A Scientific Interpretation of Bokoblin Vision

In the video games Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Link can obtain a handmade Bokoblin mask Kilton made from their Fang and Bone shop. Dressing up as a Bokoblin confuses these bipedal, pig-and-goblin-like monsters into thinking Link is one of their own species, and therefore won’t attack him.

The first time I had Link wear this mask, three Stalkoblins (the skeleton version of Bokoblins) erupted from the ground and sniffed him. They tilted their skulls in confusion while examining him up and down, as if unsure he really was a fellow monster, though he looked like one by the shape of his head and his posture of bent knees and extended arms. I had Link stay still in that posture the whole night, amused by the idea of skeletons without olfactory nerves sniffing him. When dawn came, the skeleton monsters puffed into purple smoke and left their monster parts behind on the grass.

This encounter made me wonder what makes the Bokoblin mask effective. If the world in this video game was real, what is the science behind why the Bokoblins don’t attack Link while he’s wearing this mask?

In real-world animals, the location of their eyes plays a part in determining what the animal sees. Predators, such as humans, raccoons, lions, and owls, tend to have forward-facing eyes that work together to see the same image from one side of our body. This gives us binocular vision, allowing us to see depth so we can hunt prey. Since our eyes face forward, we see in front of us well, but we have blind spots anywhere behind us.

On the other hand, prey animals, such as turtles, horses, deer, and rabbits, tend to have eyes on the sides of their heads. In their monocular vision, their eyes work separately to see different images from either side of their body. This eye location lets them see their peripheries better so they can spot predators sneaking up on them. Their sense of depth isn’t as developed as forward-facing eyes.

Bokoblin eyes are not clearly in front or on the sides of their heads, but rather somewhere in between. Their eye location resembles that of a pig. This placement allows them a 310-degree panoramic view of the world. Pigs have monocular vision on the sides, and binocular vision in front of them where the two images from each eye meet. Perhaps this is why the Stalkoblins moved around while sniffing Link. Maybe they tried to fit Link within their binocular vision to get a better look at him.

Since these monsters tried to gather more sensory information about Link through their sense of smell, perhaps they are like pigs in that they rely more on their senses of hearing and smell to navigate the world. Perhaps the overall shape of Link wearing the mask is enough to pass for a skinny monster.