The world of Dark Souls II doesn't exactly inspire frolicking in beach sandals and cut-offs. It's a cold, wet place. But the latest DLC, Crown of the Ivory King, is downright freezing.
At a recent roundtable discussion at Namco Bandai headquarters in Tokyo, Dark Souls II director Yui Tanimura discussed the thinking behind the DLC's wintery setting.
"The purpose of the DLC is to provide another experience to gamers," said Tanimura. The post-launch downloadable content seemed like the best way to offer a snow-covered Dark Souls experience to players.
"The snow-storm climb changes and isn't stable," Tanimura explained. So, depending on the weather, the path that players take—and the tricks and traps that can be sprung along that route—vary with the weather. This kind of gameplay is different from other Dark Souls experiences.
"During development, initially, we had it so the weather could actually impact your character's health," Tanimura said. "But the gameplay wasn't that fun, so we removed that element." Instead, the focus is being thrown into a snowstorm and getting lost in the blizzard.
Dark Souls II: Crown of the Ivory King will be released on Xbox 360 and PS3 on September 24.
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