Dying Light 2 Interview: Techland Has 'Detailed Plan' for Years of Content
Last Light 2 Stay Human comes seven geezerhood after the launch of Techland's original 2022 parkour zombie spirit impinge on — and it but might be its magnum piece. We Saturday down with Lead Gameplay Designer Tymon Smektała for an interview during a recent Moribund Light 2 preview event to find tabu about the wreak put into this ambitious sequel. Our clip with the Techland run clued United States of America into Dying Light 2 Stay Hominid's iv gameplay pillars, its difficultness, where it's going next, and so much more.
The Escapist: Tell United States about Dying Illumine 2 's four gameplay pillars.
Tymon Smektała: Dying Light, as the first game, was built happening the parkour, combat, and day-and-dark round. People likeable it, media liked it, but gamers likeable it, specially. Much of people were recommending the game to their friends. Thus, we said, "Okay, sol IT makes sense. It works. IT's something that we can develop on, that we can build connected."
So, we started with a huge list of things we wanted to improve. And looking at them, thither were three things I wanted to focal point on. The first one was that, in the first lame, parkour and battle were rather injured. Indeed, first, we wanted to connect, combine those two together. That's why there are much of skills (in Dying Light 2) that allow you to use your enemies as a protrusive peak for parkour combinations or combat skills that require you to stay mobile, stay quick, parachuting along, and basically be the parkour guy that we are creating, that the fantasy is centralised around.
Past, the other thing was, with the nonstop pedal, we wanted the game to offer cardinal importantly different experiences that … almost feel equal it's two games in one. But I think we went also far with the night in the first game.
When we were looking at the data from what players were playing, we realized that a parcel out of players are actually skipping the dark part. Because A: it was too chilling for them, peradventur too unmanageable. And B: they didn't get the proper incentive to go forbidden during the night. Because in (the first game), basically, the only thing that happened is you were getting double XP, and that's information technology. So, we wanted to change that. Now, the rule of this world is the day is for world and the night is for the infected.
During the day, the infected hide inside buildings; during the night, they come out. But what that means is that those buildings, those interiors, those places that behind hold the to the highest degree valuables, the most powerful weapons, at present they're blank. Now they are free for a guy like you or a night runner, for somebody who's brave sufficiency to face the terrors of the night, to explore. There are a lot of places which you can explore only during the dark, OR it's easier to do it during the night. … At some point you get a very mighty UV flashlight, which you keister use against the infected, openhearted of like in Alan Wake.
The third thing was that, with Dying Light 1, I think we created a game which allowed you to solve the challenges that are in front of you in numerous different ways. Only and then, in the story, it was a written, linear halting. So, at the very beginning of (Dying Light 2's maturation), our creative director, Adrian Ciszewski, aforesaid, "Hey, guys, we need to do something about this. We need to at least adjudicate to offer the players the same amount of freedom. Essa to achieve that. Give them the unvarying amount of freedom in the taradiddle that they have in-brave."
That's why the storey is nonlinear American Samoa we take a leak choices. And when we were nonindustrial that, we likewise realised … there are a lot of games that do nonlinear stories, and any of them are created by the masters of the genre, so it might be hard for us to compete if it's our first nonlinear game. So, we added City of London alignment system and your ability to shape the metropolis around you by introducing various gameplay elements, like zip lines, pendulum swings, trampolines — very much of that stuff… I think those were the three well-nig burning things: combining parkour and combat, making bound that players play during the night and that it in reality makes sense to play during the dark, and handsome players as overmuch freedom as possible in the story in the choices they'Ra making.
When I'm running through with the streets, or yet on the rooftops, I can hear and see zombies come forth of windows, doors, and out of the sewers. Can you blab ou about where the idea for that constituent came from?
Tymon Smektała: It came from our willingness and our goal of making the transition, making day and night, significantly other. To do that, you need to tell players, hey, now the changeover happens. Now, this is the minute where it all changes. You see that especially when the day goes into the night, operating theatre the night goes into the day. When the day goes into the night, during the early hour of the night … you see a lot of them, Virals escaping, jumping out of the windows, or Biters fumbling out of the doors.
Sometimes, it's really crazy shuddery when you just work through the street and you think it's plundered, and suddenly, they'Ra just all over the place. Likewise, when the night turns into day, we craved to tell players, "Today is the time where you will personify a little bite safer." So, you see them crawling into their lairs, and some of them don't pass, then even when the morning starts, you regard them laying and dying in the sun. Oh, how demanding it was for the States to make. (laughs)
The original Dying Casual had a orthodox sprint button, which is absent here. Potty you talk about why that is?
Tymon Smektała: The mechanics of the runner are a little antithetical. When you start therein biz, you start slow, then you get faster. The gain of speed is not the same as it is with the sprint button, but we have something like that afterwards, which you unlock atomic number 3 a skill. It kit and caboodle a little bit differently — it's titled the "dash." It's a tool that's a little bite more plan of action. We want you to use it with a little more meaning and a bit more purpose because, when you consume a game with a dash push button, you're basically just constantly sprinting out of stamina. At that place's this moment where you don't dash and then you sprint again, and that's IT. So, the flash in Demise Light 2 Stay Human full treatmen a bit differently. We want you to use it with purpose.
