The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time news, direct from the production area! The Zelda team chosen by Shigeru Miyamoto created Zelda 64 with surprising stubbornness! One part of that stubbornness was to do a stubborn interview. We’ll pass on a small part of that interview from the top of Hobonichi’s nearby tree.
(1-1) Miyamoto Talks Zelda (Part 1)
Shigeru Miyamoto begins to speak.
Hobonichi: Please explain why you said “I want to make a game, not a movie”.
Miyamoto: Well, if I didn’t say “This isn’t a movie”, I would be misunderstood people who are trying to make one. I wanted to avoid that. I was first employed at Nintendo when it was a card shop. At that time I found it interesting to make things that no one understood, that didn’t exist before.
When making a game, I didn’t really think it would be convenient to produce it like a movie. I knew that what we made needed to be interesting and convenient for the users. The organization of games and movies is similar, but the presentation is distinctly different, you see. Koichi Sugiyama once said “Game music is just a parody of movie music”, but I strongly disagree. When a game is presented, it’s not meant to be treated as only a movie parody. As game developers our intention is to create something that is movie-like but not a movie, game-like but not a game, an arena that no one has yet experienced.
Because games require a powerful presentation, I suppose that in some cases the benefits of a movie-like production would be reaped. However, everyone involved with this project was thinking “let’s make a new media capable of competing with movies”.
Games are becoming closer and closer to movies, but are they leaning on movies or leaning on their attraction? There are over 50 people who worked on this new Zelda. However, this team decided not to act like a movie studio.
Hobonichi: So, what’s the difference between Mario Miyamoto and Zelda Miyamoto?
Miyamoto: I’ve been the same person all through Mario and Zelda. The only difference is me saying “How would it be if we had battles?” or “How about putting in some element of aging?”.
At the beginning, there was only Hyrule Castle. You couldn’t move around much, and I was thinking about making a game without a lot of space. Mario was mostly created in that image. *laughs*
In RPG games, the things in the rooms make you feel scared, so they were “scary games”, but since Link first appeared, he’s undergone a complete change. So, what makes him different from Mario?
Mario is a game sizzling with heat and cold, while Zelda is a little more putrid. I wanted to make a game like that, something that felt like it was entwined with a scent. I researched a way to create this presentation.
Now I wonder if I can create a completely new game on the system early next year. I strip away all the excess in a game so only the pure remains. I am always thinking about how much more can be done to achieve perfection.
I didn’t write the Zelda story myself but I have no interest in that, I don’t have the talent. My interest lies more in “What sort of people will there be?”. That is to say, “There’s this person, so what will that person do?”.
In Zelda, you can also enjoy 8 puzzles, each their own dungeon and boss. I look after that. I also decide if Link will use an ocarina or a horse, as well as things like “if there is a monster, where will it’s weaknesses be?” or “if there is a horse, what must you do to ride it?”. It’d be fun to race around in Apollo’s boots, sure, but riding a horse over an open field feels fantastic.
As for the Ocarina, being able to play your instrument freely and putting on a concert, my job was to bring the game to that point. Aside from that, I bring things to a close and fix small problems. Unlike Kurosawa I do not sketch everything by myself and have it arranged by my staff. Long ago I was the director for Mario 64, but with this new game I had not intended to write anything specific, just produce. However I delayed the production on a whim and ended up writing 1/4th of the material.
“(1-1) Miyamoto Talks Zelda” has ended. The interview continues from here, so please check back for updates!
1998-11-16-MON