Zelda: Twilight Princess - interview with Eiji Aonuma

E3 2005: Eiji Aonuma Interview
We chat with the director of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess about the
adventure. New details revealed.
by Matt Casamassina

May 18, 2005 - Nintendo is proudly showing off a four-level demo of its
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess at the Electronics Entertainment Expo
2005. The ambitious adventure strives to better the N64 masterpiece Ocarina
of Time. IGN had the chance to chat face-to-face with the title's newly
appointed director, Eiji Aonuma, about its progress and its secrets.
Following, the full interview:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IGN: Is the storyline of Twilight Princess based on the movie Ladyhawke?

Eiji Aonuma: I've heard about the movie Ladyhawke, but I've never actually
seen it. People have asked me about it, but obviously I don't have any
inspiration from it since I've never seen it. That being said, this time
around the reason that Link transforms into a wolf is completely different
from what I understand is going on in that movie.

IGN: So is Link's transformation based on a day/night system?

Eiji Aonuma: No, actually in this game when Link enters the Twilight Realm
he transforms into the wolf. I think there may have been some inspiration
for the schematic elements of the moon rising and someone transforming into
the wolf originally, but that's actually not part of the game system.

IGN: Why does Link transform into a wolf and not another animal when he
enters the Twilight Realm?

Eiji Aonuma: Well, obviously one of the main themes of the Twilight Princess
is the fact that Link is starting the game off as an adult. One of the
primary themes in other Zelda games has been that Link matures throughout
the adventure. This time because Link is starting off as a more mature Link
already, it then becomes difficult to try and express that in the game as
players play along. So this time around one thing that we focused on in
addition to it being a more adult Link and thus being able to do a lot of
things that a younger Link wouldn't be able to, was to balance that out and
not only change the gameplay but also give players an option to grow mature
throughout the adventure. One way we found to do this was to have Link
transform into something other than a human, by which he would lose the
ability to behave as a human. So obviously in wolf form he can't use his
sword, shield or items since he's kind of reduced to this limited state. But
then he's able to gain some of the abilities that you might expect a wolf to
have and he's able to cooperate with this other character.

As to why he actually becomes a wolf rather than some other creature,
obviously Link in every game is a hero. We thought a wolf was what a hero
might be in animal form. We kind of decided that wolves are creatures with a
certain mysticism in all cultures and they're also very heroic type
creatures as well. In that sense, we really felt that the wolf was best
suited to an animal representation of the hero.



IGN: What can Link do as a wolf?
Eiji Aonuma: Because the wolf is a wild animal, it'll have abilities that
would normally be reserved for a wild animal such as enhanced vision. The
idea that wolves have a different kind of eyesight than humans means that
they can see things differently than humans. The same goes for hearing. The
idea that animals can hear things that humans can't. The wolf would have
wild animal abilities in that sense, but at the same time because it is
simply a wild animal it's not going to be able to fight very well against
some of these larger creatures that we see in the game. So the wolf would
then pair up with the character Midna and the two of them can fight those
creatures together.



IGN: Can you elaborate on the basic wolf mechanics, such as how it runs and
jumps. Is it feasible to use this animal to cross great distances in the
game?
Eiji Aonuma: Yeah, because the wolf is a four-legged animal it will
obviously move faster than Link, but because it's a much smaller animal than
Epona it won't move nearly as fast as the horse. So while it can certainly
move faster than Link across long distances it's not going to be as good as
riding horseback on Epona would be. That being said, we're kind of tailoring
the action for the world, such as running and jumping, to be appropriate
from what you'd expect of a wild animal. In that sense, the wolf would be
better at certain things than Link.

IGN: Can the wolf and Midna separate at any time or are they glued together
when Link enters the Twilight Realm?

Eiji Aonuma: In the Twilight Realm when Link is a wolf, he and Midna will
always be together. Gradually, as Twilight gets pushed back and light is
revealed, Link will transform back into human form and then there would be a
partnership between he and Midna in a slightly different sense.

IGN: So Midna can exist outside of the Twilight Realm?

Eiji Aonuma: Yes, if you go with the strictest definition of exist then yes,
she can exist in normal Hyrule. But there is a certain kind of subtlety to
that which I can't reveal at this point in time.



IGN: Is Ganon in the game and if so, what part does he play?


Eiji Aonuma: Well, each piece of the Triforce has a relationship to each of
the main characters and Ganon is one of those. So in that sense Ganon will
have a relationship to this game. But as to how he might appear or what he
might be doing, we're not going to reveal that just yet.
IGN: In the demo, Link gets stolen away to the Twilight Realm. Is he able to
go in and out of the Twilight Realm at will?

