Dark Souls II Interview

There’s a fairly lengthy interview with Dark Souls II’s co-director Yui Tanimura and producer Takeshi “Tak” Miyazoe over at Official PlayStation Magazine UK, which offers information on the game’s invasion system, covenants, level design and more. Here’s a snip:

(Our main intent is not to foster a greater frequency of multiplayer, but more to give players the opportunity to interact even within the ‘˜loose’ parameters allowed,) From Software’s Yui Tanimura, Dark Souls 2 co-director (along with Tomohiro Shibuya), tells OPM. The franchise has always made innovative use of online features and then evolved them for future titles. In Demon’s Souls, players could choose to leave messages with hints for the road ahead. In Dark Souls, players who used Humanity to take on a living form could be invaded via PvP or summon some additional help, and in Dark Souls 2 a new server-based network will bear the load as even players in a Hollow (undead) state are vulnerable to invasion from other human adventurers.

Scared? Don’t be. Namco Bandai producer Takeshi Miyazoe explains that the game will be balanced in other ways to ensure that newcomers are not constantly griefed by professional invaders. (Before, the matchmaking was based upon player level,) he tells OPM. (That will remain, but we also want to focus on how much time you’ve played the game. Also, there will be penalties for players who invade, but still lose. There are risks. And there will be ‘˜policemen’ against invaders and a ransom system where if you constantly invade or kill NPCs there will be motivation for summoned players to go after you.)

This is where the game’s next online enhancement comes in. An overhauled Covenant system means that players in need of protection can find their protectors. Way Of Blue members who are invaded will automatically summon members of the Blue Sentinels, while the Heirs To The Sun will act as benevolent heroes who get summoned by priority to players in PvP and PvE situations. The Brotherhood Of Blood, meanwhile, get to role-play as the bad guys, with an increased capability for invasion, while the Bell Keeper apostles will automatically invade players who enter a certain area of the game. There will be seven or eight Covenants in all, and another of these will be the policeman class that Miyazoe mentioned earlier, who will reap bounties on the heads of (wanted) serial invaders.