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"It felt like a scripted event, but Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't have scripted events"

In Edge Magazine issue 391, director Hideki Itsuno tells the story of an unfortunate encounter with a cave troll that left his pawn companions dying in a field. Itsuno simply turned away and ran. "I was just running away for lack of anything better to do. But it kept following me. I didn't know how I was going to survive," Itsuno said.

Itsuno ultimately dove into a nearby village, hoping to lose the troll in the chaos of the panicking villagers. But the villagers didn't panic - instead, just like the playable hero can do, they started clambering up the creature's sides, and eventually overwhelmed it purely with numbers and determination.

"It felt like a scripted event. But Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't have scripted events," Itsuno said. "There are no invisible flags or triggers that cause certain events to occur. Everything that happened that day happened dynamically, because of how the game's rules and systems interact with one another."

When the team was developing a 15-minute demo of Dragon's Dogma 2 for events like Tokyo Game Show, producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi said that even that little demo is enough to see the chaos of the game come to life. "15 minutes is a relatively short amount of time, but when we were playtesting this brief segment, team members kept coming up to me and saying: 'Come and see what just happened to me!' Even within such a tiny portion of the game we keep being surprised by what's happening, even though we're the ones who originally designed the possibility space."

Dragon's Dogma 2 "doesn't have scripted events" but one incident with a troll and a village was almost enough to fool the game's director

"It felt like a scripted event, but Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't have scripted events"

www.gamesradar.com

 

[Woopah]

So excited for this. Might be the game to make me get a PS5.

 

[AncientOrigin]

So excited for this. Might be the game to make me get a PS5.

Will probably come out around late summer or fall.Fall is also when the PS5 Pro comes out you can then decide which PS5 to get.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Superior game design IMO.

Let simulation do it's thing.

 

[GymWolf]

Best thing i heard\saw about the game yet.

 

[ssringo]

 

[Rubim]

So excited for this. Might be the game to make me get a PS5.

A bit weird.

Since this is releasing everywhere.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

i'm one of those that asked for a DD2 but, i don't know guys, this looks more like DD1.5 than 2, from what i've seen it's more of the same which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just jut that...i expected MORE after all these years.

Art-direction is the same but, with added Khajiit this time, graphics are nothing to write home about (the RE engine is getting very long in the tooth) the idiotic Pawn system is back and co-op, in an RPG actually featuring a party is yet again absent, why ?

I love Capcom, i loved DD but this, don't know, it's not grabbing me at all, it feels way all too familiar , "more of the same" and "safe".

 

[Woopah]

Will probably come out around late summer or fall.Fall is also when the PS5 Pro comes out you can then decide which PS5 to get.

I don't really care about graphics but do really care about owning games physically, so its an easy choice for me!

A bit weird.

Since this is releasing everywhere.

Well right now I have a PS4, a Switch and a years old laptop, so I'll need to buy something new to play it.

 

[mdkirby]

Hmm what does he mean by “it doesn’t have scripted events”? Does it not have a main narrative campaign etc?

 

[tommycronin]

 

[Pejo]

I am so fucking hyped for this. It's gonna be glorious.

 

[Punished Miku]

i'm one of those that asked for a DD2 but, i don't know guys, this looks more like DD1.5 than 2, from what i've seen it's more of the same which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just jut that...i expected MORE after all these years.

Art-direction is the same but, with added Khajiit this time, graphics are nothing to write home about (the RE engine is getting very long in the tooth) the idiotic Pawn system is back and co-op, in an RPG actually featuring a party is yet again absent, why ?

I love Capcom, i loved DD but this, don't know, it's not grabbing me at all, it feels way all too familiar , "more of the same" and "safe".

Yep. I was hyping this game up more than anyone, going to crush Elden Ring, etc. Basing that opinion on other RE Engine games I've seen and current Capcom output. But this is not what I was imagining. This looks like the previous game.

That's more than enough for a day 1 purchase. I'm all in. But I am adjusting my expectations back down to Earth. Expecting the same thing with some new class abilities, a new 2nd city, and more polish all around.

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

That sounded like what Bethesda tried to do with TES Oblivion with it s Radiant AI.