Eiji Aonuma: Yeah, in the beginning he basically gets grabbed and pulled
into the Twilight Realm. But it's not just Link - he's not the only one. The
Twilight Realm is gradually expanding and as it expands it reaches out and
grabs anybody just outside of it.

Your question, though, is very tightly related to the game system in terms
of how things are going to work, so you're going to have to wait on the
answer.

IGN: It's clear that Link interacts with a lot of animals in Twilight
Princess. Can you explain how deep the system runs?

Eiji Aonuma: I think one element that I can talk about is that when humans
get pulled into the Twilight Realm they cannot exist there in their human
form. So when Link goes into the Twilight Realm and transforms into the
wolf, he finds that animals, unlike humans, do remain. So as a wolf he can
communicate with the animals. So he'll talk to animals to get information
from them. And as you can see in the show floor demo, in one of the dungeons
Link actually cooperates with the animals. We're planning to implement a lot
more elements like that. While it won't be Link walking hand-in-hand with
animals, you may find more situations where Link is helping animals or
animals are helping Link, working together to fight bosses and things like
that.

So just like in the town area, you can see that Link blows the horse grass
to call the horse and likewise, he can blow the whistle to interact with the
hawk. You know, he's somebody who is very close to animals as it is and so
we continue to develop that and have a lot of situations in the game where
people will be surprised by the types of interactions we implemented.

IGN: Can Zelda change into an animal?

Eiji Aonuma: [Laughs] Unfortunately, I can't really talk too much about what
Zelda will be doing as that ties in very closely with the overall story of
the game. It may be that Zelda does transform into an animal. but it may not
be [laughs].

IGN: Can you play as anybody other than Link, such as Zelda, for example?

Eiji Aonuma: No, not right now. We're not planning any other characters that
the player would be able to control other than Link and the wolf. Also, when
Midna is on the wolf's back, you may be able to do some control that would
cause Midna to do something. But it's not really that you're controlling
Midna as you're controlling the wolf and Midna together.

IGN: The world in Twilight Princess is huge. How will Link be able to get
around? Is it just by horse, or can he boat and fly, too?

Eiji Aonuma: Oh, no, it wouldn't just be the horse. There are many other
ways to move about the game.

IGN: Is there an animal that you can fly?

Eiji Aonuma: You might be able to [laughs].

IGN: We saw a little bit of canoeing. Will there be more of that in the
finished game?

Eiji Aonuma: Yeah, there would be movement by paddling through waterways,
that sort of thing.

IGN: Does the story start exactly as it does in the E3 demo, with Link as a
cowboy/wrangler?

Eiji Aonuma: We've taken the beginning of the game and rearranged it for the
show version to make it easily accessible. That would be kind of the basic
flow, but it would start off setting up the idea that Link is a rancher or
wrangler who takes care of the goats and also setting up his relationship
with people in Toaru Village, which is not a final name at this point.
Obviously, we've cut a lot of cinematics and a lot of the events that would
happen in town from the demo version. Essentially what would happen is you
would spend a little more time interacting with the people of the village
and getting to know them and experiencing the village as Link before setting
off on the adventure.



IGN: Some critics have complained that Wind Waker was too easy. Will
Twilight Princess offer more puzzles, new weapons and more complexity?
Eiji Aonuma: In comparison to Ocarina of Time?

IGN: Yes.

Eiji Aonuma: Yeah, as I mentioned in the roundtable yesterday, one of our
primary goals with this game is to create a game that exceeds Ocarina of
Time on many levels. So in that sense, we do intend to fill the game with a
lot of side-quests, mini-games, and puzzles, which will make it more
challenging.

IGN: A two-part question. Does the game run in 16x9 widescreen and why is
there no voice acting?

Eiji Aonuma: In terms of widescreen mode, I think you'll notice that when
the game goes into cinematics, the screen shifts and stretches into what is
technically a 16x9 frame. However, if you were to put that up on a
widescreen, then when it shifted out of the cinema scenes the top and bottom
of the standard 3x4 would then pop off the screen. So it is kind of
widescreen mode [laughs], but maybe not the way you were thinking.

As to voice acting, I think what you see on the show floor is pretty much
what we've been doing with the series in the past, which is before the text
appears you get a very simple voice that pops up and you hear that. In the
final version, we do intend to do something slightly different than that. We
haven't finalized exactly how we're going to handle the voice in the game,
but we are looking into different things.

IGN: Finally, is there a time travel system in the game?

