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[Men_in_Boxes]

Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma thinks linear games are "games of the past"

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma has responded to fans' hopes of a traditional linear Zelda game, sayin…

www.eurogamer.net

"It's interesting when I hear people say [I miss traditional linear Zelda]," Aonuma revealed, "because I'm wondering 'why do you want to go back to a type of game where you're more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play? Games which have a strict order of events are "kind of games of the past," Aonuma said, whilst modern games "can accept a player's own decisions and give them the freedom to flexibly proceed". This is the design philosophy of the Zelda team at Nintendo, he stated, though he added "I do have to admit making games that way always carries with it additional development costs".

 

[diffusionx]

I played OOT and ALBW this year and while they’re both great, how many of these shits do people want? There’s like a million of them and they all hit the same beats. Nintendo was likely as bored of making them as people were of playing them.

 

[Fake]

Lmao. How can he try to sell BOTW series without moving foward this mentality.

I still think Majoras Mask is better.

 

[Danjin44]

We need both linear and open world games. I don’t want every game turn in to open world and vice versa……I want variety.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Linear zelda only the Panasonic games...

 

[March Climber]

For the most part I agree. Open Biomes are the new linear. Also, no one really followed Doom nor Goldeneye's examples when it was in regards to linear design. They should have.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Lmao. How can he try to sell BOTW series without moving foward this mentality.

I still think Majoras Mask is better.

Cremia, Romani are the gold heart of Majora mask.

 

[-Zelda-]

Then it is an end of an era for me. No more Zelda games will be on my shelf again in the future if this is how he feels.

 

[Muffdraul]

I don't think they have to be linear per se, and I absolutely loved BotW and TotK with virtually no complaints... but I also loved the flow of classic Zeldas where you're free to go anywhere you want, but you do hit roadblocks, and then you complete puzzle filled dungeons to earn new tools and abilities to get around the roadblocks and reach more map. I suppose that forces some linearity...

 

[Punished Miku]

Zelda was never really that linear. At best it was wide linear, or open world.

They still can have an open world but put more emphasis on handcrafted dungeons that feel substantial in terms of unique art design, large amount of puzzles, unique item usage, unique enemies. The dungeons were never part of the wide linear areas like they are now.

People's only complaint is still basically just dungeons.

And they could stand to put in a few "linear" segments to have story happen in real time, like a event. They will need to do something like that as opposed to just always dumping story in memory segments in random order. You can still have a boss randomly descend in the open world area at a certain time and have it be a big thing. Look at MMO events. There's ways to keep the BotW formula but improve it.

 

[Zathalus]

Well, the guy is clearly wrong.

 

[tr1p1ex]

I played the LInk's awakening remaster after botw and enjoyed it. Maybe better after you play botw because of the refreshing contrast.

Sales wise ...the verdict is clear to Nintendo. "open world" it is.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Ironic considering how linear the narrative for BotW and TotK actually is. Only thing nonlinear is bumrushing to the final boss and the Sandbox exploration by avoiding the main "dungeons" if you want to call it that.

Sometimes less is more.

I love BotW/TotK but I think something that it lacks from more typical Zelda games is the whole dungeon milestone where you acquire a new ability or tool at the end or during that upgrades your character to tackle new areas or deal with a problem that was either difficult or impossible to deal with before.

BotW/TotK if anything become a grindfest for HP/Stamina via Shrines and you pretty much have all your tools already or you just find your gear out in the overworld.

 

[worldwithpyramids]

The thing is that the old Zelda games like OoT were linear but they didn’t feel linear. If you’re good enough at maintaining that illusion of an open ended adventure then that’s good enough. It’s when you sense the straight line that it’s an issue. Which is how Skyward Sword felt.

 

[nowhat]

Zelda "creator"? Have I missed something essential in gaming history?

 

[tomato shrub]

Tell your colleagues to better cancel all those tired sidescrollers then.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I think the dichotomy between overworld exploration and dungeon crawling has always been a part of Zelda's DNA. That in and of itself means a clever mix of open exploration leading into more straightforward but intricately designed segments. It adds the old school bridge of having classic Nintendo "levels," or stages.

They are ways to make the dungeon crawling experience less linear in nature that are possible now but not in the past.

- have several different variations of dungeon layout determined by either difficulty choice, puzzle focus, battle focus or complete randomization, a la a Second Quest Zelda I style.

