Nintendo has released a three-part video series giving a behind the scenes look into the creation of Breath of the Wild. In the first video titled The Beginning, we get a first-hand look at the early conception of Breath of the Wild with Director Hidemaro Fujibayshi. Turns out development started way back in January 2013.
The creators has a catchphrase, “break the conventions of the Zelda series.” This helped them get creative while working on the title. A 2D Zelda prototype helped come up with some of the gameplay ideas that were later included in Breath of the Wild.
The inspiration behind the Sheikah Slate is also explored, with the idea stemming from the Jōmon period in prehistoric Japan. Shines and other ancient structures had an aesthetic in that era that Nintendo mimicked in Breath of the Wild.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VgBz9XiT6k
In a video exploring the open-air concept of the game, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma discusses how previous titles felt limited in what they allowed players to explore. In Wind Waker the concept of open exploration was pushed, but due to hardware limitations not as many islands were included for players to find and investigate. Breath of the Wild seeks to provide an entirety open world that the series has been reaching for since its origins on the NES.
To decide the size of Breath of the Wild’s open world, the Nintendo team actually took the geography of their location in Koyto, Japan. At completion, the map is 12 times the size of Twilight Princess.
The video also takes a look at the combat system, piano-centric music, and creation of sound effects like Link’s footsteps or a bokoblin picking its nose.
Finally, we get a look at Breath of the Wild’s intriguing cast of colourful characters and its over-arching story. Extra care was taken to the design and inclusion of Link, Zelda, and Ganon, since their roles in the story were so integral.
The enemies in Breath of the Wild are also explored, with a great anecdote about how the Guardians came to be shared from Mr. Aonuma. Turns out after a conversation with a one of the staff about how the Octoroks in the first Zelda always seemed so huge, they sought to recreate an enemy with this in mind within Breath of the Wild and created the Guardians.
Zelda’s character ended up being the hardest to design, with subtle changes occurring all during development. Her personality is described as a mix between her appearances in Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess. Almost flirty with Link at times, but others very serious and quiet. Art director Satoru Talkizawa expects her to become the most popular character in the game.
How did you like taking a behind the scenes look at Breath of the Wild? Are they any aspects of the game you would still like to know about? Let us know below.
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