Zelda: TotK and Super Mario Bros. Wonder talks set for GDC 2024

The organizers of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2024 have announced that developers behind Super Mario Bros. Wonder and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be presenting talks at the conference, which takes place in San Francisco’s Moscone Center on March 18-22.

The full session description for the Zelda talk, entitled “Tunes of the Kingdom: Evolving Physics and Sounds for ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’,” is at the link here. The full session description for the Mario talk, entitled “2D and Tomorrow: How the Developers of ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder’ Find New Joy in Creating Classic Side-Scrolling Adventures,” is at the link here.

Tunes of the Kingdom: Evolving Physics and Sounds for ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ features developers discussing how they structured an expanded Hyrule around physics-based gameplay and evolved sound design. Join the game’s Technical Director Takuhiro Dohta, Lead Physics Programmer Takahiro Takayama, and Lead Sound Engineer Junya Osada as they explore challenges their teams faced when approaching the popular sequel—which received seven nominations at the 2024 Game Developers Choice Awards, including Best Audio.

In this session, they will share insights on Link’s new abilities, composing Hyrule’s expanded sound design and music, and how these go hand-in-(Ultra)hand to create a new experience for players. By the end of Mr. Dohta, Mr. Takayama, and Mr. Osada’s talk, they aim to give attendees and players everywhere new perspective on the world of Tears of the Kingdom and the innovations within.

GDC will also feature 2D and Tomorrow: How the Developers of ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder’ Find New Joy in Creating Classic Side-Scrolling Adventures. Following last year’s launch of the Super Mario Bros.TM Wonder game, developers Takashi Tezuka and Shiro Mouri discuss the unique challenge of taking classic side-scrolling Super Mario Bros. gameplay and turning it upside down…literally.

The developers explain how the game’s new elements—such as Wonder effects that flip, spin and transform the game’s Flower Kingdom world—draw inspiration from Mario’s 2D past but deliver unexpected new surprises for players to discover. Mr. Tezuka and Mr. Mouri will also share insights on the game’s creative first steps, how they expanded player choice options and the process of adding a new online experience to the game. Wowie Zowie!