Twelve years after the original game, Dragon’s Creed 2 launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC later this month. In a recent interview, director Hideaki Itsuno talked about the larger world of the sequel. The veteran game designer discussed the inspiration, design philosophy and challenges of completing the world space.

Director Hideaki Itsuno talks about the world design of Dragon’s Dogma 2

As he said 8Bit/Digi, many Dragon’s Dogma players felt that the game’s worlds were too small. So we thought about that and I wanted to make it bigger in Dragon’s Dogma II.

However, he also explained his belief that big is not synonymous with good and that the map should be more than just empty space.

So,” he continued, “one of the goals we had for this game was how big can we make the world while filling it with a lot of content.” This fits with the Dragon’s Dogma 2 directors’ belief that seamless travel is a sign of a boring game.

Itsuno also described one of the ways Dragon’s Dogma 2 tries to do this. 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’s not necessarily fun because you know what to expect. But if you can see where you’re going but you’re not sure which route will take 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 “strange but existing landscapes” from around the world.

The director also described some of the new challenges he faced while inhabiting the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2.

In the games I’ve created, when you have a specific mission, it’s usually done 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.