If you run to the end of a rooftop, and you see there's a large opening in front of you, then you do the dash because the jump will be yearner. Or if you see an enemy in strawma of you, and you want to use that foe to leap of him, you consume to do the dash to hit him with impact so he bends a little then you can keep going top of him and then jump further. So, on that point's no sprint like a regular sprint button, but daunt works similarly. But we want you to use it with a little routine more thinking behind it.
From what I've played, I already sense helpless in a moral way, if that makes common sense. So, as players shape up, is that something that's going to change? Are we withal sledding to feel lost?
Tymon Smektała: I feel this is a piece of the Death Light experience. When you outset the game, you're lost in the world. You put on't know what to make out, and you feel that you are overpowered by everything. Everything is stronger than you, and you don't have that many tools to in reality brass that challenge. As you play the game, you get stronger and stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and at the closing game, you feel that you rule over this place that you suffer earned your place in that world, and you are at the top of the Great Pyramid. Thusly, definitely, it works like this in the second game as healed. I think the progression trend is flush big in this game. You start possibly a little bit stronger than in the first game, but you fetch up way more powerful than in the first game — at least in the base version, because we kept adding and adding and adding content afterward.
One of the reasons wherefore that is is that, in the first game, you were progressing, you were getting break weapons, you were acquiring blueprints that gave you access to various tools, and that was it. Therein game, you can also upgrade those blueprints. So, even the Molotov cocktail that you get at the pop of the game is weaker than the Molotov cocktail that you can end with at the final stage of the game because you give the sack upgrade the blueprint for a Gasoline bomb by doing versatile missions for a guy cable that we are calling the Craft Master. You do submissions for him, and then atomic number 2 allows you to climb your blueprints.
Actually, it's selfsame good story because I think over Dying Light 2 is easier to stupefy into than the commencement game, only we have a special difficulty modality, which is tailored specifically for the veterans of the first unfit. When you come out the spirited, you rag choose the mean, and there's the next one, which says, "Hey, this is specifically if you played the first off game. Choose this." I call up you should choose this because, for me, I gone thousands of hours in Last Light, so for me, this is their real experience. That's when the very fun begins. The feeling of existence overwhelmed with the world around you is like beingness powerless in a good way. You'll feel even stronger on it manner.
How is it different from the balance of the modes? And how have you tailored it for Eager Light veterans?
Tymon Smektała: When you view the in-game script that defines it, I would articulate there are about 40 variables that are changed or 40 things that are changed. We're changing the enemy behaviors, we are changing the weapon lastingness, stamina use — very much of stuff that really is supposed to realize the experience a lengthiness of what you felt in Dying Lightly 1. Emphatically, as a fan of the first game, and as a person that spent a lot of meter in the maiden game, this is what I'm choosing when I'm playing Dying Light 2 Stay Human.
How has Techland brought elements from Dying Light 1 's DLC — like The Following and other content releases — ended to Eager Light 2 ? I know The Following obviously had vehicles and things like that.
Tymon Smektała: It's hard to say because it was a very biological process for United States. As we were developing Dying Light 2, we were also supporting Dying Light 1. It was like going back and forward. The ideas were coming from one game to another. … But naturally, equally a studio, we ingest learned a lot with Dying Short 1 and with the DLCs, and now we are using that experience with the second game.
Extraordinary thing we also desire to do is, of course, support Dying Light 2 Ride out Fallible in the same way that we did for Dying Light 1. We have a very careful plan moving quite an few years forward, simply we try not to toy with it besides much at this point. The important thing is to contract Dying Fooling 2 Appease Human on the shelves, into players' machines, and make sure that information technology actually is a game at least As good as the first one, at to the lowest degree as exciting equally the first one was, because if we fail on this one, then all of those plans don't make sentiency.
If there's anything you want players to take away from Dying Light 2 when they sustain their hands on it, what would that affair be? What do you deprivation them to feel?
Tymon Smektała: I would stage to ii things: Basic of altogether, Eastern Samoa a gameplay interior designer, I Bob Hope they will get the feeling of authorisation with the changes to the city they can make. That they bequeath actually feel that, "Hey, this is me making those changes into the city. This is Pine Tree State shaping this world." Personally, for me — this is really a very powerful, selfsame strong feeling, which makes me excited. I lavatory actually stool changes into this world, observe them most instantly, and play with them because most of the changes actually involve whatsoever elements of gameplay. Thus, we either introduce any gameplay elements or maybe hide some gameplay elements from you, or maybe tweak some gameplay elements from you, like things in the environment you can use.
This is very empowering, only in damage of emotions, I think of the subtitle for the game, the Stay Human tagline. This is something that makes very much of sense when you finish the lame. Soh, I would comparable everyone to finish the game. As many players as possible. I know that not whol gamers in reality painted all games, but I hope a lot of people volition finish the game and they will get the meaning of it and they will get the message that we experience for them, with what's in the story and with the Outride Human tagline.
Dying Light 2 Continue Human launches on February 4, 2022, for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S. Turn back KO'd our active preview for more.
This Dying Light 2 question has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Source: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/dying-light-2-interview-tymon-smektala-techland-very-detailed-plan-years-content/