Miyamoto and Bill Trinen Discuss Why Breath of the Wild is Called an "Open Air Adventure"

Open air, open world, does it really matter?! It all means the same thing. Call it what you want I just want to play it!

When this game comes out it is literally going to merge with my life into my own world!!!

They call it open air because there's less polution, obviously.

I just can't wait for the game. LOL!!!

@Spoony_Tech Heh, I agree. Who really cares what it's labelled as?

I think it's a bit obnoxious. This game may end up being great, but major elements are undoubtedly inspired by Monster Hunter and Xenoblade. Sure, it's connected to the original Legend of Zelda, but that whole focus on "open air/open world" is inspired by more recent games. Attempting to claim this as some sort of innovation seems disingenuous at best.

Obviously, because god forbid Nintendo "rips-off" someone else.

Seems like a lot of hot air.

I'll show myself the door.

@NintendoEan Yeah I know, this game is going to be so dope!

I don't know how I feel about the buzz words. I mean I can see how Metroid Prime and Splatoon could be labeled something other than shooter, but I don't know if this is anything other than open world. Heck, I think the Wii Dead Space game label as a guided first-person experience makes more sense than this.

On the other hand, most open "world" games like GTA still had a point A to point B progression with a lot of side activities. This I guess may be one of the few that's almost completely open from the beginning as you can actually go straight to the final boss. There may be others so feel free to correct me as I'm not exactly an avid gamer.

I'm dubbing this an open-ended game...because it feels open, and has at least one ending.

I'm really excited to play this. I am so curious to see how well they pulled this off.

I should add that I read somewhere, I think Gonintendo, Aonuma mentioned that the truly hardcore could go from beginning to the final boss without doing anything else if they wanted to. The game is THAT open and THAT flexible supposedly. If Nintendo Life hasn't mentioned that bit of news already (if true) they should look into it.

Climbing mountains and diving off to sail through the air. The fresh air. Open air works, but come on, do we really even need the "open" label to adventure games nowadays. It's not like games are being labeled as "closed world". Even the more directed games have exploration elements that make it "open".

More to the point, certain other games struggle to justify the term "open world". I mean, they're big and full of busywork, but are they truly open? A select few - BotW included, it appears - can call themselves open world and really mean it.

Again another example that human beings need to label everything before they understand it. I really don't care what they call it since it all comes down to how the game feels while playing it. The experience is in the emotions; at least for me. I am so looking forward to my next Zelda experience. <3

Just a play on words/marketing talk. The game does look good though imo.

@edcomics I'd agree with you if I wasn't holding out hope that I could fly. Hot air balloon, peregrine falcon, Epona with wings, Paratroopa, anything! Just let me fly.

@TheWPCTraveler sail cloth not doing it for you?

@beazlen1 Falling with style != Flying

Didn't they do a similar thing with Metroid Prime calling it a FPA First Person Adventure.

@TheWPCTraveler Yes. "Open air" does sound like some kind of flight would be involved. My guess is that you'll get your wish. From the fun of floating with the Deku Leaf in Wind Waker to actually flying in Skyward Sword, I'd be surprised if there was no aerial action in this new game.

It's 'open air' because it's outside in the nature. They're not seriously claiming to have invented a new genre, it's just marketing BS

Mario 64 and sunshine is open world lol

@TheWPCTraveler agreed. Riding an eagle's back on the other hand would blow my mind.

I guess the reason they are defining this game other then open world is because of what Eiji once said. Saying how every Zelda game is was open world game, but this game will be a new kind of Open world. Or more or less a breath of fresh air from the series. Which i can agree with. This game isn't like most open world games. Most games like Fallout 4, Skyrim, Witcher, Those series aren't about exploration. NOW HOLD ON!!!!! What I mean is those games are based on set goals, like side quests. The point of those games is to complete side quests, experience your charecter, and achieve a much larger goal at the end. Now how is this new Zelda diffrent? Their really is no end game goal as you can fight the final boss at any point in the game, its not an end game result. That may not seem like much but think about it like this, Since you can fight the final boss at any time you don't feel like theirs a set path for you. theirs no 1 place you must go first. The games main goal is to explore the world and discover the secrets all around you. Theirs more of a task on exploring the world then their is fighting the final boss. So in that since this game would make sense as a new kind of open world game, since it gives you the freedom to explore this game by your own path, by your own way, and you can try to finish it at any time.