The problem with Bethesda's attempt, was that the NPCs were given the same tools as the human player. And unfortunately 99% of the tools involve Violence. So when Bethesda let the NPCs loose, they end up murdering each other and staring small civil wars due to allegiances. And thus entire cities are either dead or in jail.

Bethesda never did solve it, so they removed most of the AI. This is their own fault that their engine revolve around combat so much and with nearly no tools for pacifist actions.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

That sounded like what Bethesda tried to do with TES Oblivion with it s Radiant AI.

The problem with Bethesda's attempt, was that the NPCs were given the same tools as the human player. And unfortunately 99% of the tools involve Violence. So when Bethesda let the NPCs loose, they end up murdering each other and staring small civil wars due to allegiances. And thus entire cities are either dead or in jail.

Bethesda never did solve it, so they removed most of the AI. This is their own fault that their engine revolve around combat so much and with nearly no tools for pacifist actions.

I would love to have such stuff in this game.

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

Lol, yeah this is a wait and see exactly what they determine dynamic is.

 

[Alexios]

Surely there are going to be quests and a storyline and progression triggers for those? It's nice to have simulation style sandbox systems for when you aren't following a story bit but othewise it's desirable.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

 

[NT80]

i'm one of those that asked for a DD2 but, i don't know guys, this looks more like DD1.5 than 2, from what i've seen it's more of the same which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just jut that...i expected MORE after all these years.

Art-direction is the same but, with added Khajiit this time, graphics are nothing to write home about (the RE engine is getting very long in the tooth) the idiotic Pawn system is back and co-op, in an RPG actually featuring a party is yet again absent, why ?

I love Capcom, i loved DD but this, don't know, it's not grabbing me at all, it feels way all too familiar , "more of the same" and "safe".

On top of that I've barely seen any new enemy types even in the new areas. I can understand the limitations at the time but so many years later and 2 gens on from then I was expecting a lot more.

 

[Lux R7]

can't wait!

 

[Roman Empire]

I was born ready. The number of hours I'll put into this game will be unhealthy

 

[thegame983]

Cool. Scripted events although fun at times, are completely meaningless.

 

[March Climber]

Hmm what does he mean by “it doesn’t have scripted events”? Does it not have a main narrative campaign etc?

This is a scripted event:

1) You enter a big open room.
2) Boss breaks into the room through the wall on the left side of the room from where you entered.
3) Fight begins, and you usually have an invisible barrier or high walls stopping you from leaving the boss fight. You have to kill the boss to leave.

Once you die, you start back at number 1 and it replays the events exactly the same to match number 2 and 3.

This is a non-scripted event:

1)You enter a big open room.
2) Boss breaks into the room through the wall on the left side. There is no barrier and the fight can proceed outside of the room and spill into a nearby area or settlement with NPCs.
2a) Nothing happens, you walk through the room and leave.
2b) You fight a mob of enemies who spotted you earlier.
2c) You find a special item.
2d) A different boss appears and breaks through the ceiling.
2e) You encounter two bosses fighting each other.
2f) You encounter the boss already dead. Another adventurer is there who can be fought, optionally, for loot.

Depending on the type of game, non-scripted events have the following effect on cutscenes and dialogue:

Old school RPG/Larian style: You end up not meeting people entirely and not encountering portions of the game depending on your actions.
Bethesda style: Your questline simply ends if quest giver NPC is dead or if random death event occurs to the person quest NPC is sending you to. You are still able to experience everything else.
Hitman Style: Find a way to kill this guy in this huge area. The game doesn't care what you do as long as the job gets done. In order to progress this must be done.
Grand Theft Auto 3: You have mostly non-scripted gameplay, but there are critical spots on the map where you must be to start cutscenes and end cutscenes. Missions will be slightly guided but open enough to where you can run over someone with a car to end things. Most critical NPC deaths will end the game.

(The reason I only put GTA 3 is because every protagonist after Claude had more and more personality, and once that happened each game became more and more restricted in storytelling. In contrast, Claude was essentially a hitman for hire and your missions were very hitman-esque in nature, arguably almost all the way until the end of the game.)

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

so a troll went into a village and villagers attacked it.
big whoop.

when we were playtesting this brief segment, team members kept coming up to me and saying: 'Come and see what just happened to me!' Even within such a tiny portion of the game we keep being surprised by what's happening, even though we're the ones who originally designed the possibility space.

this sounds good.

