GamesActionThe Legend of ZeldaThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomLegend of Zelda mastermind Eiji Aonuma says he always focuses on gameplay before story: “I’ve never really made a game where you think of the story first"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionThe Legend of ZeldaThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomLegend of Zelda mastermind Eiji Aonuma says he always focuses on gameplay before story: “I’ve never really made a game where you think of the story first"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Nintendo)
In a recent interview,Legend of Zeldaseries producer and developer Eiji Aonuma explains how his games' stories always come to light after their gameplay has been established first - and why he thinks doing things the other way around would be “difficult.”
Speaking recently with theWashington Post, Aonuma describes howNintendogoes against the grain with its games and focuses on gameplay before even touching on the story. “I’ve never really made a game where you think of the story first and then go into gameplay,” says the producer. “First when you think of the gameplay, what you’re trying to think of after that is how you can get players to understand that gameplay.”
As Aonuma states, he would find it hard to make games differently and to start the process with narrative rather than gameplay. “I think it would actually be kind of difficult to do the reverse and start with the story, then try to match the gameplay mechanics to that.” After playingThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomrecently and being a long-time Zelda stan myself, I’m surprised to learn Aonuma’s approach - but it certainly seems to work well.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom nearly broke Link’s 30-year vow of silence, but Nintendo decided to keep him mute because no one knew what he would say
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