Seasons???

Do u think it would be a good idea to add the changing of seasons to a zelda game? To show the progression of time while u play? Like having the landscapes change to reflect the passing time. like maybe they can add sum kind of calendar and have certain things happen on certain dates...i dunno just an idea i had.......wut u thank?

So seasons change as you play or the season of the game reacts to the internal clock? Because having seasons change as the story progresses was pretty cool in Bully (the only game I'm aware of that's done this) but it would get weird if it were based on the real world or total play time.

i think as u play would work better. it would give a sense of time passing more than just night and day. plus maybe new areas could be unlocked cuz of snow melting or things like that. it would make the whole of hyrule more interactive i think.

Seasons changing as you progress further into the game would work perfectly. Ofcourse, it would feel awkward if you progress very quickly, but heck, this could work.

I'm not sure if I like the idea of changing seasons advancing the story, but I do love the idea of having changing seasons at all. I think it would make the world seem a little more lively.

it would be cool if each of the tribes also had like celebration days... like festivals that come with the seasons, or certain rituals and practices performed during those periods...to bring good harvest or protection from the elements...

Yeah I would love this. It would just make the world more real feeling. How they would work it in, I dunno. But I guess I would like it to change as the story progresses. And I suppose they did technically have seasons in TP, but just in the fishing hole, and that was pretty cool, all the seasons were pretty, and they affected which fish you could catch.

I'd like the seasons to change after say 10-30 in-game days or something like that.

If the seasons are going to be used for puzzles, a special item will be needed to either advanced time or to magically change seasons on-the-fly.

Originally Posted by [Cartoon]--Link

Do u think it would be a good idea to add the changing of seasons to a zelda game? To show the progression of time while u play? Like having the landscapes change to reflect the passing time. like maybe they can add sum kind of calendar and have certain things happen on certain dates...i dunno just an idea i had.......wut u thank?

Calendars I think is a stupid idea. Seasons, however - Snow, Rain, Sunny, etc. Outside of the Snow temples, water temples, etc, that they randomly occur, could be a cool thing to try out.

Originally Posted by Senap

I'd like the seasons to change after say 10-30 in-game days or something like that.

If the seasons are going to be used for puzzles, a special item will be needed to either advanced time or to magically change seasons on-the-fly.

I really like this idea, and I think it should be incorperated into the game to complete puzzles, or maybe even the game (like time travel in the N64 games).

I think it should happen normally, and halfway/near the end of the game that lets you manipulate the seasons.

Seasons would be a great idea, it would be beautiful to see Hyrule in Autumn! But if they passed, like, based on amount of time you played the game, would that mean that years are passing? I don't think that it would take years to save Hyrule... It might be just a better idea to have an item that controls seasons,

Changing the seasons in Holodrum was pretty fun! It was nice seeing the country in totally different seasons.... it was nice seeing places like Horon Village blooming with flowers or covered with snow.

it would be cool if each of the tribes also had like celebration days... like festivals that come with the seasons, or certain rituals and practices performed during those periods...to bring good harvest or protection from the elements...

I absolutely love this idea! Gorons celebrating bomb flower harvests, or Gerudo celebrating the rare rainy season in the desert. It would make each tribe have their own distinct and unique culture.

Originally Posted by Senap

I'd like the seasons to change after say 10-30 in-game days or something like that.

If the seasons are going to be used for puzzles, a special item will be needed to either advanced time or to magically change seasons on-the-fly.

*points to Rod of Seasons*

Originally Posted by Darkus Triforce

*points to Rod of Seasons*

Is it me, or is it strange NO ONE had mentioned Oracle of Seasons in this thread?

Originally Posted by FelineWitch

Is it me, or is it strange NO ONE had mentioned Oracle of Seasons in this thread?

lol. i also thought that this would kinda be like oracle of seasons...so i thought i would get sum responses that this had been done. But seasons was a 2D game and i think the idea would have way more impact in 3D.

Originally Posted by Freedom G

And I suppose they did technically have seasons in TP, but just in the fishing hole, and that was pretty cool, all the seasons were pretty, and they affected which fish you could catch.

I never noticed this. You can tell i didnt spend much time fishing

Originally Posted by Shinx095

Seasons would be a great idea, it would be beautiful to see Hyrule in Autumn! But if they passed, like, based on amount of time you played the game, would that mean that years are passing? I don't think that it would take years to save Hyrule... It might be just a better idea to have an item that controls seasons,

i think that you dont really have to pay attention to how much time is actually passing. I think if you have an item that controls the seasons then it would be the gimmick that the whole game is based about. I dont know if that would work better tho....

it would be cool if also they changed the foliage in certain areas and had certain plants and flowers growing during different times...and maybe even one of them that heals hearts or sumthing like that, that grows only during certain seasons..

A natural changing of seasons would be amazing. I'd sure love to see that.

I would adore to see the seasons changing. I'm sure it would look amazing.

I love this idea. I've been wanting it for awhile now, and I kinda hope Nintendo will do something about it. Seeing Hyrule covered in snow, or leaves falling off the trees, or maybe just a thunderstorm...

I want seasons in Zelda Wii. <3

I wish this was implemented. See hyrule as a more living breathing evolving world is definilty a good thing in my book.

The potential of 'seasons' in Zelda Wii
If it was featured and pulled of right, then the potential would be superb. Having seasons affect all towns and areas of 'Hyrule' would definitely open up a lot of channels for EAD to inject even more character and personality into the game world by adding so much variation.

Could seasons happen in glorious 3d for Zelda Wii?
I think that it certainly is possible, although I do recognise that featuring seasons in Zelda Wii would be a massive and very work intensive undertaking for EAD, therefore unlikely. They'd effectively need to model at least 3 fundamentally different versions of every location that features seasons, as well as making at least 3 versions of anything really - people, music, culture, speech, festivities among other things. Would be a great surprise and a superb bonus to the fans if it happened.

So it's unlikely, but what if...?
Ignoring the fact that it'd be an incredibly large, and therefore unlikely, undertaking to pull off right; let's look at some advantages that seasons could bring to the table.

1 Seasons could work to heighten the player's awareness on the passage of time within the game. That's something which would ultimately help add to the feeling of immersion for the player. Why? because when the game world stays static, it's harder for the game designers convey a sense of achievement or progress to the player. In other words 'change' - whether seasonal or otherwise - is easily and often intuitively interpreted to signify progress. And great progress would equal Epic!

2 If seasons were to be confirmed for Zelda Wii, then to me that would imply that the game length is larger then that of traditional Zelda's. The reason I say that is because for a traditional 30 to 50 hour Zelda - featuring seasons - it would seem like a waste of developer time to go through so much effort for what is ultimately going to be seen as regular length game experience. In other words, I think associating 'seasons' with a larger then usual Zelda adventure would be fair.

3 Seasons may bring with it an increase in potential for more and better sidequests due to the dynamic nature of the world.

Originally Posted by [Cartoon]--Link

Do u think it would be a good idea to add the changing of seasons to a zelda game? To show the progression of time while u play? Like having the landscapes change to reflect the passing time. like maybe they can add sum kind of calendar and have certain things happen on certain dates...i dunno just an idea i had.......wut u thank?

Kind of like The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons?

But yeah, they really do need to expand on that more and show some more time flow, agreed. OoS was too general. and didn't do it well enough. Just jump on a log and change them.