Editing Universe of The Legend of Zelda (section)

==== Open air concept ====
Producer [[Eiji Aonuma]] approached ''[[Breath of the wild|Breath of the Wild]]'' by breaking the conventions of previous games.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Peckham |first=Matt |date=15 June 2016 |title=Why Nintendo Had to Destroy Tradition to Create the New 'Zelda' |url=https://time.com/4369527/zelda-breath-wild-open-world/ |access-date=2022-05-06 |magazine=Time |language=en |archive-date=October 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009030546/https://time.com/4369527/zelda-breath-wild-open-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He explained that in ''Ocarina of Time'', the game world featured "routes" to help players navigate the 3D environment without getting lost, but that certain handholding and blockages had caused players to feel frustrated. By contrast, ''Breath of the Wild''<nowiki/>'s Hyrule was designed to allow the player to explore a vast world in any way they liked.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oxford |first=Nadia |date=2017-05-09 |title=Zelda: Breath of the Wild Is Tailored to Be Ocarina of Time's Opposite |url=https://www.usgamer.net/articles/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-is-tailored-to-be-ocarina-of-times-opposite |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=USgamer |language=en |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522055820/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-is-tailored-to-be-ocarina-of-times-opposite |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nintendo's senior product marketing manager [[Bill Trinen]] described the game as "open air": "I look at this game and I see a world that is fully integrated into the exploration and the adventure. It's not just a world that you're passing through. It's sort of a world that you're a part of".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Otero |first=Jose |date=2016-06-22 |title=Why Miyamoto Didn't Want to Call Zelda: Breath of the Wild An Open World Game |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/22/why-miyamoto-didnt-want-to-call-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-an-open-world-game |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=IGN |language=en |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506195547/https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/22/why-miyamoto-didnt-want-to-call-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-an-open-world-game |url-status=live }}</ref> The game world benefited from advancements in Nintendo hardware. Earlier games had been restricted by the available technology, creating the need to separate Hyrule into individual connecting areas, but the game world could now be experienced as a seamless environment. The concept of an "open air" environment began during work on ''[[The Wind Waker]]''. Aonuma said that he wanted to remove the small connecting areas of ''The Wind Waker'' and replace them with open expanses, but the world ended up feeling smaller than he intended.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Faulkner |first=Jason |date=14 March 2017 |title=Breath of the Wild's Making-Of is Full of Surprising Facts |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/99404/breath-of-the-wilds-making-of-is-full-of-surprising-facts |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=Shacknews |language=en |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506210343/https://www.shacknews.com/article/99404/breath-of-the-wilds-making-of-is-full-of-surprising-facts |url-status=live }}</ref> 

{{Quote box
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| quote = "In ''Breath of the Wild'', the fact that the world is supported by a coherent physics engine has a major effect on the possible actions. It sounds obvious, but for example, if you push down a rock, it's going to roll according to the slope. We wanted people to be able to feel things in a "realistic" way, to break or move around big objects in the game and believe they could have had the same feeling in real life. This physically lived experience is very important".
| source = [[Eiji Aonuma]] on realism in ''[[Breath of the Wild]]'''s game world<ref>{{cite web|title=I Don't Always Agree With Shigeru Miyamoto On The Essence of Zelda, Admits Eiji Aonuma|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/01/i_dont_always_agree_with_shigeru_miyamoto_on_the_essence_of_zelda_admits_eiji_aonuma|website=Nintendo Life|date=January 30, 2017|access-date=May 7, 2022|archive-date=May 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507202458/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/01/i_dont_always_agree_with_shigeru_miyamoto_on_the_essence_of_zelda_admits_eiji_aonuma|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
''Breath of the Wild'''s open world was inspired by other video games. The game's director [[Hidemaro Fujibayashi]] named ''[[Minecraft]]'' and ''[[Terraria]]'' as his inspirations for "the sense of adventure, exploration and how it inspired curiosity". Aonuma also mentioned several other games that he had played, including ''[[The Witcher (video game series)|The Witcher]]'', ''[[Far Cry]]'' and ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]''. He also cited ''[[Skyward Sword]]'' as the basis for many of the world's mechanics, such as the ability to climb and explore between areas. The development team began ''Breath of the Wild'' by working on a 2D prototype of Hyrule to test interactions between objects. This was developed into a complex physics and chemistry engine that would present a higher level of realism. The chemistry engine allowed for elements, such as fire, water and electricity to interact with each other and objects in the game world. This was designed to provide the player with a more interactive gameplay that was coined "chemical reaction play". Hyrule in ''Breath of the Wild'' was depicted using an art style that was based on the stylised visuals of ''The Wind Waker'' but developed into a more realistic, detailed style. The civilization of the Hylians was developed with a focus on their castle in the style of [[Middle Ages|medieval Europe]] to return to the roots of the series,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Craddock |first=David |date=2017-03-03 |title=How Breath of the Wild Challenged Conventions in Zelda Games |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/99265/how-breath-of-the-wild-challenged-conventions-in-zelda-games |website=Shack News |language=en |access-date=May 8, 2022 |archive-date=May 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508213755/https://www.shacknews.com/article/99265/how-breath-of-the-wild-challenged-conventions-in-zelda-games |url-status=live }}</ref> while the ancient technological features of the Sheikah were inspired by the [[Jōmon period]] of Japanese history.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shea |first=Cam |date=2022-02-28 |title=Breath of the Wild - 19 Fascinating Facts From The Game's Development |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-development-five-year-anniversary-fascinating-facts |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=IGN |language=en |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522134947/https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-development-five-year-anniversary-fascinating-facts |url-status=live }}</ref>