And here I thought that all this time it was just a "game".

@Tsurii At some point there was a quote, on this site, from Miyamoto about either Monster Hunter or Xenoblade, and he said something to the effect of "They're doing Zelda better than we are." I can't find the quote right now, so I can't verify the context, but it stuck with me.

The Monster Hunter influence started with Skyward Sword. Just off the top of my head, the stamina and weapon durability restrictions are lifted from Monster Hunter Tri. In the new game there's apparently a focus on gathering, combining items and even cooking (in a whimsical manner), which are also large parts of Monster Hunter.

As for Xenoblade, just from glancing at some game footage, I can see the map system in Breath of the Wild is straight out of Xenoblade. There is, of course, the open world and the ability to run around and explore a rich landscape. The Xeno games aren't the only ones to feature that, but on recent Nintendo systems they really stood out. There's also the "lost technology" theme, which mirrors Xenoblade on Wii. Not a direct copy, obviously, but I think the influences are apparent.

Plus, the timing can't be ignored. When the new Zelda was previously pushed back from 2015 to 2016, we were still waiting on Xenoblade Chronicles X. That game came and went. Later, Nintendo recruited an army of Monolith Soft staff, and the new Zelda got pushed to 2017. That's more than a coincidence.

@edcomics: It's the other way around. All those open world games were partly or largely inspired by the first Legend of Zelda (which I haven't played myself). So it's more like back to the roots, no one said it's an innovation.

I don't think though that open air is = open world. If I understand them correctly, they mean something different with open air. Probably more like the Far Cry games where nature has its own life and you're just a part of it.

Nintendo wants to be different from its competition - sometimes it works for and sometimes against them. IMHO they shouldnt force it, though. Everyone knows this is an open world game, there is absolutely no reason to introduce a meaningless term.

I sure hope it delivers, all these delays makes its players expect greater things! Cannot wait, but might buy it in NX instead of my Wii U, not sure yet.

I think what a lot of people are missing here is that the problem isn't specifically whether to call it an open world or open air game. It's the fact that Nintendo always insists on being "different", even if they're not actually being different. It just seems pretentious.

I'm not exactly sure why Nintendo has such a hard time even using the same terms as the rest of us. Remember blocks?

@shani That's an entirely different point, though, to say all open world games are at least partly inspired by The Legend of Zelda on NES (you should play it if you get the chance). You asked about the similarities and I gave you examples. It's clear Nintendo picked very specific elements from Monster Hunter and Xenoblade and inserted them into this latest Zelda game.

My point is that THIS Zelda game may be the one most influenced by other games. Nintendo doesn't want to admit that kind of thing, though. They want to be seen as innovators, so they distance themselves from the term "open world," even though this is clearly an open world game and that has been the selling point since its announcement. Open world with a twist, as Aonuma has said.

Them using the term "Open Air" itself doesn't make me really angry. It just seems like a hipster thing to do, and that's kind of irritating.

@TeeJay I need to get to sleep (5AM here), but real quick — what was the thing with "blocks?"

@edcomics Instead of measuring the size of digital games in MB and GB like the rest of the world, in the DS, Wii and even now with the 3DS they've used "blocks". It's only recently with the Wii U that they've finally started actually using normal measurements.

@TeeJay Oh, of course. You're absolutely right.

@edcomics You're right in that this is the Zelda game that's most inspired by other games. But Nintendo did admit that several times, since 2014 Aounuma mentioned that he wanted to implement more open world elements that he has seen in other games. He even said "it's like a survival game" during the E3 stream.
And there are a lot of survival games out there, mostly on PC. So I don't know if Monster Hunter (only played a demo of it myself) is a particular inspiration for Breath of the Wild. I've played XCX though and it's nothing like what we've seen from Breath of the Wild if you ask me. Of course the original NES Zelda game wasn't the first open world game, but one of the earliest and most influential I think. I've tried to play it once, but I just don't like the top-down view. The first Zelda game that I ever played was Oot and for me it's just uninteresting to play these games in anything other 3D.

@Expa0 Yeah, rip off Zelda 1.

@patbacknitro18 This guy gets it.

@brandonbwii Yes, that was said by several people, I believe Bill Trinen was the first one that mentioned it, or he was translating Aonuma. You'd have to be pretty hardcore though, to go straight to the boss at the beginning, since with only three heart containers and no special weapon to speak of, you would more than likely get your @ss handed to you in next to no time...

