Eiji Aonuma, one of the key figures behind The Legend of Zelda franchise, has discussed the Zelda HD tech demo and as to whether it provided a glimpse at the direction in which the series may go in future.
“The Zelda HD experience that we showed on the floor, of course I was involved with the project,” Aonuma began. “The whole thing was really based around the idea of ‘What can we do with an HD system?’ and using Zelda as a theme, or piece, to build on.”
He continued, “We really concepted it out and we had all sorts of parties involved in making it, so people from both inside and outside of the company joined hands on this one and brought the experience to life, and I, of course, was involved.”
The industry was resoundingly impressed when Nintendo unveiled a tech demo for GameCube featuring realistic graphics, only for Nintendo to then later introduce the cartoon styling of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker – something that has long since divided opinion amongst stalwart fans. Aonuma assured that it was the best fit for both the gameplay and hardware.
“I really want to emphasise here that what we did for the Wii U Zelda HD experience was simply objectively look at a style that would showcase the HD capabilities of the system, and use Zelda as a backdrop for that. With Wind Waker, we ended up going for a toon-shaded style as we thought it was the best fit for gameplay and the hardware at the time.”
He then commented that the same approach would be taken with the Wii U, in providing players with an artistic style and experience that is best for the company’s latest console.
“In a very similar fashion, when the time comes when we consider making a Wii U Zelda we’re going to look at the art style that best behues the gameplay and the system, and the components of the experience,” Aonuma commented. “So, at this point there is nothing decided as to using that art style elsewhere.”
Aonuma was then queried as to what he believed contributed to making a great entry within The Legend of Zelda series.
“I think that one of the most important themes in making a good Zelda game is bringing something really unique to the table in terms of experience,” he explained.
“I think that in general the industry are always coming up with new ideas, but in looking into what we try and do ith Zelda we try and what we can think of as individuals and as part of the Zelda team,” Aonuma continued.
“What ideas are uniquely ours that only we can pull off, and then try as best we can to fit with the world feel of each individual Zelda game, and when those come together well I think things go well.”
You can catch the video interview below:
[Thanks, IGN]
