Mario Bautista
Leading up to the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo talked a lot about the gameplay that awaited players in the skies. What they kept quiet on was the Depths, which some would argue is an even more interesting part of the experience.
There’s nothing quite like your first time jumping into the Depths, as what awaits below is actually unsettling. There’s nothing but vast darkness waiting ahead, and you never know what creature, landscape or challenge is awaiting just outside of your vision. This forces the player to tread carefully, lighting their path ahead every step of the way.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom art director Satoru Takizawa spoke a bit about the creation of the Depths, which started out being inspired by the Cretaceous Period, but the exploration in the darkness and light-as-you-go mechanics didn’t come into play until later.
So we had to confirm the playstyle of the Depths before we could create specific art, but this “activating the lights” was thankfully extremely compatible with our first fantasy of a Cretaceous-style large-scale world. The moment you activate the lights, suddenly before your eyes things like large plants and animals or statues shockingly appear, it is a bit of a scary and creepy sensation, but I thought it would make a sense of wonder and surprise for players too. – art director Satoru Takizawa
