A while ago Eiji Aonuma, a name you may have heard of, him being the current producer of the Legend of Zelda series, mentioned how much he had enjoyed Bethesda's latest instalment in the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim. Eurogamer asked the question in an interview if any recent games had inspired him, with his answer straight away being "Skyrim." For those wishing Zelda to be more non-linear and organic this was a breath of fresh air, whereas others were weary about this.
However it seems Aonuma has backed away from this, recently claiming the new Zelda we're expecting is not inspired by Skyrim in any meaningful way.
And why did Aonuma play Skyrim? Well, because it sounds quite similar to 'Skyward Sword'. If you miss out the 'Sword' on the end at least, I guess I can see the similarity.
USGamer, via NeoGAF
What do you think? Should Aonuma stay clear of Skyrim as far as influences go, or is it a good game that modern Zelda could draw from? Are you glad he's not taking much influnce from Skyrim or raging behind your monitor right at this very second?
Leave a comment!
However it seems Aonuma has backed away from this, recently claiming the new Zelda we're expecting is not inspired by Skyrim in any meaningful way.
Eiji Aonuma said:There was no inspiration taken from Skyrim. It didn't impact what I was thinking about for future Zelda titles. I'm always thinking about, "Okay, next time, what are we going to do with the next one?" As a producer, whenever I can find more time to play games, I'm taking that free time to go out and play other games just to play them and see what's out there.
As far as whether or not those are inspiring me or influencing my decisions, I guess it's probably the same way as when I talk to young developers or new people on our staff, or when I read interviews with other people saying, "Yeah, this game was influenced by my experience playing Zelda as a kid." Or, "Zelda really impacted my design decisions going forward." I think the problem with that is that everything you play influences what you're thinking, but I'm not looking at other games to try and find inspiration. If it happens, it's a natural process.
And why did Aonuma play Skyrim? Well, because it sounds quite similar to 'Skyward Sword'. If you miss out the 'Sword' on the end at least, I guess I can see the similarity.
Eiji Aonuma said:I started playing Skyrim because the name was so close to "Skyward Sword" and I wanted to see what that was about. I didn't pick it up because it was popular or because it was getting good reviews or anything like that. I just wanted to take a look at it.
USGamer, via NeoGAF
What do you think? Should Aonuma stay clear of Skyrim as far as influences go, or is it a good game that modern Zelda could draw from? Are you glad he's not taking much influnce from Skyrim or raging behind your monitor right at this very second?
Leave a comment!
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