Bandai Namco's Producer Takeshi Miyazoe is interviewed by OXM to talk about how they are targeting a a wider audience for Dark Souls II.
More information.Dark Souls' greatest triumph was always its fairness. Yes, it was hard, but if you paid attention you could beat it - and if you failed it was probably your own fault, a few dementedly unforgiving boss battles aside. Dark Souls 2 will be a little more transparent in its dealings with the player, according to Bandai Namco producer Takeshi Miyazoe, without sacrificing the capacity for enigma that saw its predecessor become such a cult hit.
The marginally greater emphasis on accessibility will be felt at every level of the experience. Take melee, for instance. "It's a lot of things that happen behind the scenes, like the motion capture," Miyazoe told us at a hands-on event. "In the previous game, the player motions were hand-animated, whereas this time they're motion-captured by stunt artists." The result is a combat system that feels more intuitive, less "gamey" - it's a little easier to pick up on the cues that advertise a break in a combo, for instance.