Eiji Aonuma: There is gameplay in the game that does take time elements into
consideration, but nothing nearly as dynamic as the traveling through seven
years that you did in Ocarina of Time. We think we did a really good job
with that in Ocarina so I don't think we'll be doing that again.



http://cube.ign.com/articles/616/616559p2.html

> IGN: A two-part question. Does the game run in 16x9 widescreen and why is
> there no voice acting?
>
> Eiji Aonuma: In terms of widescreen mode, I think you'll notice that when
> the game goes into cinematics, the screen shifts and stretches into what
> is technically a 16x9 frame. However, if you were to put that up on a
> widescreen, then when it shifted out of the cinema scenes the top and
> bottom of the standard 3x4 would then pop off the screen. So it is kind of
> widescreen mode [laughs], but maybe not the way you were thinking.
>


Hrmf... what is the matter with developers these days? Can't they see that
people WANT 16:9? I hate it when I have to have big black borders on the
sides because the stupid developers didn't implement proper widescreen mode.

Other than that, the game sounds (and looks) like a stunning piece of
entertainment.

Tommy

"Tommy Stenberg" <nobodysfool@dont.exist> wrote in message news:%tYie.5822

> Hrmf... what is the matter with developers these days? Can't they see that
> people WANT 16:9? I hate it when I have to have big black borders on the
> sides because the stupid developers didn't implement proper widescreen
mode.
>


I don't want it. I have a beautiful 4:3 TV and I want to use the whole
screen (for games, anyway). 4:3 TVs still vastly outnumber 16:9 ones, by
the way, so "people want 16:9" is an exaggeration.

"Leon Dexter" <leondexterNOSPAM@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:17Lje.4081$X92.162@newsread2.news.pas.earthli nk.net...
> "Tommy Stenberg" <nobodysfool@dont.exist> wrote in message news:%tYie.5822
>
>> Hrmf... what is the matter with developers these days? Can't they see
>> that
>> people WANT 16:9? I hate it when I have to have big black borders on the
>> sides because the stupid developers didn't implement proper widescreen
> mode.
>>
>
>
> I don't want it. I have a beautiful 4:3 TV and I want to use the whole
> screen (for games, anyway). 4:3 TVs still vastly outnumber 16:9 ones, by
> the way, so "people want 16:9" is an exaggeration.

Just for your information, implementing 16:9 in a game doesn't mean it'll
get letterboxed if you use the game on 4:3 tvs. All games with 16:9 support
also support 4:3 by default. The 16:9 is an option, not a forced feature in
games. You will still use your whole screen if you use it in 4:3.

Tommy

"Tommy Stenberg" <nobodysfool@dont.exist> wrote in message news:i9Mje.12972

> Just for your information, implementing 16:9 in a game doesn't mean it'll
> get letterboxed if you use the game on 4:3 tvs. All games with 16:9
support
> also support 4:3 by default. The 16:9 is an option, not a forced feature
in
> games. You will still use your whole screen if you use it in 4:3.


Not true. There are 16:9-only games, just not many. But when designing a
game, you can't properly do both. Aside from the technical issues of
getting two modes to function well, presentation (and probably playability)
is going to suffer in one mode or the other, depending on which is the
focus. In movies, the 16:9 is the better format, and 4:3 is usually just a
cropped version of that. Games might eventually end up the same way,
especially with HDTV resolutions being 16:9 by default. If a game is going
to run in 16:9, I'd prefer that it ONLY do 16:9, rather than try to do both
and suffer for it. But like I said, I play on a 4:3 screen and prefer that.
The widescreen format is too ****ed-up for me to even consider a widescreen
TV anytime soon.

"Leon Dexter" <leondexterNOSPAM@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:YhMje.4582$Lc1.1151@newsread3.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> "Tommy Stenberg" <nobodysfool@dont.exist> wrote in message
> news:i9Mje.12972
>
>> Just for your information, implementing 16:9 in a game doesn't mean it'll
>> get letterboxed if you use the game on 4:3 tvs. All games with 16:9
> support
>> also support 4:3 by default. The 16:9 is an option, not a forced feature
> in
>> games. You will still use your whole screen if you use it in 4:3.
>
>
> Not true. There are 16:9-only games, just not many. But when designing a
> game, you can't properly do both. Aside from the technical issues of
> getting two modes to function well, presentation (and probably
> playability)
> is going to suffer in one mode or the other, depending on which is the
> focus. In movies, the 16:9 is the better format, and 4:3 is usually just
> a
> cropped version of that. Games might eventually end up the same way,
> especially with HDTV resolutions being 16:9 by default. If a game is
> going
> to run in 16:9, I'd prefer that it ONLY do 16:9, rather than try to do
> both
> and suffer for it. But like I said, I play on a 4:3 screen and prefer
> that.
> The widescreen format is too ****ed-up for me to even consider a
> widescreen
> TV anytime soon.
>
>

