Capcom's upcoming and expansive open-world RPG, Dragon's Dogma 2, is one we're eagerly anticipating getting lost in, due out on PS5 on 22nd March, and getting off the beaten path and following the road less travelled is part of the appeal of a game like this. Director Hideaki Itsuno isn't a particular fan of fast travel as a mechanic, as it turns out, and has some advice for designers who think players hate hoofing it across the map.
Speaking to IGN, Itsuno explained his stance on exploration in games and offered some helpful advice to the industry at large: "Travel is boring? That's not true. It's only an issue because your game is boring. All you have to do is make travel fun.” It's simple, see?
Itsuno expounded, detailing the ways in which players can expect Dragon's Dogma 2 to differ: “That's why you place things in the right location for players to discover, or come up with enemy appearance methods that create different experiences each time, or force players into blind situations where they don't know whether it's safe or not ten meters in front of them... we decided to design the kind of map where players will make the decision for themselves to travel by bike or on foot in order to enjoy the journey.”
It's some pretty ambitious talk, and we certainly hope that DD2 lives up to the hype. IGN has been a font of information all month, featuring the title as part of its ongoing First coverage, detailing Pawns, character creation, and the insidious Sphinx encounter.