Regarding Zelda

I recently read a book by Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon professor who, when told he would soon die of pancreatic cancer, had made the decision to host a lecture, entitled the Last Lecture (also the name of his book) that goes away from his specialty of virtual worlds and into the infinitely more complex one of reality.

There is a line from the book, and anyone as downtrodden as I get will appreciate the quote that I think is rather good. It actually reminded me of the Legend of Zelda series:

Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.

Of course, there’s the implied romance part of it. But nowhere in the annals of game lore is there anyone so chronically cockblocked as Link. Only in the truest non-sequel does he get with the princess. The fat bastard Italian gets more lovin’. Link, whether he is explicitly interested or not, it’s a remarkable silent chivalry. How many games typify chivalry without the payoff?

In chivalry, the payoff simply isn’t the point.

Now this past summer I sat down with Grand Theft Auto 4, a magnificent game. It’s not for everyone, but the one thing that game got was scale. It got physics, and beauty. And when Nintendo finally drags itself into the HD era, I think what I saw was a true potential era for Mario. The gaming canvas was made larger by that game. No longer can you use the excuse of space, no longer can we argue that largesse sacrifices detail. To be blunt, GTA4 broke a lot of rules about how a big game is supposed to act.

SCALE

In that one game, they proved that Final Fantasy needn’t now be afraid of actual airships, of scalable land, rather than their current games modus operandi of linked-pre-renders representing less than 10% of the world the game inhabits. I always believed that was a poor choice for the series. Indeed, the game that has effectively de-throned Final Fantasy as RPG of the masses is World of Warcraft. And that game never lost its sense of scale. There isn’t an inch of impossibility in that game, just scale, awe, and immersion.

Zelda games have always had an impressive and expanding idea of scale, but really the kingdom of Hyrule has always been a bit on the small side. A fully HD Zelda, with far off venues that you can see and later touch, would return the game to the sort of epic scale not seen in its fullest since A Link To The Past.

And we know it can be done. Imagine a forest of that much detail. Link’s quest would feel all the more epic.

PHYSICS.

GTA4 has what I call “Thick rubber band physics”. Apply a small amount of force, and there’s nothing. Apply steady force, and you get one hell of a twang. Link should be hit so hard he gets knocked down despite his shield. Bomb blasts should devastate. Don’t cut away from the Dodongo cave opening; make me run like hell from it. By applying a bit more bounce in the world, the enemies become a bit more fun. It would be a bit more cartoonish in a way, but this has never been a studio to remand such ideas. The thick resistance on the low end of the two series is very similar; jumps are small, and speed carries a lot of nonfatal velocity. But the more violent entry understands that payoff, and infuses the situation with a bit more fun. There isn’t a need for cut scenes to show big events, you’re witnessing them. What could be more adventurous in an adventure game?

SPEED

First Person Shooters and others have taught us that enemies can shoot as fast as you can, and you can still win. It is time, I think, for the majority of Link’s enemies to be able to shoot as fast as he can. There will be an element of danger that has been missing from the series. Link got faster, his enemies have stayed the same speed. By increasing their speed, the game becomes slightly deadlier. But not, as has been proven, fatal. There would be a faster pace to this game.

THE CASUAL QUESTION

Of course, the logic-minded will argue, they could never try this. And indeed I have my doubts, too, that they will. Nintendo has shown that they are committed to the casual audience, and these suggestions (which are unabashedly gamer-centric) do not do that.

Until you look at the numbers. Let me explain. Grand Theft Auto 4 was bought by more than core gamers, it was bought by many. World of Warcraft isn’t merely played by hardcore addicts; there are people on there who rarely have the time to play the game. The numbers that these games support are staggering. In 2 years, World of Warcraft can generate over 2 billion dollars in revenue. In a single week, GTA 4 made more money than any of the summer blockbusters. Think about that. GTA 4 made more money than Indiana Jones, than Iron Man, than the goddamn Batman.

There is an audience with huge dividends, and it exists at the weird merging point between the casual gamer and the hardcore. Indeed, that has been where Nintendo has typically found a great deal of success. Look at any of their successful console or portable console portfolios. With their industry leading successes, it wasn’t just the hardcore. And even with the Wii, it certainly isn’t just the casual market. That’s the balance, and aping some of the physics and ideas of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, GTA4, and others would push this series into a new renaissance. It would discourage the continued use of the 3 then Master Sword then 5/6/7 other level model encouraged since A Link To the Past. It would mean more, and these small adjustments may inspire. And being inspired, being motivated, is what this series, at least in its early form, has always been about.

Even if you don’t get the princess.