There are many reasons why many considered The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom as the “Game of the Year” in 2023. First off, it was a fun title with a compelling story that players loved going through. Another element was the vast world that Link traveled through, including the new Sky Realm and Depths that could be explored. However, true to the series’ nature, the sound design was another important element. From the sweeping pieces to the simple sounds you heard across Hyrule, a lot was going on. To that end, the Sound Programmer for the game has revealed some of what he did to make the sound design pop.
This came via an interview from Nintendo of Japan that was translated by Nintendo Everything. In the interview, Shun Hayami noted:
“While development progressed, I worked together with the sound designers to figure out what kind of sounds should be used for different kinds of contact. One of the biggest issues then was that we wanted different sounds depending on whether an object was rolling or sliding on a surface. For example, the sound an iron ball makes when rolling down a slope is different from when it slides and falls, and the same goes for when a tire either rolls or slides.”
That might sound like a lot of effort for something people wouldn’t naturally notice, but that showcases how seriously Shun and the rest of the sound team took their roles. They could’ve done things the “easy way,” but they wanted to make every element of Hyrule seem magical to those who played it. In other words, they wanted to ensure nothing was out of place.
“To move forward with game development, a balance needs to be achieved between many limitations and elements. Within that, I as a programmer need to communicate closely with sound designers who specialize in audio in order to understand what sounds they want to implement, then make use of my understanding of the game’s systems and knowledge of physics to move both of us closer to the sounds we want to make a reality, which I find to be a very attractive job.”
So let that be a lesson to those who think sound design and implementation are easy. Many elements go into game development to make everything pop, and sound design is easily one of the most essential elements. Next time you play Tears of the Kingdom, just pause and see if you can hear some of the subtle sounds.
