Shigeru Miyamoto Explains How 3D Will Improve Zelda’s Gameplay
Posted on November 08 2010 by Nathanial Rumphol-Janc
As for Nintendo 3DS, of course, we’ll be making both types of games. It’s not the issue of which is more attractive because each one has its own appeal. In the past 3D “Mario” games, and 3D “Zelda” games for that matter, if there were several floors at the same height, it was hard for the players to tell if each one of them was located with the same distance between them or if just one was further away and higher than the other floors. On Nintendo 3DS, you can readily understand the height and distance of the next floor in front of you. You can feel the difference by switching between the 2D and 3D modes.
You might have had a hard time trying to jump on a stump or to hit a floating question-mark block in 3D Mario until now, but you will be able to do so easily on Nintendo 3DS. In addition, Mario and Link will both have more vivid presences. When I make games, I take great care of such details as the body weights of the players’ characters. When the character jumps, can the player feel the weight? When the character lands, does the land feel like it is acting as a cushion? How long should the character stand still in order for the player to feel the weight of the character’s body? I think about a number of such details. By making 3D games on Nintendo 3DS, such minute details can be felt, and the players can feel as if the world exists.
While none of this isn’t anything we couldn’t assume would be automatically improved by the addition of 3D, I must admit that I had never looked at it in this light. When we think of 3D we usually think of visuals popping out at us, or getting the feeling of being inside a virtual world. What I hadn’t actually considered was how this depth of field actually improves the experience to more accurately control the character and get a better feel for their weight. Thinking about this, it could have a major effect on our experience with Ocarina of Time 3DS.
Having very little experience with 3D gaming myself, I know most of the time it felt gimmicky to me. The more I think about it now, however, the more I realize the impact that depth of field actually creates. Know that ledge that you sometimes can’t depict is there at first glance? Now that landscape has character and depth, making it more easily seen. Know that jump you sometimes miss? Now that you have the depth to perceive it better, you will be able to more consistently make that jump accurately. This is a massive gameplay improvement that I had never considered until reading this. This is is why Miyamoto is the gaming mastermind, and I am just a gamer like all of you.
Keeping this perspective at the forefront of our thoughts, what other ways do you see 3D improving the overall gameplay experience?
Source: GoNintendo