@TeeJay Funny you should mention that, because I actually think that blocks is way more clear than measurements in MB's or GB's.

Depending on the fidelity in graphics and all that, those size denominations in every day data size units mean absolutely nothing, since an ugly game/game that is drawn in a more simple aesthetic vs a beautifully drawn world with lots of things going on can both be equal in size if you walk around in it with your game character, but one would be smaller than the other in GB's since it uses simpler graphics and so on.

Now blocks on the other hand, are of a fixed size, same as centimeters or meters, so for example: if they say that a block is 2x2 cm, then you can actually measure WAY more easily how big that world actually is instead of saying that it is 2GB's, since that can mean just about anything and depends on the sizes of all the various game assets.

And then there's the new Zelda: how would you come up with a number for this game? Nintendo themselves have said it is about 12 times bigger than Twilight Princess, but personally, I have no idea how big that is, besides being able to imagine that it is indeed VERY big, also having seen the small portion of the map that was the E3 demo, so there is a LOT more to see, but how many blocks, km's, GB's or whatever it actually is, I have no idea...

@ThanosReXXX What....? Your explanation doesn't make any sense to me. A block is also a fixed size. It's 127 KB. The only difference is that instead of just SAYING what yhe size of the game is, they made up their own measurements and used that.

@TeeJay Ah, okay, in that case, my bad. Didn't know you meant memory blocks. Take away the memory part, and then think of blocks as large pixels that actually CAN be measured.

That is what I was thinking about...

Oh, well...

@TeeJay But in that case, I'm still wondering how big any of these worlds actually are, and I don't mean in data size, because that says nothing about the actual size of the world, which I already explained.

What I want to know if Nintendo says that the new Zelda game is 12 times bigger than Twilight Princess, are they talking about GB's or world size? And if it's the latter, then I want to know how many square miles/kilometers it is. THAT to me would translate to the size of the game, since we're talking about an open world, nay: "open air" game here...

It's an open world game, Nintendo. Stop trying to use stupid marketing spiel on us and/or make up new terms for something that's already been defined perfectly fine as it is.

@TeeJay You do have a point with the measurments. But whats wrong with calling the new Zelda an Open Air game? If every other Zelda has been said to be an open world game, by Eiji himself, then whats wrong with calling this game an Open Air game if it is very different from most open world games?

By that I mean this new Zelda is very different from other Open world games. As I have explained ^ in a very lengthy comment

@ThanosReXXX They're talking the latter. It's 140 square miles iirc.

@TeeJay Did they actually mention that number somewhere?
EDIT:
Some quick calculating shows that if this is the case, Twilight Princess was only a measly 11,6 square miles.
That's the size of a really small village in the real world...

@ThanosReXXX I believe I heard that in a GameXplain discussion? I can't remember a source exactly so you'll just have to decide whether or not you want to believe it.

@patbacknitro18 Because those weren't open world games. That was ALSO Nintendo wanting to be different. This is their first actual open world game.

Not true, In Zelda games like TP and OOT their are big worlds to explore around, and those worlds were only as big as the current technology they had allowed it. Even if every world needed to be unlocked quadrant by quadrant in the end it trully is an open world game. Heck the best example it Wind Waker

@patbacknitro18 I would say Windwaker is the closest Zelda there is to an open world game, but even then, the game is segmented into islands.

And no the other Zeldas are not open world. All areas are seperate little enclosures with clear entrances and exits just like any other game.

Also I believe Open Air games could be a new term in itself, starting with this new Zelda. Open Air games could stand for games where the main focus is exploration as it would be the main goal of the game

@TeeJay No, I'll take your word for it, might look it up some time later if it's a GameXplain video, since I usually enjoy those so I wouldn't mind watching one about Zelda Breath of the Wind.

Thanks for the info.

@TeeJay Let me ask you this, the GTA series is known as an open world game yes? Well GTA San Andreous has a big area for you to explore, but you have to make progress in the game to unlock other areas later on. So even though your unlocking parts of the world in the end it still gives you an open world to explore

@ThanosReXXX It may have been their podcast. Not sure though.

@patbacknitro18 Not sure what to tell you. Never played San Andreas so I can't picture what you're saying.

