Brian points me to an engrossing speech about Zelda given at the Game Developer’s Conference last month, by Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the franchise. The transcript is full of tasty little making-of anecdotes:
In Ocarina of Time I also took on the challenge of incorporating Adventure Elements into dungeon design, by which I mean giving each dungeon some type of theme, such as rescuing the trapped Gorons, or hunting down and defeating the Poe Sisters.
But what’s most captivating is the serious treatment of the guiding principles behind all Zelda games, namely Zelda Reality. I was also surprised—and yet, not really surprised—at the mention of interactive fiction as an influence (informing the relationship between player, puzzle, and narrative).
