Creo
Smash Champion
Well, this may not be anything mind-blowing or new to what we've already heard before, but I figured I'd post it here since it's still the most recent thing Aonoma has said publicly, anyway:
Eiji Aonuma - "Since we’re talking about open worlds, let’s state upfront that we don’t plan to have an open world in the same way other companies have been doing in recent years."
With the brief presence Aonuma gave of TLoZ for Wii U at this years E3, he had stated (as well as Miyamoto elsewhere) that although they do not prefer the term "open world", Zelda Wii U will in fact be very open and vast within itself. I believe a comment of the link I gave expresses how I myself basically view what they mean / how the game will operate (comment below in the spoiler tag):
"He means that they're taking inspiration from Zelda 1 rather than modern open-world games. In other words, it's probably not going to be a quest-driven (Elder Scrolls) or mission-driven (GTA) game.Progression in the game will feel more organic,much like it did in Zelda 1.(Where by the end of the game you had a bunch of different items and used them anyway you could to progress, rather than item stuck to dungeon format + sparing use in the future format we have now.You had to think about what you were capable of doing with what you had and figure out how to move forward)."
Edit # 1:
I also have a good feeling that Monolith Soft is helping develop a part of this game as well (which really only comes off as a good thing). They've proven their team is elite with their experience, and needless to say, we all know what Xenoblade Chronicles was able to do on a under-powered console such as the Wii. The over-world and amount of content was massive, and the fact that Xenoblade Chronicles X has just recently been confirmed to be over 5x the size of the original Xenoblade Chronicles (which is exciting! XCX is my most wanted game after TLoZ Wii U, as XC became one of my favorite games of all time!), they really are Nintendo's team to go to if any for advice / help on creating a vast open-world environment.
Edit # 2:
Further information from the brief Edge magazine interview of Aonuma. His quote(s) below in the spoiler tag (also, for anyone interested, Miyamoto's diminishing thoughts on the "casual" gaming audience, and how he believes and see's Nintendo taking its game developing strategies / direction to their "core" audience):
Eiji Aonuma - "In the original Legend of Zelda, there was no clear way to lead the main character to his goal. It was something that we entrusted to the players to find by themselves. As the game later expanded into a franchise, the structure of the game worlds became more and more complex – especially with the introduction of 3D – making it necessary for us to point the player in the right direction. Consequently, progression in the games became more linear."
"To recreate a similar experience to the original, we have to give the game world a simple structure that players can understand intuitively. In doing so, it’s very important that we make every aspect of the world feel real and physically connected, so that it’s doesn't look fake. We can achieve this thanks to the hardware features of Wii U, but to truly get a deep understanding of the game world, we also need a real map that depicts the world as it is. The GamePad is very effective for displaying this, and thus also [for] providing players with a constant hint on where to head to. I think we can safely say that the innovations in this new game are only possible thanks to the Wii U hardware."
"To recreate a similar experience to the original, we have to give the game world a simple structure that players can understand intuitively. In doing so, it’s very important that we make every aspect of the world feel real and physically connected, so that it’s doesn't look fake. We can achieve this thanks to the hardware features of Wii U, but to truly get a deep understanding of the game world, we also need a real map that depicts the world as it is. The GamePad is very effective for displaying this, and thus also [for] providing players with a constant hint on where to head to. I think we can safely say that the innovations in this new game are only possible thanks to the Wii U hardware."
Edit # 3 (September 5th, 2014):
Aonuma has been monitoring fan-feedback and impressions on Hyrule Warriors from places such as Miiverse, and has noticed the positive reception towards the well-done cut scenes within the game (with some people saying things such as “Oh wow, I really love the cutscenes in this game! This is better than the stuff Nintendo does!”. Aonuma stated himself that he feels "a little conflicted" about this, and now looks for Zelda Wii U to hold its own in that aspect to Hyrule Warriors.
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