- have dungeons designed to be completable through more than one critical path. Have wings of dungeons with tougher enemies for the people who have more hearts, but let there be a resource or puzzle based solution to get to the same spot.

- have an optional dungeon route. Visit dungeons 1,3,8, and 10 if you go in story direction A, and so on.

There's so many choices. Save dungeons.

 

[Alexios]

I wish all devs phrased things differently to my way or the highway. There is obviously room for different approaches, especially if speaking in general terms not confined to a single series' present state (unless that's all he did and the media are just running with it differently for clout or whatever).

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Tell your colleagues to better cancel all those tired sidescrollers then.

I doubt the 2D Mario teams are held in the same regard as the 3D Zelda teams at Nintendo.

Linear seems to be relegated to smaller studios now.

 

[ShadowLag]

Is this guy for real? A modern remake of OoT would sell double BOTW or TOTK.

 

[ADiTAR]

Is this guy for real? A modern remake of OoT would sell double BOTW or TOTK.

66m? I don't think.

 

[Gaiff]

Zelda "creator"? Have I missed something essential in gaming history?

OP certainly did. The article says producer, not creator.

 

[Crispy Gamer]

I enjoyed OoT more thank ToTK both are tremendous but I would love another smaller experience

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Open world fatigue has to hit some day or another.
I found BOTW and TOTK ridiculously captivating, but also hard to come back to. Sometimes you want that (more or less) linear adventure with defined landmarks and memorable story beats.

I think there's still a lot of room for improvement in TOTK. They could have underwater sections. Dungeons could be made unique by having a different mechanic in each of them that cannot be used in the outside world and must be learned and mastered within the confines of the dungeon. Heck, maybe even do multi-phase dungeons like good ole Spirit Temple.

Still, even Zelda does suffer a bit from filler like a thousand Koroks and meaningless side quests. There was a kind of satisfaction in maxing your hearts and powering up your sword to the max in previous Zelda games that just isn't there in the open world games.

 

[Flabagast]

TOTK, while technically impressive, was still a rehashed unfocused mess with ridiculous amount of filler that failed to deliver any meaningful emotion or message.

So I'll keep my linear games, thanks.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Open world fatigue has to hit some day or another.

It won't because it mirrors our existence and people overwhelmingly prefer choice and freedom during play over handcuff game design.

Linear games will be pushed to the indie and AA realm where it belongs.

 

[Svejk]

That's fine, Aonuma, but can you make this new formula kind of not suck please? Let's start with weapons that don't explode, representing the shittiness of planned obsolescence, and give us an actual reason to engage in regular combat, like actual XP... Or something, jesus.

And he's crazy to think that people wouldn't want a traditional Zelda still...

 

[Fbh]

While I don't really agree, if the way forward is less linear games I hope more of them take the approach of TotK and BotW.
For all their flaws at least they do feel like they were designed as open non linear experiences vs most other games (everything by Ubisoft, Horizon, Hogwarts Legacy, etc) which basically feel like linear games set in an open world.

Is this guy for real? A modern remake of OoT would sell double BOTW or TOTK.

Maybe, but taking a game that's going to sell 10+ million on nostalgia alone as a point of comparison doesn't seem fair.
The real question is if a new traditional Zelda would sell as well as BoTW and ToTK

 

[nowhat]

It won't because it mirrors our existence and people overwhelmingly prefer choice and freedom during play over handcuff game design.

...and this is why BG3 has swept so many GOTY awards, and will continue to do so

 

[alucard0712_rus]

Agree. What they miss is their childhood.

 

[Beer Baelly]

Time to retire old man

 

[N30RYU]

At the end of the day in open worlds you have to go from A to B.

 

[AV]

If he's talking about AAA then he's pretty much right. What was the last AAA game you played that was truly linear? That didn't give the player some sort of agency in how to proceed?

 

[Calverz]

There’s still place for linear games. Not every game needs to be a 40-50 hour open world game. Although this year has certainly made a good case for them lol

 

[Guilty_AI]

At the end of the day open in open worlds you have to go from A to B.

bad open world games you mean

 

[GigaBowser]

Lmao. How can he try to sell BOTW series without moving foward this mentality.

I still think Majoras Mask is better.

what in the botw and totks over 50 millions combined MM sold 6

 

[Wunray]

We just want traditional dungeons that's it.......cut the amount of shrines please.

