Aaronrules380
Member
Open world is a pretty meaningless, overused buzz word anyways.
Wind Waker but with land traversal and I'll be happy.
I'm hoping that the structure is that you can explore all of the "regions" at any time that each have one or more main dungeon(s), as well as their own unique NPCs and minigames and minidungeons in them that you can find on your own. Once you have the ability/items/know-how to get to the dungeon itself, there begins some kind of pre-dungeon quest that leads up to that, where you can leave at any time and resume later if you want to go do something else.
I'm hoping the structure is not:
[enter Castle Town]
Townsperson suddenly craning their neck towards you: WELL I GOTTA SAY, I can't get my goods to Goron City anymore after those fiendish Bokoblins set up on their outposts on the Western Road!
QUEST INVOLUNTARILY ACCEPTED: Destroy Bokoblin outposts [0/4]
[destroys 4 Bokoblin outposts]
TSCTNTY: I heard about what you did, adventurer! I'm already raking in the Rupees so fast, I sure wouldn't mind sparing some for the hero that saved my business!
[100 Rupees received]
Open worlds often means world generators. One of the best aspects of Zelda worlds is that every piece of it have a meaning, or something hidden, or something you should return to when you will have item X.
I mean, if you watch what he said at E3, he said something about not being able to create a "connected world" on older hardware, using Wind Waker as an example where every island had a defined boundary where you entered (if you notice, as you approach or move away from an island, it's like it suddenly "deactivates").
Another quote that doesn't really explain or reveal anything.
All it needs is a nice balance of exploration, interaction and non-linearity with a lenient but forceful guiding designer's hand. It's a tricky balance to pull off, and only a few of the Zeldas have achieved it, none of them 3D.
I think this one has the best chance yet though, based on that amazing overworld screen alone.
That's good. I don't want Skyrim like Zelda. More like assassins creed open world or infamous. It has the feel but it's not as large and is more dense.
Aonuma has repeatedly shown his incompetence in creating interesting, vibrant worlds. I wouldn't get my hopes up.
Aonuma has repeatedly shown his incompetence in creating interesting, vibrant worlds. I wouldn't get my hopes up.
That kinda diminishes my hype.
This. And if that turns out to be the case, some vocal part of the fanbase will inevitably complain about it but thankfully I can't be bothered to give a fuck.
.If this means less checklist-design, then I'm fine with this.
Aonuma has repeatedly shown his incompetence in creating interesting, vibrant worlds. I wouldn't get my hopes up.
Although Aonuma has even less influence on this (and SS since he was only producer). Yes, he still has some overall guidance on the project, but I wouldn't put the blame on him now.
I'm no fan of Majora's Mask particularly, but that game's world is frequently pointed to among the fanbase as having one of the most lively, dense, intricate worlds in the series, which Aonuma of course co-directed.
MM fans think that. Others think that's when the first cracks in the series started to form.
Remember how in Wind Waker you can go anywhere and enter almost every island from any direction? Well there you go, that's what I think Zelda U will essentially be. I just hope that in their pursuit of non-linearity and openness that the story and dungeon design doesn't suffer.
Great post. 100% agree.Open world is the most meaningless word in game parlance. I have no idea what it means anymore.
Take Skyrim. Is that open world? Most would call it an open world game. The reason being is that it has a large map and you have hundreds of quests that can take you to every part of the world. In essence, you can travel anywhere at mostly any time. But still, there are places that are off limits until certain points in the main story or until you "unlock" then by a sidequest telling you to go there.
Now let's take GTA. Is that open world? Well, seeing as in most games entire portions of the city is locked out to you until certain missions are completed, you can't claim that you can go anywhere at any time. But you can go anywhere the game allows you to go at any time, which is true for Skyrim. It's also a sandbox: you can do anything the game allows you to do at mostly any time.
So is that the definition of open world: you can go anywhere the game allows you to go at any time you want? No, because that's every video game ever.
I trust Aonuma. I love LoZ. I am glad they are choosing to do a more "open" style of gameplay structure, but I don't like their choice of words. Open world means so many different things to so many different people, that it's impossible to temper expectations of what that should or should not entail. To some, it means literally a thousand quests. To others, it means a impossibly large world to explore. Then, to even more, it means an open sandbox where you can do whatever you want.
I don't Zelda U will include any of the things I just mentioned, but why should it? It's not a game about infinite sidequests or giant world maps or allowing the player to do anything they want, it's a game about going on an adventure. If Aonuma wants to make that adventure more open-ended, that's A-OK with me and I look forward to seeing how it comes together. But to call it open world seems like it's causing some massive blowback because it's a marketing invented buzzword with no real meaning.
What I want Zelda U to be, and what I understand Aonuma to be creating, is a large world that is more open to exploration than past Zeldas in that your progression isn't as much of a linear journey as it was in the past few games. Does that mean it will be an impossibly large world? No, and I don't want it to be.
Not sure how that's possible. Majora's Mask's overworld is far superior to OOT's. Far more dense, more side quests, varied locations, more stuff to discover, more interesting NPCs... just a fantastic overworld.
Wind Waker is where downfall began.
MM/WW/ALBW/"Zelda dungeons for dummies"-caliber dungeon design
Of course not. Nintendo just has to do things different than everyone else just for the sake of it, even when whatever it is is well established.
I'm no fan of Majora's Mask particularly, but that game's world is frequently pointed to among the fanbase as having one of the most lively, dense, intricate worlds in the series, which Aonuma of course co-directed.
Here is what i want and hope, how Zelda U's open world works:
Your send of a secret quest from your village elder Impa to find nine magic artifact, which can help saving the world. But no one know where they are! So you have to travel around the world to find clues. From an old man in a nearby city you hear a story about an ancient temple at the side of an mountain, which contains unbelievable treasures! But of course it is only a LEGEND.