Video Game Critique: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Game pacing is very difficult to master while designing a video game; however, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild developed by Nintendo is a prime example of it done well. In this paper, you will find common theory and examples of game pacing and how this game manages to accomplish similar mechanics. Game Pacing in other gamesA common way to pace a game is through careful planning within the narrative.
According to the article “Pace Yourself: How Developers Control Pacing in a Video Game” by Nick Snow, pacing is often controlled by varying events from low intensity to high intensity. Snow mentions that game pacing within the narrative is different to pacing in other narratives such as movies and books. Unlike movies and books, games are generally controlled by the player and a way they can be balanced is by altering exploration and action sequences. Snow lists The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda, and Grand Theft Auto as examples of using this balance. Another way to control game pacing is through mechanics. The article “How Mechanics Dictate Video Game Pacing” by Josh Bycer explains how many games are controlled by easy to difficult levels in mechanics.
As Bycer states, there are “three phases of understanding: Beginner, Moderate and Expert. ” which is a very common way that most games utilize. Bycer also mentions that a game’s pacing is compromised when these phases aren’t properly utilized. Game pacing in ZeldaThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild utilizes pieces from both examples above; however, it does even more. This is because the game is non-constrictive open world with very natural pacing and almost happens as it would in real life. This is accomplished by incorporating upgrades to things such as stamina, health, weapons, and armor. Without these upgrades, the player will find it difficult to advance to areas of the game that were meant to be dealt with after a certain amount of experience. The beauty of it is that the player isn’t stopped from trying to reach these areas. The difficulty level to certain areas acts as a soft boundary; the player may find it necessary to come back with enough upgrades in order to progress in that direction. In the early game, the stamina wheel is the one thing that really holds the player back from reaching certain areas because Link will give up quickly.
As the game progresses, the player is able to upgrade the capacity of the wheel which allows them to climb or swim farther; therefore, naturally unlocking other areas. Although the stamina wheel affects the player extensively in the early game, once upgraded enough, it becomes less and less necessary to upgrade the capacity of the wheel in order to continue the game; however, this is where it becomes more important to focus on the HP upgrades, or in Zelda terms, heart container upgrades. This is because later in the game the player will start to face progressively more difficult enemies where health becomes very valuable. In the early game, it is a good time to venture the land and act as a scavenger so that Link can be upgraded to make progress which is where stamina upgrades come in to help. The transition of stamina upgrades to health upgrades is very apparent in order to pace through the game properly. Along with health upgrades, weapon, and armor becomes just as important. As enemies become progressively more difficult, dealing heavier damage and minimizing damage to Link is vital.
Conclusion
Games are entertaining and fun to a majority of people and there are many reasons why but most of the time it is because of the hours of work and critical thinking game developers put into them. Without structure and great design work, many games would have failed. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is well known across the world as being a fun game and the use of great game pacing is one of the many reasons why.
