Aonuma on Tingle’s Origins: Weird Guy, Map Maker, Not Gay

Tingle has always been one of the quirkier characters in the Zelda franchise since his introduction in 2000 as a map maker in Majora’s Mask. Since then, the 35-year-old has made numerous appearances across the Zelda series, including as a new character in DLC for Hyrule Warriors.

Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma recently spoke about Tingle’s origins in an interview with Kotaku and had a lot to say about where this green-clad character comes from and how he was designed.

Aonuma started off by discussing how Tingle’s zany nature began with the decision to have players purchase their maps in

Majora’s Mask.

“So, we thought, what if you had to buy maps? Then suddenly we needed a character that you would be buying maps from. We ultimately ended up with a character here that had a little bit of humor to him that [came from] thinking of…’What sort of person would sell a map?’ And, well, we decided it would be the kind of person who makes a map. And the way that he makes a map is by floating through the air so that he can see the contours of the land and draw them.

“But as soon as we got that far in the process, we realized anybody that would fly through the air making a map has got to be a really weird person. So at that point we decided, okay, we’ll go with this and make him a really weird guy.”

— Eiji Aonuma

Aonuma also said the concept for Tingle’s character was the inspiration for his visual design, rather than the other way around.

“So when we made the character, we had this notion that one of the ways he might be a little bit weird is that he had this notion that he never wanted to grow up. And so I think, to that extent the clothes do fit this image of him. And the whole thing comes together as a very Peter Pan kind of visual. You know, if you think about it, it’s this guy in his 30s in a green suit and is flying and never wants to grow up, it all sort of comes together around that.”

— Eiji Aonuma

Finally, Aonuma was asked to address one aspect of Tingle’s character that

some fans have speculated about for years: whether or not Tingle is gay. Aonuma only had this to say:

“He’s not gay. He’s just an odd person.”

— Eiji Aonuma

For the full interview, be sure to check out Kotaku’s article

here.

What do you think about these revelations? How do you feel Tingle fits in with the broader

Zelda universe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Source: Kotaku via Nintendo Everything