Gamers might be able to work together to solve quests

Jun 23, 2014 09:42 GMT  ·  By

Eiji Aonuma, the leading developer working on the Zelda franchise at Nintendo, has suggested that the variety of spin-offs that are being considered for the series at the moment, including Hyrule Warriors, are designed to test ideas that could one day be integrated into the core titles in the series.

This means that multiplayer is one of the possibilities that are considered for the newly revealed The Legend of Zelda, although it is not clear whether it will use a set of classic mechanics or if the company is trying to introduce a new type of gameplay experience.

In an interview with Game Informer, Eiji Aonuma says that, “When I was talking back about making Zelda more than just a single-player experience? That’s something you will see in the future, maybe next year.”

The developer was not ready to offer any sort of extra detail on the way multiplayer could work for the game.

Cooperative play, with one player controlling protagonist Link and another taking over one of his allies, is closer to the core ideas of the franchise, but it could also support competitive multiplayer, which would involve actually playing as one of the villains.

The new Legend of Zelda was revealed at the E3 2014 press conference of Nintendo via a very beautiful trailer that shows off the new open world nature of the title and the way it uses the increased computing power of the Wii U to deliver a complex world.

Aonuma says that he wants to deliver a game that brings the franchise back to its roots of exploration and that his team is striving to create a series of new puzzles that take into account the structure of the world and feel more organic.

Nintendo has not offered an official launch window for the new game, but it will probably arrive later in 2015.

The company has also suggested that it will create a new name for it, which will reflect the fact that it is a new start for the entire universe that aims to incorporate the older titles.

Nintendo has been dissatisfied with the sales performance of the Wii U and The Legend of Zelda is part of a wider attempt to revive its fortunes and make it a solid competitor for the Xbox One from Microsoft and the PlayStation 4 from Sony.

The home console has performed well after the launch of Mario Kart 8 and the next milestone is the coming Super Smash Bros.