Zelda Sequel Behind-The-Scenes Shots And Nintendo Concept Art Shown Off

Nintendo’s Japanese designer recruitment site has shared some interesting concept art and insight into how the trailer to the upcoming Breath of the Wild sequel came together. The site, spotted by VGC, explains Nintendo’s expectations from designers and artists, showing off some of the work that has gone into their most popular recent games and characters. It’s not just valuable for potential designers, though, as the page also features some great concept art.

The page includes some concept art for Isabelle, the mayor’s assistant from Animal Crossing: New Leaf who proved so popular that she became a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It shows several iterations the character went through before her look was settled on. It says that they wanted a character who as many people as possible would grow attached to.

There are also various pieces of Splatoon 2 stage and character design throughout the page, showing off the different models and the colorful designs of the game’s levels. There’s no major revelations here, but it’s interesting how the stage art captures the general vibe of the game well.

Much of the page is focused on the work that went into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including the reveal of the game’s sequel. The first image below shows how a mix of motion capture and Maya software was used to map Link’s movements in the trailer, which is embedded above. It’s a small but welcome insight into the process involved. The other images from the original Breath of the Wild below are a mix of storyboards for the game’s iconic opening scene of Link running to the clifftop and environmental design examples.

The Breath of the Wild sequel is happening because Nintendo had too many ideas for DLC. A release date has not been announced, but it will be exclusive to Nintendo Switch.