The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may have a familiar layout to Hyrule, but the sequel from last year feels completely different due to its physics-driven objects. Lead physics programmer Takahiro Takayama believes this change was the right decision, despite the chaos it can cause in the game world.
During a GDC presentation on the game’s physics and sound, Takayama discussed how the team experimented with new ideas like the Ultrahand, which allows players to combine objects to create various things like vehicles, torture devices, and more. This shift to physics-driven objects presented challenges, but Takayama credits their experience from developing Breath of the Wild for guiding them through these challenges.
According to Takayama, every object in the game had to be programmed with dynamic, rigid bodies and constraints to allow players to freely express their creativity without breaking the world. Even player abilities were affected by this physics system, as shown in the video where objects react unpredictably to collisions. The decision to make Recall physics-driven was also crucial in maintaining a stable game world.
A Zelda developer mentioned that the real threat in Tears of the Kingdom wasn’t Ganondorf, but the potential for players to destroy the world through the game’s physics system.
