It seems catering to Dragon’s Dogma 2 players is a tougher balancing act than we may realise. Capcom developers currently working on the game’s upcoming Dark Arisen expansion have revealed rare insight into the varying preferences of the game’s players, and it surprisingly has to do with where they’re based.
In an interview with Famitsu (via Kotaku), game producers Naoto Oyama and Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, and game director Kento Kinoshita said it’s a challenge to to try and cater to all players’ desires because they’re often at odds.
“The requests differed greatly depending on the region; the requests in Japan and overseas regions were diametrically opposed,” said Hirabayashi. “When I divided the comments into several categories and ranked them by the total volume, seeing how the triangles representing Japan and overseas regions were perfectly opposite, I learned a great deal about the cultural differences in how people enjoy things.”
One example given was the game’s various “inconveniences”, such as limited (and costly) fast travel, and having strict NPC routines that punish players who take too long to discover and complete quests. Western players have taken to calling that “friction” and they apparently tend to like features with friction, whereas players in Japan aren’t too keen on them.
“Of course, there are customers in both regions who enjoy [both],” Hirabayashi added. “However, looking at the bigger picture, there is a difference in proportion.”
Based on that, the developer knew it couldn’t follow one group’s feedback too closely or it risks alienating the other. To walk that fine line, the team had to ask themselves whether any given feature fits within Dragon’s Dogma‘s identity.
Hirabayashi doesn’t believe intentional friction is a core part of the sequel’s identity. Rather, it’s the sense of accomplishment players feel when overcoming challenges that Capcom was striving for. That said, the developers believe in offering players options where possible.
In keeping with the theme of player choice, the expansion allows you to turn off weapon and character customisation. Hard Mode was also brought up during the interview, with Hirabayashi confirming its availability on day one of the expansion’s release.
Dark Arisen is considered a re-launch of Dragon’s Dogma 2, overhauling many of the game’s most contentious mechanics. The expansion arrives on the heels of several patches, which laid out the groundwork, tweaking many of the game’s underlying systems and implementing player-requested features from the original game.
Dark Arisen launches 9th October on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. A Switch 2 version that includes the base game and the expansion arrives on the same day.
