6:51pm // 23

SUBMITTED BY: http://estherparker.tumblr.com/

How do you begin a new Zelda title? Does it start with a story or a gameplay mechanic? And is the development cycle a democratic process?
Well, in all it took five years to make Skyward Sword and at the beginning of the development cycle there was a very long process of sorting out the basics of the game. When we started, we began with the game’s core features – the items and how they’d be used, the sword and how that would be used with Wii Motion Plus. Everything needed to be fun and needed to be easy to play with the Wii Motion Plus, from the combat to the menus and how you select items.

Once we had those core elements, we then started to build the story around them. So because the combat revolved around the sword, we thought it would be a good opportunity to present the Master Sword and explain the history of it, which is why Skyward Sword is a prequel to Ocarina Of Time.

As far as the development cycle went, there were five or six people in the beginning, including the director, and once again, this is where the core features are decided. Then, all of a sudden a lot of people joined the development team, and these people obviously have a ton of ideas too. But the five or six project heads are the “gatekeepers”, if you will, of the entire game.

Has the Wii Motion Plus shifted the focus of the game? Is the emphasis now more on combat than previous games in the series?
The combat is definitely a key part of the game. In the past you could fight almost any enemy by just button-bashing, but in this game, because of the Wii Motion Plus, the fights are almost puzzles in and of themselves. You won’t be able to beat the game simply by doing the same movements over and over again for each fight. You need to take each enemy separately. You need to find each enemy’s weak spot.

How did you settle on the visual aesthetic of the game? It’s been said Miyamoto-san is a fan of impressionist painters. Did that influence it? What other factors are important?
(Laughs) Actually, that comment from Miyamoto-san is a retrospective quote. He was looking back on the game and saying it looks like an impressionist painting.

Our basic starting point was about the fact that Skyward Sword is a fantasy story – after all, how else would you have an island in the sky as the starting point?