First of all, I would like to thank you for taking out the time to answer a question that I asked quite a while ago. It was a very insightful response. It was very appreciated. Now I would like to ask you another one. I realize that you have high expectations for The Legend of Zelda (and you have reason to), but I do not think its fair that you judge Skyward Sword prematurely like that. I also know that of course, it is your blog and you can say whatever it is that you please, but I feel that you have not given it much of a chance to prove itself. Maybe you are right and it will not be great, but maybe it will be. Who knows? I say wait to read more impressions, see more trailers and gameplay videos, and read new information about the game before dismissing it. In my humble opinion, I think it looks cool. But who am I to say; I have never experienced the game. I hope you will consider my thoughts. Thank you for your time.
I’m not dismissing it. I said that we haven’t really been shown much. But I do think the game was too far along in development to really put in the necessary changes.
We can only judge based on what Nintendo decides to show. If all they show is a little tutorial area with some mushrooms, we will ask, “Uhh… what is this game about?”
Only two environments are shown in the trailer. The tutorial area and the generic lava area. Yawn.
I’ve been around games enough to know that one of the single biggest things that makes a game feel ‘epic’ and ‘non-repetitive’ are diversified environments. Blizzard admits it is why Diablo 2 was successful. I think it is a very important reason why the original Super Mario Brothers was successful. Mario wasn’t just fighting in one environment. He was in the ocean. He was in the sky. He was in the castle. Future Mario games would diversify that further.
The original Zelda games were also strong with their diverse environments. However, most of these were just sprite changes due to the primitive 8-bit systems. One thing I recall was LTTP having more weight because the environments were really diversified, including the dungeons. The desert dungeon felt very different than the water dungeon. The forest area felt very different than the Dark World forest. All this diversification of environments really removed repetition from the game, sparked gamers’ imagination, and is probably one of the oldest tricks in the game developers’ handbook.
Sure, I assume Skyward Sword will have more environments than just the tutorial area and the generic lava area. But if it is out of sight, it is out of mind. While Nintendo is showing off the motion plus controls, it would be very exciting to have a peek as to the majesty of the game world.
Imagine that instead of Skyward Sword, the year was 1985 and Nintendo showed off the original Super Mario Brothers. The demo would have Miyamoto show off the controls of jumping up and down, getting a fire flower, getting a star, and all. However, you would only see stage 1-1. People would not get excited. Super Mario Brothers was exciting because the game was not just 1-1 replicas. 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 are all very different environments. 2-2 and you are underwater.
Nintendo made the same goof in E3 2009 with NSMB Wii. What was showed off was 1-1 and 1-3. By not showing off the different environments, the scope of the game, the audience reaction was ‘meh’. It was only until later footage came out that showed NSMB Wii underground, in ghost houses, in castles, that people began to be excited.
It is hard to get excited about an adventure if you only show off the tutorial area in your trailer.
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