Dark Souls 2 Could Let Players Start From Halfway Point

[Fanghawk]

Dark Souls 2 Could Let Players Start From Halfway Point

The emphasis on exploration in Dark Souls 2 may let players to complete story chapters in whatever order they choose.

The original Dark Souls was recognized for its brutal difficulty, but it in many ways it was still a fairly linear game. Players needed to complete the game's chapters in a particular order, which when you think about it, <a href=www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125736-Witcher-3-Developer-Calls-Skyrim-Casual>doesn't always make sense in an open-world environment. According to director Yui Tanimura, this is one feature that From Software would actually like to change in Dark Souls 2. By placing a stronger emphasis on exploration, Tanimura wants players to have the freedom to go wherever they want in the game, even if that means skipping halfway through the story to face more advanced enemies.

"Freedom of exploration is something we want to prioritize for Dark Souls 2, even more so than Dark Souls 1," Tanimura said. "We realize in Dark Souls 1 there were some certain orders, like ringing the bells or going to Anor Londo, which is not necessarily a bad thing. In Dark Souls 2, we're hoping we can provide more freedom so things don't have to necessarily be done in a certain order. We're hoping that if the player tries hard enough, or are willing enough, they could even start halfway through the game, depending on how willing or how brave they are."

Of course exploration of this sort isn't necessarily new; even early Legend of Zelda games let players explore the entire world map. Unlike Zelda however, it sounds like Dark Souls 2 would let players experience later chapters of the story without requiring plot-advancing items or keys. Sure, especially challenging monsters may bar your path, but for Dark Souls <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9171-Dark-Souls-Review>that's really par for the course.

Of course, for the story to meet open-world sensibilities, the plot would need to be equally flexible. Thankfully, Tanimura seems to think that won't be a problem. "You won't have to follow a certain line, it will be unique for all players, I think," he explained. "It might be an interesting aspect that players will be able to enjoy a little bit more than Dark Souls 1." What I'd like to know though is whether these advanced sections would be designated as late-game events. After all, if all enemies are equally punishing to new players, how will you know if you accidentally wandered into the game's halfway point or not?

Source: <a href=http://www.digitalspy.ca/gaming/news/a496115/dark-souls-2-to-offer-more-freedom-can-start-halfway-if-brave-enough.html>Digital Spy, via <a href=http://www.polygon.com/forums/dark-souls-2/2013/7/8/4503184/players-can-start-halfway-through-dark-souls-2-if-brave-enough>Polygon

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[Madmanonfire]

Why would he say there was a certain order to ringing the bells? With the master key or whatever, you can ring the "second" bell before the "first" bell if you want to. Granted, that's not a good idea on NG, but I don't think it should be put in the same sentence as Anor Londo for linearity.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

So it would essentially be an extension what's already is Dark Souls.

For instance, if you have the Master Key, and you're brave enough, you can skip quite a substantial part of the game, cutting out Lower Undead Berg and the Depths (which includes 2 bosses, the Capra Demon and the Gaping Dragon respectively), and a massive chunk of Blighttown.

 

[hazabaza1]

Cool.
There's a guy on youtube that'd one like, half the game before the gargolye bosses before he got to the other half of the game so more of that's nice.
I just hope "story chapters" doesn't mean "level select screen". Not really a fan of that.

 

[josemlopes]

That title really makes it seem like something completely different to what it actually is, basicly its like the first one where if you know your shit right you can skip some big chunks of the game.

 

[Ishal]

Doesn't sound bad to me. Like what Daystar said, its essentially what DS already is.

Looking at the good in this, them going the opposite direction from linearity to me indicates they won't try to shoe horn in some stupid cookie cutter RPG story to make it "more accessible".

This actually pleases me.

 

[KOMega]

Oh I love meat walls! (or beef gates as TvTropes calls them)

So it would essentially be an extension what's already is Dark Souls.

For instance, if you have the Master Key, and you're brave enough, you can skip quite a substantial part of the game, cutting out Lower Undead Berg and the Depths (which includes 2 bosses, the Capra Demon and the Gaping Dragon respectively), and a massive chunk of Blighttown.

I hated blighttown anyways. Fought Qualaag first after the asylum (Well, okay I fought the stray demon first actually.) Next time I'm going to get to the four kings ASAP., which means I'll have to try and fight sif first. tee hee, it'll be fun.

 

[Longstreet]

As long as they don't fuck up the PC port as they did with the Dark Souls: Prepare to die edition.

Still haven't played that game, probably never will and was really looking forward to it.

 

[thesilentman]

I came in coming into this thinking that Dark Souls II has officially joined the AAA brethen (-_-) but I'm glad I'm mistaken. After all, this is part of Dark Souls in a sense.

