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.

(1-18) The Burning Thoughts of the Staff (Part 2)

Toru Osawa (Script Director): I brought my kid to the office on days off to test out the game. We got a bunch of people to be testers, and we’d gather their opinions because we wanted them to be reflected in the game as much as possible. I think being able to do that was our greatest strength. The speed of the fights and the lightness of Link’s footwork are the things I’m most proud of.

My kid is in 6th grade, and I’m 36 years old. I had to calculate it in my head. *laughing* I was a little worried that the game’s controls would be difficult, but my kid was great at it, so it was a bit of a letdown.

We were, of course, thinking about how we could continue making things interesting for the player. However, it takes a certain kind of strength to do so. It’s the same thing you need to grow rice. The soil is barren, the seeds are bad, the spouts are harvested too soon… maybe you know how to harvest or have a good sickle, but you don’t have a pair of helping hands… or maybe you have a lot of people, but you don’t have good implements.

Not to mention the people who are going to eat the rice are gourmets. But despite it all you still have to keep up your output, so you’ve got to make it as palatable as possible and serve it as best you can. People these days care a lot about certain aspects of games. This Zelda’s going to be difficult to play, and I know full well there will be voices calling for it to be easier, but I’d like them to do their best. I just want tell them that if they can surmount it, a wonderful 3D world awaits them.

These days it’s said that all games are similar. Of course we on the creative end aren’t happy about it, but players, kids and adults included, don’t have even enough strength to play a lot of games. We definitely want to feel as though we’re continuing to challenge ourselves to create something new.

Just as I was thinking about this, I was watching my kid playing games at home and it felt as though the game was playing itself. It looked very linear, and when I asked “Is it fun?” the response was “Yep.” I wondered if, in games, too, players wanted to go through from beginning to end without acting for themselves, simply pressing the buttons and receiving a flow of information like watching television or a movie. It made me think. Exploring the world on their own, learning the controls, searching for the way to turn the pages, it doesn’t make them happy anymore. The guidebooks go on sale at the same time as the games themselves.

We’re quick to give up and collapse to the ground. We must’ve had it rough as kids. *laughs* It makes me want to say “You guys are weak,” more than you can imagine.

But it’s a mistake for us creators to arrogantly say that they already know as much as they need to know. We have to make the game as palatable as possible, to make the players want to take a bite out of the hard parts, to place those morsels in their mouths as naturally as we can and have them chew on them without noticing. That seasoning or method of presentation, that’s our responsibility. I believe that that’s our job.

“(1-18) The Burning Thoughts of the Staff (Part 2)” has ended. The interview continues from here, so please check back for updates!

1998-12-25-FRI

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.

(1-18)

The Burning Thoughts of the Staff (Part 2)

Toru Osawa (Script Director):

I brought my kid to the office on days off to test out the game. We got a bunch of people to be testers, and we’d gather their opinions because we wanted them to be reflected in the game as much as possible. I think being able to do that was our greatest strength. The speed of the fights and the lightness of Link’s footwork are the things I’m most proud of.

My kid is in 6th grade, and I’m 36 years old. I had to calculate it in my head. *laughing* I was a little worried that the game’s controls would be difficult, but my kid was great at it, so it was a bit of a letdown.

We were, of course, thinking about how we could continue making things interesting for the player. However, it takes a certain kind of strength to do so. It’s the same thing you need to grow rice. The soil is barren, the seeds are bad, the spouts are harvested too soon… maybe you know how to harvest or have a good sickle, but you don’t have a pair of helping hands… or maybe you have a lot of people, but you don’t have good implements.

Not to mention the people who are going to eat the rice are gourmets. But despite it all you still have to keep up your output, so you’ve got to make it as palatable as possible and serve it as best you can. People these days care a lot about certain aspects of games. This Zelda’s going to be difficult to play, and I know full well there will be voices calling for it to be easier, but I’d like them to do their best. I just want tell them that if they can surmount it, a wonderful 3D world awaits them.

These days it’s said that all games are similar. Of course we on the creative end aren’t happy about it, but players, kids and adults included, don’t have even enough strength to play a lot of games. We definitely want to feel as though we’re continuing to challenge ourselves to create something new.

Just as I was thinking about this, I was watching my kid playing games at home and it felt as though the game was playing itself. It looked very linear, and when I asked “Is it fun?” the response was “Yep.” I wondered if, in games, too, players wanted to go through from beginning to end without acting for themselves, simply pressing the buttons and receiving a flow of information like watching television or a movie. It made me think. Exploring the world on their own, learning the controls, searching for the way to turn the pages, it doesn’t make them happy anymore. The guidebooks go on sale at the same time as the games themselves.

We’re quick to give up and collapse to the ground. We must’ve had it rough as kids. *laughs* It makes me want to say “You guys are weak,” more than you can imagine.

But it’s a mistake for us creators to arrogantly say that they already know as much as they need to know. We have to make the game as palatable as possible, to make the players want to take a bite out of the hard parts, to place those morsels in their mouths as naturally as we can and have them chew on them without noticing. That seasoning or method of presentation, that’s our responsibility. I believe that that’s our job.

“(1-18) The Burning Thoughts of the Staff (Part 2)” has ended. The interview continues from here, so please check back for updates!

1998-12-25-FRI