Affinity is “Almost the Entire Reason” Why it’s Open World
We know that Dragon’s Dogma 2 has a much larger world than initially claimed, “more interesting and engaging Vocations” over the first game and up to three simultaneous bosses on-screen. With all the details about Pawn Specializations, the Dragonsplague and Vocation Maisters, one has to ask: What about Affinity?
gamingbolt.com
11.03.2024 / 15:21
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Devs Are “Not Considering Any Form of Multiplayer”
Capcom and director Hideaki Itsuno’s vision for the original Dragon’s Dogma was to develop a purely single player experience that, through the use of its AI-controlled companions known as Pawns, would emulate the feeling of an MMORPG with other players. The upcoming, long overdue Dragon’s Dogma 2 is set to expand on its predecessor in a number of ways – from a larger open world to how much content it’ll offer and much more – but that focus on delivering a purely single player experience isn’t changing.