All in all, good story, but misleading title.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

As long as they don't fuck up the PC port as they did with the Dark Souls: Prepare to die edition.

Still haven't played that game, probably never will and was really looking forward to it.

There's a very simple mod that's little more than a line edited into the ini. file and a file pasted into the Dark Souls directory that fixes the problems the game had when it released. Just incase you didn't know.

 

[Longstreet]

As long as they don't fuck up the PC port as they did with the Dark Souls: Prepare to die edition.

Still haven't played that game, probably never will and was really looking forward to it.

There's a very simple mod that's little more than a line edited into the ini. file and a file pasted into the Dark Souls directory that fixes the problems the game had when it released. Just incase you didn't know.

Heard about it but normally don't use any mods for games. Hell, i haven't modded a thing in games such as Fallout and Skyrim.

Kinda sad that such a simple fix needs to be done by modders instead of by the game devs.

Maybe if steam has a nice sale i'll look into that.

 

[Baresark]

This article is very misleading. Here is the thing, it's not like there was defined chapters. So no breaks except a little cinematic of a door opening or a bell ringing. That is what divided the so called "chapters". And then you could go back or forward at your leisure. There was only like 6 necessary bosses, 2 of which you could beat in any order you wished, so it was very open world. It was linear in that you couldn't just run off and go the final fight without doing a few things first. I just feel like these guys are talking shit trying to make Dark Souls sound inferior to Dark Souls 2. I partially get that as the people working on it are not, in some cases, the exact same people. But the more they talk shit, the more I feel like they are fucking up the game. Like, you don't need to change the game and all of us who have supported the series since Demon's Souls will be happy.

Don't get me wrong, greater enemy variety, backstab nerfing, that stuff is great and will serve to enhance the game significantly. But sometimes, like in the case of this article, they are not filling me with confidence. They are basically saying the other game was linear (which it was not, especially since the optional content was there in spades and felt not tacked on), and we plan on fixing it. Well, call me crazy, but I have misgivings about what they mean by "fixing" it. Also, I don't want constant story breaks in the middle of game. Demon's/Dark Souls most favorable feature was the subtle story and unbroken gameplay.

 

[Baresark]

Wow, Dark Souls has a plot?

Yes, it has always had a plot. Just that it wasn't blunt face told to you and was delivered through subtlety.

Anyway, I am so worried that they're trying to turn Dark Souls into Skyrim.

This is also my concern. Really, all they need to do is port all the elements of Dark Souls into a new map with new enemies and new weapons and armor to be found, and they will repeat the success of Dark Souls. The other thing that scared me a bit was how they professed to spending more on this game than than the previous games put together, because a super inflated budget doesn't make a good game. All it does is place greater stress on the need for the game to reach a larger audience, which is synonymous with appealing to a more common denominator.

 

[shrekfan246]

Why would he say there was a certain order to ringing the bells? With the master key or whatever, you can ring the "second" bell before the "first" bell if you want to. Granted, that's not a good idea on NG, but I don't think it should be put in the same sentence as Anor Londo for linearity.

He didn't say there was an order to ringing the bells.

He said that ringing the bells is generally something people do in an order of succession while progressing with new characters.

Unless you're a very experienced player, chances are one of the first things you're going to do is go through the Undead Burg and Parish to defeat the Gargoyles and ring the first bell--Unless it's your first time playing, in which case you're just as likely to stumble into the Graveyard and get flattened by all of the skeletons.

The point isn't that ringing the bells is something you have to do in a specific order, it's that ringing the bells is something you have to do to progress further in the game past a certain point. At least, that's how I read it. If that's what they're talking about, and they're going to allow greater freedom of progression in DS2, then I'm happily looking forward to seeing how they achieve it.

 

[DBLT4P]

You don't even need the master key, you can go through darkroot basin, into the valley of drakes, and then grab the gate key at the top of the blighttown shortcut and open it before going down to quelagg and the "second" bell. I actually did it on NG recently just to see if you could...

OP: It sounds like an interesting idea in theory, but I'm a little concerned about how it will be implemented and the consequences it will have on the narrative and gameplay.

 

[BooTsPs3]

As long as they don't fuck up the PC port as they did with the Dark Souls: Prepare to die edition.

Still haven't played that game, probably never will and was really looking forward to it.

You know you could get the game and spend less than 5 minutes patching it, and end up with the best version of the game available. The mouse/kb controls suck, but that can't really be fixed, it's one of those games that needs a controller because of how the different systems work.

 

[piinyouri]

In my tenure with Demon's Souls I seem to remember you having the choice and ability to tackle any area you wanted in whatever order you wanted. So, this wouldn't be that much of a change I'm guessing?