Nintendo
“ Development is going to be chaos . ”
That was the chemical reaction of Takahiro Takayama , lead physics engineer onThe Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom , when he ascertain the first prototype for two of the plot ’s abilities : Ultrahand and Fuse . The veteran applied scientist , who led the physics arrangement onThe Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild , as well , have it off that this type of physics system was uncharted territory .
Nintendo
“ The more I thought , the more I worried , ” he explained during a venire at 2024 ’s Game Developers Conference ( GDC ) . This rarified peak behind the curtain from the developers at Nintendo expose just how much of an accomplishment of invention and engineering the unique physics organisation really is .
The physics of Zelda
binge of the Kingdomhas received near universal acclamation , and the physical science system plays a vital role in that . It ’s one of those design elements you normally take for accord — something that exists in the background and rarely come up during core gameplay . ForTears of the Kingdom , however , physics are everything . And on a pursuance to deliver a true sandbox for player to let their imaginativeness run unfounded , physics changed everything .
Why a aperient system ? For the development team behindTears of the Kingdom , it all come up down to the concept of “ multiplicative gameplay . ” rather of construct playfulness interactions , the team rig out to create systems where those interaction would happen naturally . Takuhiro Dohta , who work on the engine behindTears of the Kingdom , explain : “ Rather than make something fun , make a arrangement that makes fun things happen . ”
That was the idea behind bothBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom . draw near the 2d game , the squad desire to enhance the elements the first biz launch . This other prototyping stage brought about Ultrahand and Fuse , which allow role player to combine different elements to make something new .
It ’s a great idea from a design standpoint , but the ones in bearing of actually making this organization oeuvre were n’t as enthused . “ I recognize this was go to be very , very difficult , ” Takayama said .
Tears of the Kingdomuses two layers of physics . The foundation garment is Havok , a well - get it on physics system of rules that ’s widely used across game . Nintendo layers its own in - house purgative system on top of this .
But those arrangement on their own were n’t enough . With these new abilities , the physics squad broke the game on a daily footing , send objects flying off where they should n’t and creating conflict that would vote out the immersive experience the team was after . “ The clash between these non - physics objects and Ultrahand have daily problems , ” Takayama explicate .
in the beginning , only some of the elements ofTears of the Kingdomhad a true physics interaction . Takayama provided the example of gates and cogs as non - physics objects . These target work found off of their spiritedness , and they were stimulate a mickle of problems when interacting with the sometimes wild physics of abilities like Ultrahand .
The solution ? Makeeverythinga physics object .
A world of objects
Instead of a logic gate , you would have a textile like woodwind to make up a gate , along with a motor and a chain attached to it . Together , they created something that was physically precise . And like that , Tears of the Kingdomwas crack wide exposed .
“ Everything , without elision , being physics - driven is necessary to make multiplicative gameplay a reality . ” It grow down to the essence of what the team was trying to do all along . or else of making dedicated interaction , it would demand to build the systems to allow histrion determine what interaction they wanted .
That brought about the conscientious process of model everything . A wheel is no longer a wheel . It ’s a wheel , connected to a motor , with its own shaft and suspension . Chains are no longer just chains . They ’re multiple chain golf links , each simulated establish on their material and weight , then string together .
You ca n’t do this manually for everything in the game . Takayama explicate that object would have some critical elements like flock and inactiveness calculated automatically base on their textile , size , and cast . This made the world interact with itself . or else of building systems for object in the water , for example , you’re able to calculate the irrepressibility and resistance of the water and how the mickle and inertia of a physics objective interact with that .
This vocalise big in possibility , but the team promptly ran up against an payoff . There was a mismatch between how an object looked in the secret plan and the physically qualities it would take on . Takayama leave the example of a wooden dining table . It needed to be much larger in order for histrion to see it , which meant it was much heavier and did n’t interact with the world in the fashion player expected .
For these situations , the team needed to correct the objective manually . This created a carefully choreographed dance between biz design , art , and cathartic to make aim that depend like players expected and interacted with the public like role player expected . The art team ask to work with the physics team to make objects look and feel right , and everyone needed to consult with conception to check that it made sense in the game .
One of the illustration Takayama provided was the Portable Pot . Frightened that the subject matter of the batch would shed out if set up on a sloped control surface , the artistry squad figured out a way to ensure the Portable Pot was always flavorless . It used a joint at the nucleotide of the great deal to rotate it once you set the object down , secure it was always flat .
It ’s a round-eyed solution , but of form , it did n’t stop there . Players terminate up taking the Portable Pot and using it as a spliff to bring together atrocious vehicles , essentially leveraging the system the squad built to produce something entirely new . That ’s what makesTears of the Kingdomso special — how role player can take these aperient objects and let their imaging run tempestuous .