Hmmm, I've yet to see a 16:9 only game. Unless you consider The Getaway as
one of them, where your screen "grows" a bit wider if you use 16:9 mode. Can
you give me any examples? Because 99,9% of the games that have a 16:9 mode
that I've tried don't "downgrade" for 4:3, because that's the default.
Anyway, at least from where I come, a widescreen mode is almost a given. And
if you consider buying a TV, you have to look hard if you're looking for
anything else than 16:9.

Tommy

"Tommy Stenberg" <nobodysfool@dont.exist> wrote in message news:yqOje.14221

> Hmmm, I've yet to see a 16:9 only game. Unless you consider The Getaway as
> one of them, where your screen "grows" a bit wider if you use 16:9 mode.
Can
> you give me any examples? Because 99,9% of the games that have a 16:9 mode
> that I've tried don't "downgrade" for 4:3, because that's the default.
> Anyway, at least from where I come, a widescreen mode is almost a given.
And
> if you consider buying a TV, you have to look hard if you're looking for
> anything else than 16:9.

Resident Evil 4 is 16:9 only, most recently. And no, most games don't
"downgrade" to 4:3, I know, usually they run worse in 16:9 if anything.
It's movies that get the shaft in 4:3. I'm just saying that games might be
headed that way too, since they'll be made to support HDTV resolutions in
the future, all of which are widescreen by default.
I don't know where you've been shopping for TVs, but it must be the
widescreen store or something. Probably 3/4 or more of televisions are 4:3,
still. And 90+ percent of TVs in homes are still 4:3.

"Leon Dexter" <leondexterNOSPAM@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:ErVje.4721$Lc1.1153@newsread3.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> "Tommy Stenberg" <nobodysfool@dont.exist> wrote in message
> news:yqOje.14221
>
>> Hmmm, I've yet to see a 16:9 only game. Unless you consider The Getaway
>> as
>> one of them, where your screen "grows" a bit wider if you use 16:9 mode.
> Can
>> you give me any examples? Because 99,9% of the games that have a 16:9
>> mode
>> that I've tried don't "downgrade" for 4:3, because that's the default.
>> Anyway, at least from where I come, a widescreen mode is almost a given.
> And
>> if you consider buying a TV, you have to look hard if you're looking for
>> anything else than 16:9.
>
> Resident Evil 4 is 16:9 only, most recently. And no, most games don't
> "downgrade" to 4:3, I know, usually they run worse in 16:9 if anything.
> It's movies that get the shaft in 4:3. I'm just saying that games might
> be
> headed that way too, since they'll be made to support HDTV resolutions in
> the future, all of which are widescreen by default.
> I don't know where you've been shopping for TVs, but it must be the
> widescreen store or something. Probably 3/4 or more of televisions are
> 4:3,
> still. And 90+ percent of TVs in homes are still 4:3.
>
>

Resident Evil 4 isn't 16:9. They just made it look that way to seem more
cinematic. Either that, or they couldn't get the game run at decent speed in
full-screen mode. If I want Resident Evil 4 to look "right" i have to use
4:3, thus I get black borders on the side AND top and bottom. I could use
the stretch mode, but usually, the stretch mode makes the graphics unclear
and shabby (like when you zoom in on pictures on the pc). So no, Resident
Evil 4 is a 4:3 letterboxed game, not a 16:9 game.

Tommy

"Tommy Stenberg" <nobodysfool@dont.exist> wrote in message
news:yqOje.14221$Fe7.90951@news000.worldonline.dk. ..
>
> if you consider buying a TV, you have to look hard if you're looking for
> anything else than 16:9.
>


What have you been smoking??

"Grackle" <nobody@lalaland.ca> wrote in message
news:Lb1ke.888$Ot6.69041@news20.bellglobal.com...
>
> "Tommy Stenberg" <nobodysfool@dont.exist> wrote in message
> news:yqOje.14221$Fe7.90951@news000.worldonline.dk. ..
>>
>> if you consider buying a TV, you have to look hard if you're looking for
>> anything else than 16:9.
>>
>
>
> What have you been smoking??

Nothing. When buying a TV here in Norway, even at the biggest chains, 99% of
the TVs are 16:9. Unless you're from the same place I live, I think I know
more than you what's available and what's not.

Tommy