Fujibayashi stated that the layout of Hyrule in ''[[Breath of the Wild]]'' was inspired in part by his hometown of Kyoto: "I took a map of Kyoto and overlaid it on the game world, and I tried to imagine going to places that I know in Kyoto. I'd think 'It takes this much time to get from point A to point B, so how does that translate to the game?' And that's how we started mapping out the world in ''Breath of the Wild''". The development team used landmarks in Kyoto as a way of comparing the distance between landmarks in the game world, which helped staff during the development of the game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Webster |first=Andrew |date=2017-03-06 |title=The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's map is based on Kyoto |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/6/14827832/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-map-kyoto-japan |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=The Verge |language=en |archive-date=March 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307021057/http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/6/14827832/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-map-kyoto-japan |url-status=live }}</ref> This measurement of distance allowed Hyrule to be scaled up to an enormous world that appears twelve times the size of its predecessor in ''[[Twilight Princess]]''.<ref name=":6" /> 

For ''[[Tears of the Kingdom]]'', Aonuma used the same map of Hyrule as the one players experienced in ''Breath of the Wild'' to create a continuation of the same world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thier |first=Dave |title=The New Zelda Game Will Use The Same Hyrule Map As 'Breath Of The Wild' |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2019/06/13/sequel-the-new-zelda-game-will-use-the-same-map-as-breath-of-the-wild/ |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=April 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423231832/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2019/06/13/sequel-the-new-zelda-game-will-use-the-same-map-as-breath-of-the-wild/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Hyrule was extensively expanded, by introducing Sky Islands to the map to place emphasis on vertical gameplay.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Shea |first=Brian |title=Interview: Tears Of The Kingdom And The State Of Zelda With Aonuma And Fujibayashi |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/interview/2023/05/12/interview-tears-of-the-kingdom-and-the-state-of-zelda-with-aonuma-and |access-date=2023-05-13 |magazine=Game Informer |language=en |archive-date=December 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228172316/https://www.gameinformer.com/interview/2023/05/12/interview-tears-of-the-kingdom-and-the-state-of-zelda-with-aonuma-and |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition to its sky expansion, the game introduced the Depths, a vast pitch-black area beneath the surface of Hyrule.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stedman |first=Alex |date=2023-05-12 |title=Nintendo Managed to Hold Back Tears of the Kingdom's Biggest Secret Until Launch |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-managed-to-hold-back-tears-of-the-kingdoms-biggest-secret-until-launch |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=IGN |language=en |archive-date=May 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514114908/https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-managed-to-hold-back-tears-of-the-kingdoms-biggest-secret-until-launch |url-status=live }}</ref> Aonuma said the development team had learned lessons from ''Skyward Sword'', where Link was restricted by the hardware to descend from particular points. He explained that the team had wanted to create the ability to "traverse a world that's not only horizontally connected in a single world, but vertically connected as well", noting the sense of freedom the player experiences by diving into that.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hogan |first=Mike |date=2023-05-12 |title=How Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Creators Opened Up a New "Realm of Possibility" |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/05/zelda-tears-kingdom-aonuma-fujibayashi |access-date=2023-05-18 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US |archive-date=May 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512215255/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/05/zelda-tears-kingdom-aonuma-fujibayashi |url-status=live }}</ref>