Zelda Series Producer Says “Dungeon Maker” Not Likely to Happen, Feels Tears of the Kingdom Fulfills Those Creative Needs
Posted on December 17 2023 by Kristen G. Rosario
When the remake to Link’s Awakening came out four years ago, we were psyched to see that the Zelda team were adding a small dungeon maker mode to the game. While it’s not exactly what we’ve been wanting, some fans felt this was a tease towards something big down the road. According to a recent Polygon interview with series producer Eiji Aonuma and Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, this doesn’t look like a feature that’ll be brought back for the foreseeable future.
During the interview, the Tears of the Kingdom developers discussed moving the Zelda series beyond the Nintendo Switch, as well as what’s to come in the franchise’s future. When asked about the possibility of getting a dungeon maker game in the vein of something like Super Mario Maker, Aonuma said he doesn’t think that a start-from-scratch aspect would be a “good fit.”
He even went so far as to say that the newest Zelda title meets the creative fulfillment that fans have been wanting:
Polygon: Is there ever a world where you could imagine a Zelda game that allows people to make their own dungeons, almost like Super Mario Maker?
Aonuma: When we’re creating games like Tears of the Kingdom, I think it’s important that we don’t make creativity a requirement. Instead we put things into the game that encourage people to be creative, and give them the opportunity to be creative, without forcing them to. There are people who want the ability to create from scratch, but that’s not everyone. But I think everyone delights in the discovery of finding your own way through a game, and that is something we tried to make sure was included in Tears of the Kingdom; there isn’t one right way to play. If you are a creative person, you have the ability to go down that path. But that’s not what you have to do; you’re also able to proceed to the game in many other different ways. And so I don’t think that it would be a good fit for The Legend of Zelda to necessarily require people to build things from scratch and force them to be creative.
Considering the amount of creativity already shown from players over the past several months with Tears of the Kingdom, you can see where Aonuma’s coming from when he talks about those creative needs. Somebody just recently built Godzilla (of all things) in the game, so that is pretty incredible. On top of that, there’s a whole website dedicated to unique crafts you can create in the title as well.
However, there are still those Zelda fans out there who want the full 100% creative control. Take series creator Shigeru Miyamoto for instance; he’s the one who convinced Aonuma to add “Mario Maker-like gameplay” to the Link’s Awakening remake which led to the creation of the custom dungeon mode. There’s even been quite a few spiritual “Zelda Maker” titles that have been successfully able to see the light of day.
What do you think about Eiji Aonuma’s thoughts on a Zelda dungeon maker game? Is the creativity that Tears of the Kingdom provides enough for you? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Polygon
Kristen G. Rosario is an Editor who joined Zelda Dungeon back in September of 2015. His current goal is to become a full-time video game journalist, hoping to eventually gain a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. While he pursues that dream, he not only takes care of his adorable dachshund Angel, but also helps run a YouTube channel with his brother. The Zelda series is a quest he hasn’t fully completed yet, but hopes to get there one day.
