General Zelda A Zelda Game Stuck Within One Season

[Justac00lguy]

Zelda overworlds, typically, are quite varied and the landscapes differ within such a short space; you can go from forests to volcanoes to deserts to snowy mountains etc. However, most games don't portray a specific season, I guess you could say some take place in summer, Spring etc. But overall it isn't clearly visible.

I was recently thinking about making the game more realistic by having one set season in which the majority of the game takes place. The variety would still be there; however, one season would be present in Hyrule (or other said location).

For example it could be winter in Hyrule and this would mean Hyrule Field and the forests are now coated in a thick layer of white snow, lakes are now frozen etc. It's hard to really portray what I'm saying in a post but I think it would give the overworld a certain identity as well as a bit of charm. I've proposed the idea of alternating seasons before but that comes with a few complications, so how about an overworld set in one season for the entirety of the game?

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I instantly thought "Skyrim" when I considered what a one-season Hyrule would look like. I don't think Skyrim was stuck in a season per se, but the constant feel of winter harshness really did set the game and the world apart from the other Elder Scrolls games, and just other games in general.

I do think that it could be beneficial, but keep in mind that it's quite hard to convey seasons properly in a video game. What I mean by that is, there's only so much you can do to differentiate between Spring/Summer/Fall. It's easy for us in the real world, because things like temperature, wind, and whether or not it's sunny help us to think "Well, it's clearly fall because the wind is blowing and it's getting much cooler now." You can't really get any of those points across in a Zelda game if you're going to portray Hyrule Field as it has been in the past, which is pretty much just "generic looking field that could be anywhere" Now of course, winter is the major exception to this, because you can put snow everywhere and call it a day. I'm not saying that's a bad or lazy thing, but if a Zelda overworld was created with the mindset that the season would be constantly winter, then yeah, I could definitely see it contributing to the mood and identity of the game.

Of course, I think a certain mood would have to be coupled with such a world. Twilight Princess could have done it quite well I think, because the land is practically being invaded by another species, and pretty much the entire kindgom had already been functionally captured. But if a game goes more the Skyward Sword route, and everything is all-smiles and hunky-dory until the very end, I think part of the mood would be lost.

 

[Tony]

I think the concept of one season in a Zelda game would be very interesting. I really like your idea of a frozen Hyrule, it would be a new experience that's for sure! Personally, I'd really like to see Hyrule in Autumn. Just imagine the vibrant colors of the leaves while walking through a grove of trees. The skies could change from a clear blue open sky to a grey, foreboding cloudy sky with rain approaching. As the game progressed maybe the trees would start to become more barren and the land would look more isolated. Maybe in the story, the seasons could change from autumn to winter?

 

[Not Take Mirror]

I kind of prefer multiple seasons myself or different sections of the game with different climates- like an icy region, a desert region, a tropical region, etc. I like having the variety that different seasons provides.

 

[Night Owl]

If they return to displaying seasons, I'd prefer them to change as the game progresses.
It would help it seem like the game takes place over time instead of feeling like a single day.

Perhaps they should make seasons change after a set number of ingame days.

 

[Big Octo]

I'd enjoy one season, especially a Winterized version of Hyrule, but I'd much prefer seasons that progress throughout the game. For example, I've been thinking about a What-if game that begins in Winter and progresses through one year, covering all the seasons. It would be quite interesting to see how the world would change with each season, though when the differences are gone, they're gone (except for, in my fantasized game's case, Winter).

If there was a game that was to be a perpetual Winter wonderland, I, as I expressed above, would love that. I'm sure this could be integrated as some sort of plot device, such as a curse. Think of Ganon's curse on the Great Sea from The Wind Waker, except it being the majority of the game instead of a small portion of it. In any case, it would be pleasing to have this concept in a future game.

 

[Ventus]

It'll only work if they run with the proper art style: Wii U Tech Demo.

 

[Mask-Salesman]

I love your idea! In my honest opinion (please don't ban me ) I think Nintendo made a terrible mistake with the WiiU. It's like all they were aiming for was innovation, innovation, innovation. I think the Wii was a brilliant move and Nintendo was right after all; half of the world has one inside their living room. But I think they overdid it this time with the Wii U. It's not going to be such a big succes with 'mainstream' gamers as the normal Wii, which leaves us, the hardcore gamers, a little out of the equasion.

If they would have build a powerfull console, they could really develop a huge amazing Zelda like Skyrim , with huge dungeons, awesome graphics and hundreds of other options. That would be extremely awesome, since then your idea could be realised too!

 

[Zorth]

I think it would become very stale and boring after a while with just one season everywhere, I'd rather have a cycle of the seasons. Your idea could still be implemented in what I'm visualizing though, even with multiple seasons, sort of. The overworld would have to be huge but I'm thinking it'd be possible to have 3 major areas, the north (winter 24/7), middle (traditional Hyrule I guess) the one which cycles through seasons, and finally the south (summer 24/7).

Like I was mentioning before, as long as the map is big enough you'd be able to have chilly mountains, frozen lakes and snowy city hubs in the north. Nice landscapes which cycle through the different seasons in the middle, almost the same as north just with seasons lol. In the south you'd have somewhat of a paradise/hell style area, vast hot & dry deserts with beautiful oases here and there, and maybe coastal environments where you'd find cool quest hubs.

And IMO having different environments like this opens up a little more doors in what you'll come across in the game, bringing more variety. You could find a snowman riding a frost dragon in the middle of a blizzard/avalanche in the north while encountering a sand golem inside some monolithic structure in the middle of that desert I was talking about in the south?

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

they did that w/ the fishing hole in twilight princess,except it changes buy simply leaving & entering
realism right ther