Tears of the Kingdom Team Discusses Approach to Making the Game “Open-Air,” Skyward Sword Inspirations
Posted on May 10 2023 by Emi Curtis
The recent trend of open-world games within modern video gaming is undeniable. I would hazard to say that, ever since The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released in 2011, developers have been after that lightning in a bottle. The Zelda series itself even jumped aboard that train for Breath of the Wild, and to critical acclaim no less. It seems though, as the Zelda team faced the question of how to follow up the sprawling world of Breath of the Wild with a direct sequel, they decided the only direction to go was up. In the latest volume of “Ask the Developer,” an interview series that sits down with Nintendo execs, the Tears of the Kingdom team discussed the gameplay changes that came with adding a region in the sky.
Technical director Takuhiro Dohta and game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi had some child-like fantasies to share on the decision, as well as some insight gleaned from previous titles in the series:
Dohta: In contrast, we made some fairly big changes to the gameplay. In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, if players wanted to travel from the the sky to the ground, they had to select it from the map, but in this game, you can dive from the sky directly to the ground without any interruption.
On top of that, players can also ride on flying vehicles and so on, offering even more freedom within the same setting as the previous game. If a location were completely unfamiliar to you, you’d probably be hesitant to dive down from the sky, but because it’s a world that you’ve already explored in the previous game, these transportation methods make sense.
[Interviewer] Being able to dive from the sky to the surface and into a pond seamlessly in this title sure does feel exhilarating. It truly feels like an open-air game this time around.
Dohta: Adding the ability to dive from the sky was also partly due to Aonuma-san and Fujibayashi-san’s persistence, right? (Laughs)
Fujibayashi: Yeah. I’ve wanted to make this happen ever since The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Thinking how satisfying it’d be to dive from the sky and jump directly into the water. In this title, diving is not just about enjoying an exhilarating, seamless means of travel, but it also brings more value as a tool for gathering information about the surface by surveying it from above.
As a former indie game developer, I’m amused at how often people are surprised that developers are often motivated by simply how cool something is. Of course, the idea of cultivating a new perspective for the game, given it’s a familiar Hyrule we’ve seen before, was also important.
Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma joined Fujibayashi in explaining that the approach of using the sky was also chosen in order to create a new experience for players while they explore a world they already know:
So you’re saying that being able to look over Hyrule from above and descend from the sky further expands the scope of the gameplay, right?
Aonuma: That’s right. But when we talk about these things, many may think, “Well, you can’t enjoy this game unless you’ve already played the previous game and are familiar with the setting.” But the new gameplay ideas we packed into this title are all things that can be solved intuitively, so I think first-time players can rest assured that this game is easy to get into.
Fujibayashi: The same goes for the story too. We put in some effort to make sure that it feels comfortable for both first-time players and those with experience of the previous game. For example, we’ve prepared a Character Profile feature that players can see anytime during their adventure, so it’s easy to understand the relationship between characters, even without knowledge from the previous title.
On the other hand, those who have played the previous game may enjoy reading these profiles, because some of the content will make you grin and think, “Right, I remember that.”
I find the particular mentioning of the Character Profile feature interesting, as that ties in with some of the log features we’ve been seeing in official gameplay footage as of late. While I never had doubt the team would be taking efforts to make Tears of the Kingdom approachable for those who didn’t play Breath of the Wild, it is interesting to see exactly how they accomplish that.
With all this talk of diving directly to the surface from above, it’s got me wondering exactly how long it actually takes to fall the entire way. I also wonder if getting back up is particularly difficult on the off-chance my dive is a little less than intentional.
Regardless, it’s exciting to see how genuinely excited the team is to be lifting the curtain on the latest entry into the Zelda series after all this time. You can read all of Part 1 of the interview right here.
What are your thoughts? How do you feel about the emphasis on sky exploration? Are you happy to see a more seamless relationship between the sky and the surface? What places do you want to dive down to in Hyrule? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Nintendo
Emi Curtis is an associate editor with Zelda Dungeon, having originally joined the team in late 2020. She is a freelance artist, programmer, and streamer with a healthy love of both the creative and analytical. She can frequently be found playing RPGs and Adventure games, her favorite of which being The Wind Waker. She is also quite fond of playing Zelda Randomizers. Currently, she hosts a tabletop RPG series on Twitch and operates a freelance illustration business. She can be found on Twitter and Twitch as her VTuber alter-ego Gwen Myoty, creating nerdy artwork, dungeon mastering tabletop games, and playing RPGs.
