STACK #149 Mar 2017

FEATURE GAMES

the global numbers game ZELDA

there a cultural difference in the value of eating between Japan and the west? The word ‘Wild’ is in the subtitle and ‘survival’ is one of the main concepts of this game. We thought this would be an unprecedented Zelda title if players could have a lot of

One of the characteristics of this title is that it's up to the player how the game progresses

freedom, and even find their own way of recovering the hearts on this vast land. One of the developmental directions was breaking conventions. I don’t think there are any cultural differences in the way

1 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 8.3 million 2 The Legend of Zelda:

Aside from graphical upgrades, what does a

‘eating’ is perceived by Japanese and western cultures. When you’re hungry, you want to have a delicious

more high-powered console bring to the Zelda experience? The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the

meal, and that should be the same for everyone. We consulted the American team and the European team to help us understand the kind of food that is appreciated in other countries. They checked the images of the food as we developed. Please look forward to seeing which kinds of meals appear in the game. What's the secret to a good Zelda puzzle? I think interesting puzzles can be designed based on experiments that you would have done in science class as a child. I don’t know if you learn the same things in other countries, but we grew up doing experiments with magnets, fire, ice, etc. It’s best to base the puzzles on something that anyone could understand. Much has been made of the enormous size of Breath of theWild . Can you talk about some of the challenges involved in creating a Zelda game of such unprecedented scale? How do you keep players focused in an open-world game of this magnitude? We really had to think about how to ensure a balance in the degree of details in the game experience. You may think we would have to include a whole lot of things and various eye-catching landscape features to keep things interesting in such vast space. However, we maintained a good balance in the level of details. The entire production team played the actual game many times to ensure a smooth, balanced gameplay. We were all very careful in understanding what exactly we were creating, and what had to be done next in order to make the game even better. There are areas where we want you to view from afar, areas where we want you to search, areas that appear dodgy… we

Wild can be played for a very long time. You could spend a lot of time searching a particular section of a massive area. I believe it is great that you could take the game with you anywhere. There are various games, including little five- minute ones as well as dungeon captures that you would want to sit back and work on for some time. There are different ways to enjoy the game at all times, in any way you like. I can’t tell you in too much detail because I don’t want to give away anything… but my favourite is a warrior that has a lot to do with the story of the Gerudo People. He is a dignified and sophisticated character. You will know which one I’m talking about once you come across the character in the game. Who is your favourite character addition to Breath of theWild ?

Ocarina of Time 7.6 million 3

The Legend of Zelda 6.5 million units 4 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 4.6 million 5 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 3.6 million 6 The Legend of Zelda:

Eating in games isn't uncommon – what led to its implementation in Breath of theWild ? Is

Majora’s Mask 3.6 million 7

designed the landscaping, tricks and placement of enemies in each of these areas so that players could instinctively work out what to do. We look forward

The Legend of Zelda: A Link BetweenWorlds 2.9 million

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is out now

to having you play the game and sense the messages hidden in our design.

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