Tracking Tool Used to Identify Individual Developer Changes in Tears of the Kingdom’s World
Posted on August 30 2024 by Jared Eubanks
Video game creators are known for at times having picky and perfectionistic streaks. Several years ago, Nintendo shared a series of interviews titled Iwata Asks, which featured beloved Global President Satoru Iwata with key game creators. Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto and producer Eiji Aonuma participated in one of the interviews, and they spoke about their experience of leading the production of Twilight Princess, the pivot to a more realistic art-style, and its dual release on the Wii and GameCube.
During the interview, Miyamoto shared about the vision he sought to create with the game’s unique art style by having the environment be like a set in a theatrical play and not just a replication of reality. His passion for intentionality and excellence was evident in how he described how he expected each game component to be placed with purpose and contribute to the larger whole. He shared an interesting story during development about finding stones in the game environment that seemed out of place but being unable to track down who on the team put it there and why. He asked questions of various team members, followed the trail, but eventually did not come up with any satisfactory answers as to who was ultimately responsible, and their reasons for putting it in that particular location.
At the recent Computer Entertainment Developers Conference (CEDC) hosted in Yokohama, Japan, a presentation was made about a game developer’s tool that was included in Tears of the Kingdom, which tracked who placed objects in the game’s environment. Following the presentation, video game creator Nikaido Range posted on X about it, and they referenced the story about Miyamoto and his quest to track down a stone’s original placer.
It is unknown if this tracking feature in Tears of the Kingdom was a direct response to Miyamoto’s wishes, or if it was just a normal part of advances in video game development. Either way, Range made an interesting connection and was possibly on to something.
宮本茂氏がゼルダ開発中に「この石をここに置いたのは誰や？」って尋ねたけど結局誰も名乗りを上げずに怒った、みたいな話が記憶に残ってる。たしか「責任や意図がない」みたいな話だったかな？
それはそれとして、今回のCEDECティアキン講演では石を置いた人が誰か分かるような機能が搭載されてた。 pic.twitter.com/HEDzsPCnap
— ニカイドウレンジ (@R_Nikaido) August 24, 2024
When I read about this story, it reminded me of an episode from the TV series Arrested Development, which touched on similar themes of taking responsibility even in the small things. Hopefully no one at Nintendo had to resort to levels that George Bluth Sr. did in order to teach a lesson on why you always leave a note!
Have any stories of the peculiarities of video creators, producers, and/or directors been memorable to you? How did they impact the development of a video game or its successors in a series? Share with us in the comments below.
Source: Computer Entertainment Development Conference (via R_Nikaido, Gamesradar)
Jared Eubanks is a staff writer at Zelda Dungeon, and he is also a husband, father, and engineer. He is originally from the Atlanta, GA area and still lives there. He graduated from Georgia Tech and is a proud Yellow Jacket. He loves to play boardgames, build Lego, and read books with his family. He’s been gaming since childhood with the original NES and GameBoy, and he enjoys retro gaming, collecting, and modding consoles and handhelds. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild but is also fond of the older classic titles.
