One year ago, deep into the development of Dragon’s Dogma 2, the sequel to 2012’s chaotically loveable action-fantasy romp, director Hideki Itsuno sat down to stream a playthrough of the game to his colleagues. The pandemic months had pushed Capcom’s staff out of their Osaka office, and while Japan had started to tentatively reopen for business, many of Itsuno’s colleagues still worked from home. He put on a head mic and, with the determination and glee of a Twitch streamer, began to play through an early build, commenting on what was occurring on the screen as his team attentively watched his exploits while taking notes.
Itsuno crested a hill together with his pawns – hired AI companions that fight alongside the game’s protagonist, healing one another, and shouting archaic words of encouragement (“Methinks we shall explore today!”) – and made the reckless decision to attack a nearby cave troll. The troll was several levels above his ragtag band of adventurers and the ensuing fight bloody. Things did not go Itsuno’s way. Soon his pawns lay bleeding out in the tall grass while his own character’s health bar had been chipped away to a sliver. Itsuno turned to flee.