@TeeJay https://s.yimg.com/fz/api/res/1.2/B7FDFICMFopCfNXwba48gw--/YXBwaWQ9c3JjaGRkO2g9MTUzNjtxPTk1O3c9MTUzNg--/http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJClkp7DMro/TzG2TukIi_I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/818alAkp84Q/s1600/gta+san+andreas+map+full+map.jpg

As you can see if you go to this link, GTA Sanandreous is seperated into 3 main locations, but at the start of the game you can only go to 1. You have to complete more of the story to unlock the other 2, which is the same formula for the past zelda games. They may not have a large world like GTA games, but by definition they are still open world games

@patbacknitro18 An open world game is a game in which you can go everywhere from the minute you enter it. GTA titles are sandbox games, meaning games in large, yet confined spaces, and not everything is immediately accessible or interactive.

Maybe this will help clear things up:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_world
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/632936-/71083159
http://www.gamesradar.com/the-roots-of-open-world-games/
EDIT:
Hm, seems to be some debate online over if GTA is an open world game or not. Some (like me) call it sandbox, and others say it IS an open world game. To me it isn't because you have linear assignments and can't freely go anywhere, even though you can choose to drive or walk around the cities in your own way, it is still confined and you have to go from A to B, whereas in open world you can go from A to Z or do some other stuff in between and there is much more freedom to interact and so on.

@ThanosReXXX But GTA is still considered an open world series. Even IGN is using Open world to it, not thats a creditable source but still.

@patbacknitro18 Yeah, so I have also found out. I edited my previous comment accordingly, which might help clarify my point...

I haven't played many open world games but I really enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles X. It's a good taste of what to expect in Zelda, technically speaking.
I think open air is fitting for this game, given the part that exploration plays and the kind of world being portrayed.
The developers didn't need take so many ideas from recent open world games. The first Zelda game on the NES featured an open world that you were free to explore and dungeons could be tackled in any order.

@ThanosReXXX Oh ok I saw lol. But ya I don't really care so much Nintendo is calling it an Open Air game. Sure its inspired by other series no doubt, But I don't think Nintendo is calling it diffrent just to be diffrent. They call all the other Zeldas open worlds, in which they are. It would be diffrent to call a game like Mario 64 or Sunshine open worlds since their just hubworlds with levels. But this new Zelda approaches the genre like we have yet to see in an action game. A large open world where the main goal isn't set in stone, but rather the goal of the game is up to you along your journey. This time instead of Find the temples, defeat the boss. Its explore the world and discover the many secrets within. I mean you can fight the last boss at any given time, you can see the story only plays second to the world itself

@patbacknitro18 To add to that, and to get back on topic, I think a better description for the previous Zelda games is "hub worlds" since most of the time there is a central point from which you travel and especially in Twilight Princess, you didn't always "see" the entire path traveled, which you would when it would have been an open world.

It looks more like entering and exiting portals. An example of that is when you leave the first village to go to another location: you walk out of the screen into a narrow corridor, screen fades out/goes to black or white and then you kind of "pop into" the new location.
Jump to 4m2s in this video to see what I mean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaulsM5wYqY
And 5m52s is another example...

@ThanosReXXX True but thats just in the begining, by the end of the game the full world is open for you to travel in. Unlike Mario 64 that unlocks levels as your progress, In games like TP or OOT you unlock areas in the world, which only expands the worlds and make them more open. Again as shown by GTA San Andreous when you have to complete missions to unlock other areas of the world.

@patbacknitro18 Well, it was just an example, though. Zelda games have always done this since OoT. Same trick: whiteout or blackout portals. Remember the first time leaving your village in OoT?

And even though later on there are sections that you can kind of freely travel, it is still not completely open world. You first have to enter the portal, and then you can only freely roam the area that you enter next, but to go to the next area you once again have to enter (or exit, depending on which way) a portal, hence "hub world"...

@ThanosReXXX True, but don't forget hardware limitations play a factor in this as well. I mean those worlds did need load zones after all. Even Wind Waker used Load Zones. So their not levels so much as just areas in the world. I mean even look at Majoras mask that needs Load zones almost everywhere you go. Even going to the next area in Clock Town needed a loadzone, or going in and out of houses

@patbacknitro18 Yes, but they still did it in every Zelda game that came next. The one game that could be seen as an exception is Wind Waker, but that was because they kind of masked the portal traveling by making you sail on a boat, which made it look more seamless, but it is a kind of illusion.

