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Dragon Quest XI's producer goes over the challenge of including the game's 2D mode

Double the work!
by rawmeatcowboy
26 September 2019
GN Version 5.0

Dragon Quest XI S is a fully-fledged 3D JRPG for those expecting a more modern take on the franchise. If you're an old-school fan, the game is also completely playable in 2D. It's honestly like having two games in one! In an interview with RPGSite, Dragon Quest XI producer Hokuto Okamoto talks about the challenge of representing the entire 3D experience in 2D.

Oh, it was hard. As you mentioned, the design of these areas is quite different and the size of the maps is very different between 2D and 3D. We still wanted players to recognize that the cities are the same even if they're really quite different. We had to choose what to leave in and what to leave out in terms of the geography of things, which landmarks to keep in the 2D version and so on... that was difficult, to determiner what we'd leave in and what we'd take out.

Another thing is that the text is different in 3D and 2D - so we have to manage all that at the same time. If we change one, it doesn't mean that the other changes automatically... so we had to change everything one-by-one. That was hard work. I never want to do that again! [laughs]

Thanks to Dakhil for the heads up!

[Link]