Interview:Ocarina of Time Development - Dungeons Part 2

The original interview can be found in its entirety at <a href="http://www.1101.com/nintendo/nin1/nin1-8.htm" target="new">1101</a>. Translation thanks to <a href="http://www.glitterberri.com/ocarina-of-time/1101-interviews/dungeons-part-2" target="new">Glitterberri</a>

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time news, direct from the production area! The Zelda team chosen by Shigeru Miyamoto created Zelda 64 with surprising stubbornness! One part of that stubbornness was to do a stubborn interview. We'll pass on a small part of that interview from the top of Hobonichi's nearby tree.

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(1-8) Looks Like the Dungeons Are Difficult in This Zelda (Part 2)

Eiji Onozuka (Dungeon Design): Since the beginning Zelda has always had jars in dungeons from which you can obtain hearts or other replenishing items. It’s a bother to go back outside and heal once you are halfway through the dungeon, so of course this Zelda’s no different.

At the start of the game, we made the dungeons easy to navigate with simple puzzles for you to solve. We didn’t want anyone getting frustrated and giving up just after they’d started, so we put in a lot of healing items in the form of grass you can cut to obtain hearts and such. From the middle onwards, you have to do your best with a limited supply of supplements.

We tried to put in lots of rupee-filled treasure chests at first, but people ended up getting annoyed wondering why there were so many rupees in a place where they were totally useless.

The most difficult aspect of Ocarina of Time was the matter of "what could we put in, at what point in time, in what place, that would make the player happy?" However, as we were separated from the consumers, we didn’t get all the data we needed by the end. At the point in time that Link arrived at the dungeon, it took awhile for us to decide what sort of condition he’d be in and things he’d need as a result.

In the Super Nintendo games, there weren’t many items lying around so it was easy to manage the amounts and types, but in Ocarina of Time there are different wallet sizes and the amount of money the player has is totally different. When the player arrived at a dungeon, did they already have enough money? Were they unexpectedly missing an item they needed? We had to think of things like that and put a lot of jars around so players could acquire or replenish what they needed to complete the dungeon.

In this game you have the option of being a child or an adult. Thusly, we considered such things as how much money you would be able to carry as a child or what sort of hindrances you would encounter due to your age. We had to try and prepare things differently than previous games in order to make the material interesting.

I, personally, really like the Forest Temple. It was the very first dungeon we designed in Ocarina of Time. At that time we envisioned a lot of material and tried to recreate our ideas. We made the game’s characters around the same time.

At the center of the Forest Temple lies the twisting pathway. When you go through it, you can reach items you couldn’t before. We wouldn’t have been able to make something like that if the game hadn’t been 3D. It’s easy to think "wow, the path twists!" but the designers actually had a lot of trouble with it. I think they spent about a week tormenting themselves over how to make it work. Because the designers were new to this, I drew them a picture to explain how the path should twist. In the end they did their best and managed to pull it off pretty well.

In the Water Temple, the player was required to solve puzzles in not just one room, but travel countless times to and from an area in order to unlock the solution. We were often told how stressful this was. I just wanted the player to relax and take it easy, play around a bit. I’m a fan of skin diving, you see. *laughs* I like being in the water! *laughs* Besides, as long as you have the right items, you can stay in the water forever.

As for the Fire Temple, we created a huge dungeon. Our aim was to allow the player to play around and enjoy the temple, something I believe we were successful at.

Back in the Water Temple, there’s a place where Link can use his hookshot to climb the waterfall. I used a rare one-handed calculator to calculate each hookshot point. I usually spent my time doing more important things, but that day I did something unlike me and worked on the little details. I hope you enjoy yourself there! Each dungeon holds a memory, so make sure to take your time and have fun.

"(1-8) Looks Like the Dungeons Are Difficult in This Zelda (Part 2)" has ended. The interview continues from here, so please check back for updates!