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| Brett Wooley |
And we have the full details for you.
09.18.15 - 5:34 PM
Square Enix posted their live stream for a Dragon Quest Builders stage event. With this, we now have over 30 minutes of gameplay footage, plus enthusiastic Japanese dialogue (which is all I want for Christmas). If partying all the time like Eddie Murphy's girl isn't your kind of night out, then Squeenix has you covered! Skip over to the 9 minute mark (unless you understand Japanese) and let the show begin:
If you would prefer to get the facts straight, then I have you covered like a warm blanket from the dryer.
- The game is going to be a slower Minecraft for advanced players. The mechanic to control the placement of blocks seems to detect well, but you can tell the difference in speed and accuracy. However, there seems to be some control mechanics that might make building easier, as it looks like the player was able to strafe in a straight line while building.
- There's a submenu that corresponds to a blueprint you can place on the ground. If the ground meets the prerequisites (in this case, being flat), you can build that structure. Successfully building it, will provide you with Camp Points (which seems to be the game's leveling system).
- As structures were built Camp Points rose. If any remodeling was done outside of the initial design, the points were either lost or gained. If you accrue enough Camp Points, you gain a level along with new crafting recipes.
- Your character has a HP bar that slowly regenerates if lost. You also have a hunger bar, represented by adorable loaves of bread.
- There seems to be a larger restriction on your holding inventory than in Minecraft. Maybe you can craft a backpack later? Also, you can break blocks you've set and return them to your inventory.
- From what we've seen, combat is solely for survival and resource acquisition. This is interesting, as combat in a Dragon Quest game is almost completely unavoidable. Just like in Minecraft, dying forces you to drop what is in your inventory.
- You can't swim, nor can you place blocks in the water. When the player tried to build a bridge over it, the game would not even allow it. Falling in the water restarts you nearby, with a loss of 10 HP. The water and border restrictions might be due to the demo.
- When the player attempted to dig, they were able to get reasonably far, until the ground would no longer take damage. Also, the player never switched to a first person mode, so all you get is an outline of yourself if there is a visual obstruction. Looks like spelunking may not be a factor in this game.
Since the game exists within Alefgard, it would be interesting if it ties into the Erdrick trilogy (Dragon Quest I - III). I say this because part of your mission is to build homes and stores for NPC's to occupy. This is after the land is destroyed by THE DRAGONLORD (AKA the final boss of Dragon Quest I). Also, I overheard a rearranged version of DQ1's Overworld theme, while the player was in the field. Maybe I'm just crazy, but I'm just following the evidence.
Dragon Quest Builders will be out in Japan on January 28th for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita. No word on a Western release yet.