 

[killatopak]

Hell no.

 

[Thaedolus]

Zelda "creator"? Have I missed something essential in gaming history?

I mean, he's basically been in charge of every Zelda for the last quarter century hasn't he?

 

[Danjin44]

Entire reason open world games become popular because people got tired of every game being linear and now they doing exact same mistake with open world.

People want variety, I was glad Armored Core VI was mission structured, as much as I LOVED Elden Ring I dont want every FROM game makes to be open world and FROM recognized that the mission structured best for AC series.

 

[KU_]

Then it is an end of an era for me. No more Zelda games will be on my shelf again in the future if this is how he feels.

Bye Felicia.

 

[nowhat]

I mean, he's basically been in charge of every Zelda for the last quarter century hasn't he?

I suppose we're getting into a semantic argument of sorts, but I'd call "creator" the person that came up with the franchise. Even the referenced article doesn't use that term.

 

[MagnesD3]

Oh dear time to put him out to pasture like miyamoto

 

[MagnesD3]

Double post delete

 

[KXVXII9X]

This is probably the hardest game to gauge and it is probably the first game I couldn't put a score on. I think the positives of Tears of the Kingdom are something that should be celebrated and the physics systems and interactivity is nothing but a technical marvel. However, there are tradeoffs with their design approach from the more linear games. One of the worst parts of Tears of the Kingdom is pacing. There is just way too much grinding and walking around to get anything done. Upgrading armor, getting more batteries; expanding inventory, stamina, and health all seem really tedious. Also, while I LOVED the new mechanics, I feel like they were best used in The Great Sky Island.

I think there definitely is a middle ground where they can still create a game that allows freedom while restricting the scope and adding more story focus. I know story isn't the main focus of these games, but I think it can be told and presented better. I really liked the starting story of the game and was glued and then it just felt lazy with making most of the scenes being memories and making the champion scenes the same after clearing the temples. It felt like it was trying to recreate the first game. I did love the start right before reaching the Wind Temple though. That was epic.

I also think having a more focused game can allow the devs to focus more on combat as I found it lacking. It is partially me sucking at the game but I hated relying on furry rushes and barely felt like my weapons did any damage. It was cool how you could manipulate everything and there was a TON of creative freedom, but most times, I felt like the safest option was attacking normally and dodging or blocking. It got really stale. I hated how enemies felt like bullet sponges. I haven't had that issue with older Zelda games.

I also think the games being on Switch hardware held it back from its full potential. I don't blame the Switch at all and love the art direction of TotK, but some areas gave my Switch OLED trouble. The game didn't look as pretty as it should. It didn't help that I was playing Genshin Impact maxed out of PC at 60 fps.

Overall, I think they could keep the general concept of making an interactable world but scale back a bit while add less padding and more story moments. I want to feel more like I'm included in this world. I think Ages of Calamity felt more engaging narrative wise. I want more of that.

 

[cireza]

can accept a player's own decisions and give them the freedom to flexibly proceed

If the guy is so smart, then why do we get all meaningful items in the plateau in BotW ? Why are all four beasts built without any enemy and ignoring any kind of progress the user might have done ? Why are all items simply there for renting in Link Between Worlds ?

The guy wants to teach lessons, but he hasn't embraced the very concept of "designing around player's decision" even once. Every single time, the game-design was built around dodging having to handle a variety of situations that could be possible because of player decisions.

What a complete joke.

 

[squarealex]

Yeah... no

 

[Raonak]

Openworld feels so played out now. It is no longer novel. Every game has done it, and for the most part, all it does is make the world feel more generic.

I think wide-linear is the best combo. It's linear so you still have the good pacing and handcrafted feel that linear games provide, but doesn't feel like a corridor.

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

Aonuma is not the creator of Zelda and he's also wrong: a linear game is not "inferior" in any way to an "open" one. It's just different, open worlds are definitely not the answer to everything.

 

[Clear]

He's not wrong, but there's a lot of space for variability in approach *between* something that is literally on rails to one that is completely open.

You can devalue any position or argument by reducing it down to binary extremes.

The crux of his point is that giving the player agency to tackle things in an order of their choice is valuable, which I think isn't at all a controversial statement. And quite obviously from a design and development standpoint it does have major ramifications compared to something where the player is faced with an unvarying sequence of levels or encounters.