I know there is a video about that somewhere, but I forgot who made it. Maybe, if I have some time left between now and tomorrow, I'll look it up and add it here, otherwise you'll just have to take my word for it...

They're probably just being careful with their wording as there's probably the odd loading screen here and there that they're not willing to share with us just yet.

It was 'sandbox' until they got bigger haha

@ThanosReXXX Again you would make a great point if it only loaded in areas of the game, making them look like levels. But instead you have to load not just in areas or temples but also going in and out of houses. Heck you could argue the original Zelda and Link to the past are open world games, but you still have to move screen by screen due to loading. The reason so much loading needs to be done is because every Zelda pushs its console to the limits, which is why Breath of the Wild is so large as the WiiU is more powerful then a PS3. Not PS4 or Xbone though. So you can see the jump bewteen the hardwares. So again their still open worlds, it just needs extra loading

@patbacknitro18 Yeah... I see I'm going to have to tip my hat and bow out of this discussion here, since I'm with @TeeJay on this one, so I don't agree and that would make it somewhat futile to keep this discussion going, since I don't think it's real open world, maybe now for the first time, but definitely not the previous Zelda games. And real open world games wouldn't have loading screens, or would mask these somehow and not by fading in and out.

But neither of us is going to budge, I suppose, so thanks for the discussion, but I'm going to check out some other articles now. Cheers.

@Spoony_Tech Well "open air adventure" really makes me think hot air balloon, but I've been obsessive compulsive about that mode of travel since E3 and that pic of Link on the platuea with Death Mountain in the background. It could just be me, but I think that's how those rental companies advertise, so now I think it could actually be a possibility and I'm very excited.

I've personally never come across hot air balloon travel in a game. Spyro 1 had it but you didn't experience it. Movies have it, maybe they were impressed by "Up" or "The Wizard of Oz" or "Mystery Island"? I think it was Gonzo who traveled by balloon in The Muppet Movie.

Now I don't play a lot of open world games, so "Far Cry" or "Just Cause" could have it in there, but I'd be very OK with them calling it "open air" if most of the people in this game travel by balloon or dirigible of some type. Maybe that's why they didn't show the towns, everybody had huge hot air balloons parked in their back yard. Imagine how much cooler that pic would look with a few colorful balloons scattered about.

This is just Nintendo being Nintendo. Heck I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned that Nintendo doesn't call Smash Bros a "fighter"

They are like Apple of the video game world, calling something that exists something else for the sake of sounding unique or cooler. Not that I have a problem with it. It's their game, they can label what they want. No need in being fussed about it.

All I know is that I'll have no life outside of work once I get this game.

If you're incapable of seeing how this is different from most open world games, then you might not be qualified to report on video games in general.

Ah Shiggy, you name-claimer you! Reminds me of the whole First Person Adventure conversation back in the day. There's only so many classifications you can call games, but hey, if it makes him feel better, cool. It's a world that's open... sandbox if you will. I don't think it matters what it's technically called, just that it takes you a long time to cross, you probably won't see every inch, and it contains tons of secrets. If it succeeds at that, then I am satisfied.

@MeloMan But yet, First Person Adventure fit much better than FPS because the original Metroid Prime was a really bad FPS.

Do the creators or a PR team come up with such ridiculous stuff? I just scratched my head after reading all that and thought, ok, open world game.

It's perception and it matters. I've heard it called an open world RPG. Which... it's just almost meaningless nowadays. Everything calls itself open world and Nintendo needs to manage perception because that is it's only tool for months to come.

The problem here is that open-air doesn't set it apart in a way that has any immediate meaning. So far, there is a notion of gliding down to areas from that initial plateau that kind of gives you that feeling of "air", but there is also a very strong element of survival that other Zelda games didn't have.

To me, there are a couple of huge puzzle pieces we are missing before saying one way or another whether this is distinct from other games like it.

1. How is story integrated? Right now the villages and NPCs and story beyond the first moment was turned off in this game.

2. How do the more elaborate dungeons fit in? Main abilities are unlocked through some small shrines, so how do the dungeons fit in?

The "dungeons" are the big differentiator from other adventure games and "open world" games in my mind and we haven't seen a hint yet.

It's "Hero Brawler" all over again.

it's an open-mouth game because it's so jaw-dropping. ha.

You probably deserve at Least two more hearts. <3<3.