Use NPCs to Change the Environment
Techland is hard at work to deliver Dying Light 2, which promises a vast open world and elaborate network of systems. In other words, the experience goes beyond the realm of anything we’ve seen in the first game, which devs say make it more than just a zombie game. It’s even been built on a new engine. To highlight the gameplay differences, chief creative officer Adrian Ciszewski explained some of the new systems.
Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, Ciszewski spoke at length about Dying Light 2’s factions. While they each share a unique relationship with the player, each faction also shares a relationship with the open world. The player can influence each collective, and each collective can influence the city (and its zombies) in turn.
“We didn’t count the number of choices we can do, because it’s really systemic,” Ciszewski said. “For example, the Peacekeepers faction – they’re clearing the streets of baddies, but they’re also clearing the dark zones and the streets from infected. That’s a system.
“If you tell the Peacekeepers about a building [full of zombies], the zombies will move from that location into another one, but that will create other problems because there will be more zombies in that other part of the city. If the Peacekeepers clear part of the dark zone, it will push the zombies to find another place to hide. It’s much more like a gameplay systemic thing.”
Essentially, the entire makeup of the city’s open world can and will change based on the player’s choices. How it changes will vary with your interactions, but Dying Light 2’s systems seem to suggest that no two playthroughs will be the same.
“It’s up to you,” Ciszewski continued. “Just know the rules and [you can] trigger things in the world to make it look different, and that will trigger different activities, different rewards.”
“So in one part of the city, for example, there might be a lot of zombies – even during the day – because there are no people. But if you make people interested in this location, there won’t be as many zombies so the difficulty level will drop. It’s up to you, as you have the tools to manipulate these things. There’s no way for us to create this linear approach because you as the player can shape it.”
Stay tuned for Dying Light 2 updates, including on a release date, as time goes by. But before you go, let us know your thoughts on the game’s new web of systems in the comments below.
SOURCE: GI.biz