 

[Negotiator101]

Cool. Scripted events although fun at times, are completely meaningless.

Well not really a scripted event can be an important storyteller and shape a narrative. It can also be a moment that plays the same every single time which as you put it is boring/meaningless.

 

[semiconscious]

whoa! almost the exact same thing happened to me early on in resident evil 4 remake...

 

[mdkirby]

This is a scripted event:

1) You enter a big open room.
2) Boss breaks into the room through the wall on the left side of the room from where you entered.
3) Fight begins, and you usually have an invisible barrier or high walls stopping you from leaving the boss fight. You have to kill the boss to leave.

Once you die, you start back at number 1 and it replays the events exactly the same to match number 2 and 3.

This is a non-scripted event:

1)You enter a big open room.
2) Boss breaks into the room through the wall on the left side. There is no barrier and the fight can proceed outside of the room and spill into a nearby area or settlement with NPCs.
2a) Nothing happens, you walk through the room and leave.
2b) You fight a mob of enemies who spotted you earlier.
2c) You find a special item.
2d) A different boss appears and breaks through the ceiling.
2e) You encounter two bosses fighting each other.
2f) You encounter the boss already dead. Another adventurer is there who can be fought, optionally, for loot.

Depending on the type of game, non-scripted events have the following effect on cutscenes and dialogue:

Old school RPG/Larian style: You end up not meeting people entirely and not encountering portions of the game depending on your actions.
Bethesda style: Your questline simply ends if quest giver NPC is dead or if random death event occurs to the person quest NPC is sending you to. You are still able to experience everything else.
Hitman Style: Find a way to kill this guy in this huge area. The game doesn't care what you do as long as the job gets done. In order to progress this must be done.
Grand Theft Auto 3: You have mostly non-scripted gameplay, but there are critical spots on the map where you must be to start cutscenes and end cutscenes. Missions will be slightly guided but open enough to where you can run over someone with a car to end things. Most critical NPC deaths will end the game.

(The reason I only put GTA 3 is because every protagonist after Claude had more and more personality, and once that happened each game became more and more restricted in storytelling. In contrast, Claude was essentially a hitman for hire and your missions were very hitman-esque in nature, arguably almost all the way until the end of the game.)

Super, thanks for the detailed breakdown. Was worried it was gonna be little more than a big sandbox/survival like game

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Of course it has scripted events, you can't have a story/cutscenes play out without them.
Likewise the first time you meet the griffin and certain drakes in the first game are scripted, and I'm sure DD2 will have those as well.
What Itsuno here means is that what happened in the village wasn't some flag that got triggered by doing what he did, simply that the game had it play out following its own rules of encounter design.

 

[KXVXII9X]

I'm very happy with this. I prefer games having these gameplay systems than just looking pretty. At first, I wish it was a lot better graphically, but now I'm not as bothered. I remember something like this happened in The Last of Us Part 2 when I was still in Seattle and saw a group of human enemies, so I go to sneak and avoid them. Later out of nowhere I hear lots of gunshots. I was like, "Did someone see me?" Nope. Very cautiously I go to see what is happening and the human NPC are shooting at the infected unprompted from my input. There is probably some level of scripting, but it was still a cool moment I wish more games had. It seems like most video game worlds ONLY interact to your input.

 

[Svejk]

i'm one of those that asked for a DD2 but, i don't know guys, this looks more like DD1.5 than 2, from what i've seen it's more of the same which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just jut that...i expected MORE after all these years.

Art-direction is the same but, with added Khajiit this time, graphics are nothing to write home about (the RE engine is getting very long in the tooth) the idiotic Pawn system is back and co-op, in an RPG actually featuring a party is yet again absent, why ?

I love Capcom, i loved DD but this, don't know, it's not grabbing me at all, it feels way all too familiar , "more of the same" and "safe".

That's a good thing, because DD1 was technically DD 0.5, and DD: DA was 0.70...
So a 1.5 is more than appreciated, when it comes to how much had to be cut from his original vision.. but this is going to be even better than we think.

Bless this game existing! Life is fucking good.
GOTE