Dying Light 2 Devs Share Interesting Fact About Hakon’s Origin

Dying Light 2 developers revealed the interesting background of Hakon one of the many characters players face in the game. Showing where they took some inspiration to make one of the NPCs that give brings some life into the game.

Hakon is a member of the Nightrunners, a faction that used to help people despite the dangers of the night. Players get to meet this character just as they enter the city. Not too long after, Hakon saves them from being hanged by the people of the Bazaar, giving the player an inhibitor and helping him get a biomarker. Most players did not know this character’s real background, but the developers gave out some information regarding its inspiration.

Recently, Dying Light 2 developers tweeted a small but interesting fact about Hakon, revealing more about its origin and inspiration. It turns out that Hakon was based around the parkour legend known as David Belle. He is considered the father of Parkour, an interesting sport that focuses on moving as efficiently and fast as possible in any environment. Something featured through many games like Mirror’s Edge, Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs, and now the Dying Light Franchise.

David Belle is the founder of the Parkour Worldwide Association, an association made to bring all parkour enthusiasts together while developing and spreading the sport all over the world. Right now, David Belle is retired from the said association, but he is the face of the sport.

This way of moving has been present in many games in recent years, with Mirror’s Edge being one of the first in taking a more grounded approach. David Belle not only let the developer takes some of his likenesses to base the character, but he did also perform motion capture for the game, letting developers take a closer look at his movement and implement it into the game.

This is one of the few times where games imitate reality. The fact that the developers got in touch with one of the biggest names in the sport while allowing him to contribute to the game shows the level of commitment and dedication of the team to bring the best experience to players all over the world. Now, fans of the game can know how and why this character was made the way he is.

Dying Light 2 is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.