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Aonuma - A Link Between Worlds' inspiration, non-linear gameplay, breaking conventions, Zelda Wii U info at E3 2014
A portion of a Mashable interview with Eiji Aonuma...
M: What inspired you to make some of the more dramatic changes to mechanics in A Link Between Worlds?
EA: Now we have this rental system, where people can rent the items. I got involved with a hobby because I rented something so I could try it out. If I had seen people doing this hobby around me and hadn't had that rental experience, I wouldn't have gotten so involved in it. But being able to rent something and try it out allowed me to get very deeply involved with this hobby.
I thought that would be kind of interesting to have in a Zelda game. What if you could just rent things and try them out right in the beginning? Normally in a Zelda game you have to wait and find things locked deep inside a dungeon. That of course is fun too, but I think part of the fun of a Zelda game is finding out what these items are good for, what they are useful for. So when you started the game and you could rent all these items, that might be really, really cool.
The other main thing, along with the item rental system and the order of dungeons, is this idea of linearity versus non-linearity. Recently Zelda games have been very linear, and the idea of being able to do things in any order is something that only games can achieve. When you watch a cartoon or a movie, you watch from beginning to the end and you have the story. If a game only tells a story linearly, it's not really using that full potential of the game. If a game only tells a story linearly, it's not really using that full potential of the game. The main thing we wanted to accomplish with A Link Between Worlds was to have that non-linear style.
M: It sounds like A Link Between Worlds and the upcoming Wii U Zelda are going to break a lot of conventions in the franchise. What other conventions do you think need to be shaken up?
EA: First of all, just because I maybe want something to change doesn't mean it actually will change. I think things like the settings for the characters [could be changed]. For example, we have Zelda, it's the Legend of Zelda, but it's not necessarily Princess Zelda. You have all these characters that keep coming up over and over that have the same basic template and I think that changing that could lead to some really interesting gameplay as well.
M: Can you tell us anything about the Wii U Zelda game?
EA: I'll say more at E3 2014.
Full interview here
M: What inspired you to make some of the more dramatic changes to mechanics in A Link Between Worlds?
EA: Now we have this rental system, where people can rent the items. I got involved with a hobby because I rented something so I could try it out. If I had seen people doing this hobby around me and hadn't had that rental experience, I wouldn't have gotten so involved in it. But being able to rent something and try it out allowed me to get very deeply involved with this hobby.
I thought that would be kind of interesting to have in a Zelda game. What if you could just rent things and try them out right in the beginning? Normally in a Zelda game you have to wait and find things locked deep inside a dungeon. That of course is fun too, but I think part of the fun of a Zelda game is finding out what these items are good for, what they are useful for. So when you started the game and you could rent all these items, that might be really, really cool.
The other main thing, along with the item rental system and the order of dungeons, is this idea of linearity versus non-linearity. Recently Zelda games have been very linear, and the idea of being able to do things in any order is something that only games can achieve. When you watch a cartoon or a movie, you watch from beginning to the end and you have the story. If a game only tells a story linearly, it's not really using that full potential of the game. If a game only tells a story linearly, it's not really using that full potential of the game. The main thing we wanted to accomplish with A Link Between Worlds was to have that non-linear style.
M: It sounds like A Link Between Worlds and the upcoming Wii U Zelda are going to break a lot of conventions in the franchise. What other conventions do you think need to be shaken up?
EA: First of all, just because I maybe want something to change doesn't mean it actually will change. I think things like the settings for the characters [could be changed]. For example, we have Zelda, it's the Legend of Zelda, but it's not necessarily Princess Zelda. You have all these characters that keep coming up over and over that have the same basic template and I think that changing that could lead to some really interesting gameplay as well.
M: Can you tell us anything about the Wii U Zelda game?
EA: I'll say more at E3 2014.