use strict;
my $str = 'It was a {{color, default=black}} and scary {{phase}}. As the {{animals, default=dogs}} {{make_sound, default=barked}} and the trees swayed {{setting, default=to the breeze}}, a {{size, default=}} {{monster, default=troll}} that emerged from the shadows.';
my $regex = qr/\{\{(?:(?!\}\}).)*?default=(.*?)\}\}/mip;
my $subst = '\\1';
my $result = $str =~ s/$regex/$subst/rg;
print "The result of the substitution is' $result\n";
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Perl, please visit: http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html