Aonuma:
So we ultimately determined that the setting of this sport would contain a number of giant, mysterious rifts showing in Hyrule. We needed to provide you with one thing that wasn’t a monster however one thing that may make a princess assume, “That is unhealthy! I’ve to do one thing!”.
A princess is a daughter of the rulers of a rustic. So I believed that the motivation to combat is that the world of Hyrule is being destroyed and adjusted.
Sano:
Even after we determined to make rifts part of the sport’s setting, the design was nonetheless a problem. The story is that contained in the rifts lies the Nonetheless World, the place individuals and issues go once they’re swallowed up. Nobody has ever seen a spot like that.
It is easy to say, “The bottom cracked, and under that may be a world of void”. However the designers from Grezzo who needed to develop these concepts into visuals had been scratching their heads with questions like, “How does the rift broaden?”, “How deep does it go?” and, “How will we present the transition between the sport subject and the world of void?”. (Laughs)
Terada:
And, since they seem in numerous locations round Hyrule, they want to have the ability to be positioned anyplace, together with on the bottom, on high of buildings, on water, or in lava, and so forth. We needed to understand that the placements of rifts might change based mostly on degree design or that the rifts might seem or disappear at any time at completely different factors within the story. It was extraordinarily tough to create one thing visually new underneath such restrictions.
There is a mysterious area contained in the rifts that is completely different from the common world.
Aonuma:
I did not need to depict something too merciless in a world the place the principle protagonist is not a fighter per se, however I nonetheless wanted to ship a way of hazard approaching Hyrule. It was fairly difficult to create that.
Sano:
We additionally had a tough time creating the scene wherein the king is swallowed by a rift, which is one among Princess Zelda’s largest motivations for setting out on her journey.
Terada:
Although creating the preliminary world setting was tough, we additionally thought of what function Hyperlink would play within the sport. What would occur to the sword if the gameplay targeted on echoes? Can this character even exist on this sport? The Legend of Zelda sequence has a grand historic lineage. How ought to I put it? How far ought to we delve into the lore of The Legend of Zelda?
There’s definitely a historical past of Hyrule that ties your complete sequence collectively. If you happen to take too many liberties, you need to watch out whether or not it is nonetheless “Legend of Zelda-like”.
Aonuma:
Proper, it’s totally tough to stability how a lot so as to add or change. At first, we had been deliberately leaving any elements that may delve into Hyrule’s historical past obscure, however partway by means of, we simply could not discover a approach ahead that approach… So, round final summer season, we determined to carry a boot camp and work out the story there.
Terada:
It really was a boot camp, certainly.
Aonuma:
Even there, Grezzo did not supply any in-depth options in regards to the story at first. So, I went again to the lodge, rapidly wrote a script that may work, and introduced it with me the subsequent day. Then, all of us contributed numerous parts that usually happen in The Legend of Zelda sequence to the script. Utilizing this methodology, we ultimately accomplished the sport’s story.
Sano:
Over a number of periods, we spent 9 days on the boot camps in whole, working from morning till evening. (Laughs)
Aonuma:
Nowadays, even for us, it isn’t straightforward to the touch on the lore of The Legend of Zelda sequence. Whenever you tackle the historical past of The Legend of Zelda, you naturally should take heed to how issues have been expressed beforehand within the sequence. However once we take into consideration a brand new sport, we want to consider new developments whereas being conscious of the previous video games within the sequence, so the scope of what you are able to do turns into more and more slim if you happen to assume in the identical approach each time.
On high of that, as a result of the sequence has been operating for a very long time, gamers are all for its historical past and lore. So, once we’ve adopted a sport plot that was not in keeping with the opposite video games within the sequence as a result of we prioritised the gameplay, we have been informed by our followers that it did not make sense. We realised that even when the builders did not intend to make nonsensical adjustments, gamers might interpret in any other case.
I see. So the builders must take these sorts of participant reactions into consideration when making a story.
Aonuma:
Even with this title, we had no intention of building any new theories within the sequence’ lore. Hyperlink goes on an journey each time and experiences many issues. However Princess Zelda has at all times needed to take a step again in The Legend of Zelda sequence.
However this time, Princess Zelda is on her personal journey, so the story takes on a unique perspective than earlier than. I believe that is why we had been capable of create one thing new by way of the story as properly.
Chapter 4: That genuine “Legend of Zelda-like” feeling – Coming September twenty fifth