In an interview with RTL Nieuws, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, the director of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Eiji Aonuma, the producer, shed light on the creative process behind developing a new Zelda title.
When asked about the influence of Elden Ring on their game (as FromSoftware previously expressed that the Zelda series served as an inspiration for their title), Fujibayashi explains that they didn’t have the opportunity to play it.
“Sorry, but we didn’t really have the chance to play the game,” Fujibayashi admits, referring to Elden Ring. He continues, “We were too occupied with the development of Tears of the Kingdom, which resulted in us not really being able to play games. However, we did hear about it.”
A Focus on Originality and New Ideas
Despite the constraints of their busy schedule, Fujibayashi emphasizes that even if they had the time to play other games, they wouldn’t recycle ideas from them. “Even if we had the time to play games, we wouldn’t reuse ideas from them,” he affirms. “When we make a game, we come up with a general concept to generate new ideas based on that.”
Eiji Aonuma, known for his significant contributions to the Zelda series, echoes this sentiment. He expresses his pride in seeking originality and refraining from directly incorporating ideas from other games.
“Of course, there may be instances where something we create bears similarity to an existing game,” Aonuma explains. “But I would never try to insert ideas from others into my game. I’m too proud for that. I’m always striving for original ideas.”
With their focus firmly on maintaining the unique identity of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the development team demonstrates their commitment to crafting a fresh and innovative gaming experience.
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