The Dragon's Dogma 2 devs have revealed that the new Beastren race has been on their minds since back in the Xbox 360 and PS3 days.
"Dragon’s Dogma 2 introduces the new Beastren race," director Hideaki Itsuno explains in a message posted to Twitter. "Originally, we planned to include them in the first game, but the technology at the time made it difficult to show multiple characters with fur on screen. Now, we can finally realize our vision."
The original Dragon's Dogma was first released in 2012 on Xbox 360 and PS3, and there have been a whole lot of developments in graphical technology since then. It certainly wouldn't have been the first game to render characters with fur - I remember Star Fox Adventures on GameCube having some impressive fur tech, and I'm sure there are earlier examples - but given how much Dragon's Dogma struggled to hold 30 FPS on those old consoles, maybe it's for the best that the devs didn't go for too many extra graphical bells and whistles.
Itsuno has been sharing similar dev insights in the days leading up to the game's launch, and this one is particularly interesting: "We decided to design the map in a way that the journey could be enjoyed on foot. Fast travel however, exists through both Ferrystones and Portcrystals, as well as riding an ox cart between two locations. Ferrystones are supplied in a balanced way.”
That's notable because just a few months ago, it wasn't clear if Dragon's Dogma 2 would have fast travel at all, when Itsuno was giving quotes about how games only need fast travel if they're "boring." More recently, Itsuno said that he wanted the open world to be so interesting that "it would actually be a shame to ride a horse." Whether or not fast travel is the mark of a boring game, it seems Dragon's Dogma 2 is going to great lengths to make sure you'd prefer to enjoy the journey.
