Dragon`s Dogma Devs Talk Customization`s Impact on Gameplay

The Dragon’s Dogma devs have started blogging about concepts in the game and their approach to things. The first blog is by the game’s Director, Hideaki Itsuno and discusses some aspects of customization of character and AI and its effect on the gameplay. 

There’s some pretty interesting stuff in here to say the least. For example, you can have a conversation with your AI pawn and basically give it instructions for its learning and improvement path. I don’t think we’ve ever actually seen something like that in a game before and it’s definitely a unique twist on making the NPC party member do what you want without having to get mired down in menus during battle, etc.

How does the player improve the AI of the main pawn?

Initially, the AI will improve based on the player’s job and the decisions the player makes. When making the game, we took great consideration to make sure that this was a game about raising an AI, not just programming one. I want to take on a disciple and raise it as my own. I do not want to hire a robot and program it with tedious rules and parameters. So if the player just plays the game as they want to, the system is set up to support this and will train the pawn.

The pawn will attempt to match the player’s job and fighting patterns and start to do things on their own. And if that is not exactly how you would like them trained, simply go to Pawn Guild, sit in the chair, and talk to your pawn. The pawn will then ask the player on what and how they should improve. So if you happen to find an effective way to take down an enemy, the pawn will use the same effective attack style the next time you face that enemy.

The pawn customization is not only limited to character editing and improving the main pawn’s AI. You can select their job and custom skills, and being able to select these abilities is another big customization feature. The job selection leads to a different fighting style and the customization skills greatly change the way you use your fighting tactics. Also, the changes in attributes may be effective against certain enemies but have no effect against other enemies.

Another major factor is how and who you decide to put in your party. Within the game there are several strategies and different types of enemies. It is not just using fire, lighting, or other attributes, but it also how good (or not good) the player is with their own skills and abilities. Wiill you use a strategic ability while attacking the enemy head on, or attack from behind and then taking cover? Will you find and attack the enemy’s weak point or go in for the one-hit-kill? That all depends on the player’s abilities. And depending on that, the way you form your party will change as well.Since I am going to go all in attacking, I will put in a mage that is focused on and has the attributes to heal, or do I put in a sorcerer who will start casting an enchantment every time he encounters an enemy, or put in a warrior and prepare to fight together? Arranging your party is an easy and frequently used customization element.

Customizing the looks of the pawns does not mean it’s just adjusting its visual appearance. If the pawn is heavier set, then the limit on the amount of weight that the character can hold is increased. If you carry more than what the character’s carrying capacity is, then it will take more stamina to perform any movements and your overall speed will be reduced. The characters weight also has an effect on how soon the spent stamina can be recovered. Also, depending on how big the character is will affect the way the character interacts in the game. Bigger characters will have a longer reach when they attack, but they will also be easier to hit. For smaller characters, they walk slower and the speed at which they move about is different. Not just the size, but the sex of the character can also have an effect on your gameplay strategy. Since the characters’ reach and the stamina are major points, and I think you will experience these when you start playing the game.

Reprinted from Capcom Unity Blog post: Dragon’s Dogma Dev Blog: Customization’s Impact on Gameplay

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