In Dying Light 2, the choices you make can change the entire city
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This article first appeared in “PC Player” Magazine Issue 361, August 2021. Every month we launch exclusive features to explore the world of PC gaming-from behind-the-scenes previews to incredible community stories to fascinating interviews and more.
Aiden Caldwell is the mysterious hero in “Dying Light 2: Remaining”. He is a member of the pilgrims-a loose gathering of post-apocalyptic wanderers wandering through the ruins of the old world. He arrived in the city, the unknown metropolis set by this game, looking for his sister Mia. “Ayden is haunted by vague, intermittent memories of her,” said lead game designer Tymon Smektała. “When he learned that he had found someone responsible for what happened to her there, he started on a mission to understand the truth.”
This open-world zombie game goes a step further than the original. It supports its free running, undead races and cruel melee combat through interactive branch stories, and you can have a real impact on it. This city is not only home to countless aggressively infected people, but also home to warring factions of human survivors. This is a big old mess, but a compelling setting for survival horror games. One of the most interesting features in Dying Light 2 is how the city changes drastically according to the time of day.
Nightlife
When night fell, the streets were full of infected people. The safe option is to stay on the roof and wait for the sun to drive them back to the nest. However, if you feel brave, venturing into the depths of the city can bring you some high-quality loot. The interior of a building that is usually full of zombies suddenly becomes empty, with only a few lagging behind, allowing you to sneak in to obtain equipment and upgrades. Then, you only need to worry about the relative safety of success and return to the roof.
“The city changes at night,” Smektała said. “Citizens are hiding in their hiding places. The light of ultraviolet lamps can be seen everywhere. The silence of the night is interrupted by the sound of monsters climbing up the street. A world full of danger during the day becomes a completely different challenge at night. It’s empty, giving you the opportunity to explore and find useful and sometimes very valuable items.”
Techland described the setting of “Dying Light 2” as the “modern dark age”. Although most zombie games take place shortly or long after the outbreak, this story takes place when the world has recovered from the initial shock and started to rebuild. Smektała said: “Fifteen years have passed since the end of the world after the virus appeared. We have been trying to get New York City to reflect this in a realistic and credible way.” “We look for inspiration in the city where we live. We let us His imagination became crazy, and he wondered what would change if such a catastrophe happened.
“We imagined which parts of the city will retain people and which parts will be taken back by nature. What kind of living space people will create, and what kind of structure will be formed in the hands of people isolated from technology in the past 15 years. This is how the modern dark age was created—a civilization that returned to the Middle Ages in the modern era and had the memory of the world before its fall.”
Change all
Interestingly, the city is not a completely fixed and static environment. Part of it can change based on many decisions you make during the game. Meaningful player choices are what developers are after—including making you feel that the consequences of your actions are acting badly in front of you. As the story progresses, you will affect people’s lives in a small, personalized way, but you will also change the layout of the city itself.
“Your decision can shape the appearance of the place and influence the factions living in the city, and you will see the impact of this influence on the environment,” Smektała said. “It’s worth clearing the game more than once, or discovering everything affected by these choices in cooperation. There are some interesting side missions that have their own consequences,” he added. “When your actions inadvertently make the lives of other residents in this city difficult, you may even regret some choices.”
Since Aiden is a skilled free runner, traveling around the city becomes easier. The parkour system in Dying Light 2 is more complex and natural than previous games, and you can use more actions.
“Parkour is the essence of fading light,” Smektała said. “It is our beloved child that makes us proud. Bartos Cullon [programmer and designer] Coming to Adrian’Pyza’ Ciszewski [director] I said many years ago, “Yes, Dead Island is great, but what if we add rooftop running and climbing?” This is where the idea of ”Dying Light” was born.
“There are thousands of animations based on the actions of the legendary father of the discipline, David Belle, etc.. We have crazy parkour combinations that allow you to perform real wild acrobatics and tools, allowing us to make limited with new possibilities The human movement is diversified. In addition, there is an updated grappling hook and paraglider system, which increases the importance of gravity and natural movement in the game. It must be immersive and satisfying because the player moves in the city The main way is to walk.”
David Belle is a French actor, choreographer and stunt coordinator, as well as the founder and leading pioneer of parkour-so it is very important for him to participate in games featuring parkour. “David is an important part of the game,” Smektała said. “From the moment he played the role of Hakon, his motion capture session brought us extra realism, including many new animations. Of course, he has been the “father of parkour” for many years, starting from the first game, He became the inspiration and guide for our real parkour skills and amazing body movements. Without David Bell, we could not have imagined making “Dying Light 2″.”
Old cock
You need to master Aiden’s parkour skills to outwit the wider range of zombies in Dying Light 2, especially when you encounter Howler. “In the beginning, the Growler was a fixed enemy, almost like a CCTV camera, just scouting the area,” Smektała said. “However, as we were developing the game, we began to develop our stealth mechanism more.
“In all situations involving stealth, the growler naturally becomes the main obstacle. The enemy prototype has been with us from the beginning-it should be a sentry that can spot the player and warn other units around. But during the development process, We realized that we could use it to do more things, such as let it patrol the area. Growlers don’t actually take part in the sight. Instead, they make sharp screams to attract any infected person in the area, And lead them to your location.”
I asked Smektała about the balance of story and action in “Dying Light 2”. The team obviously pays more attention to storytelling, but to what extent? “Dying Light 2 is an action game,” he said. “We use parkour as a way to move freely around the world, rewarding battles, various weapons, and even parkour actions that you can use creatively in battle. The animation base is huge, allowing players to overcome the city in a spectacular way. Of many dangers.
“However, creating an interesting and fascinating story is also very important for us. People in the world will react to player actions and choices, and depending on your decision, they can become friends or enemies. There is another called The new system of city alignment, in which you can assign specific areas of the city to a faction, which of course may also affect the world and the story in interesting ways.”
There are three main factions in “Dying Light 2″. Peacekeepers are committed to eliminating all threats to mankind in the world. Smektała said: “They want to unite citizens on their viewpoints and fight for territory for a new society based on their principles.” “On the other hand, the survivors believe that their survival depends on them developing crafts and relearning ancient skills to thrive. The ability to grow. They value experimentation, art, culture and knowledge and pass them on to their children.”
Then, finally, the traitor. “They believe in sacrifice for the greater good,” Smektała said. “They are a ruthless, militarized criminal organization that resorts to unethical means to ensure their survival.” When you play Dying Light 2, you will be able to work for these three factions-but for the other faction. The enemy’s work will not be ignored.
How about the “Keep Human” subtitle in the game title? I asked Smektała what it means. “As you can imagine, in the end of the world, society becomes cruel and all its elements are reassessed. The title covers two issues, physical and mental. On the physical side, this is of course to avoid transformation caused by infection: Use biomarkers to control diseases and pay attention to ultraviolet radiation. In short, “keep humanity” as a creature prevents yourself from becoming a monster.
“The second layer, humanity, is about maintaining humanity according to the norms and principles we know. The world after the apocalypse has changed in almost every aspect. Will players be guided by personal interests and greater interests? Or take a different path altogether, it will depend on the player.”
You can decide which way to go when you release “Dying Light 2: Keep Human” on December 7.