The team behind the much-awaited game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom recently revealed their exciting developments, confirming that the new title will encompass not just the expansive skies but intricate dungeons as well.
In a candid Q&A session, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, the game’s director, shared that the dungeon element of the game has been revamped. In this new adventure, a dungeon directly connected to the surface of Hyrule has been introduced, offering a unique event-triggering experience for players diving from the sky, unlike anything seen in the previous installment.
Takuhiro Dohta, the technical director, and Satoru Takizawa, the art director, added that each dungeon would be imbued with a distinctive flavor of their respective environments, showcasing the wide variety of regional characteristics. This distinctness in design, they admitted, was a considerable challenge but one they embraced to provide players with a satisfying challenge, diverging from the similar design of the four Divine Beasts from the last game.
As the developers discussed the game’s setting, it became apparent that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set to offer a considerably expanded world. The exploration of the skies above Hyrule and the addition of caves are newly developed elements, which, according to Fujibayashi, were not feasible in the previous title.
Dohta elaborated, explaining how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the predecessor, was developed originally for the Wii U, which imposed developmental constraints. Several ideas they wanted to implement had to be shelved, one of which was the element of flying. This led to the idea of underground exploration, a suggestion which was met with lighthearted protest from the developers.
Takizawa highlighted that the entrances to cliffside caves in Tears of the Kingdom are a significant addition, a feature that wasn’t present in Breath of the Wild. He believes that these additions will change how players explore Hyrule, and even the developers began to view the landscape differently while working on the game.
Fujibayashi expanded on the gameplay’s evolution from two-dimensional to a more three-dimensional experience. The addition of “verticality” – gameplay that utilizes height – allows players to travel seamlessly from the surface to the skies. This transition is aided by Link’s new action, “dive”, and his new outfit for the skies.
Their exploration of sky-based gameplay wasn’t without its challenges. The developers admitted to getting carried away, adding a plethora of islands in the sky, leading to the designers stepping in to manage the clutter.
The addition of the sky also posed a unique problem for the sound team. Sound transitions, just like the world itself, are seamless, but the background music needed to change according to the situation. This required the placement of transition triggers, a task that turned out to be a challenge, as it was their first time considering where the sky actually begins.
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