Dragon's Dogma 2 cooking features "real meat" - does that mean vegans shouldn't play it?
rockpapershotgun.comDragon's Dogma series director Hideaki Itsuno has announced that the meat you can cook in Dragon's Dogma 2 is, in fact, "real meat". There's been a certain amount of PlayStation-instigated speculation about whether the meat is CGI-generated, following the last round of Dragon's Dogma 2 previews. Speaking to Japanese site 4Gamer, as translated by Automaton, Itsuno revealed that the game's scenes of sizzling flesh are derived from live action film of steaks being grilled - partly for the sake of authenticity, and partly to save money versus creating computer models of meat products. You can cook several types of meat in Dragon's Dogma, each of which has its own cutscene, and a number of Dragon's Dogmatists are already performatively salivating at the prospect on social media.
The fact that, technically, a bunch of animals died to create Dragon's Dogma 2 is a reminder that meat production and consumption are pervasive phenomena that extend well beyond the act of eating. Meat byproducts appear in or are used to create all kinds of crazy things, and carnism shapes culture in vast and complex ways. Gelatin derived from animal protein is used to coat paper, bind match stick heads and test the passage of bullets through bodies. The ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft is coated in burned cow bones to help it endure the sun's radiation. Strictly speaking, it's impossible to be a vegan and spend paper money in the UK, because our banknotes contain animal fat. And now, you could argue, it's impossible to be vegan and play Dragon's Dogma 2. Hmm.
Speaking of performativeness, it's at this point that I must yet again whip off my hood, arrange my features into a diabolical rictus, and announce that I am, in fact, one of those perfidious vegans. "Lord have mercy!" you gasp, reeling back from the screen and defensively stuffing a handful of pork scratchings into your mouth, while making a sign to avert evil spirits (assuming you're not also vegan). Be calm, friend! I am not going to
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