http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/mythos-as-a-cage/
It is pretty easy to see fictional video game worlds as a sort of cage. Mushroom Kingdom, which is the video game equivalent of Alice’s Wonderland, could not have gritty urban environments in it. It would destroy the game world and make the franchise a joke. Metroid, which is very alien and very sci-fi, could not have a pastoral setting of cows and farms. Zelda, which is a type of celtic wonderland with swords, magic, and monsters, could not have automobiles or cell phones or laser guns.
Or could Zelda have these things?
In an e-mailed response, Aonuma said: “Technology actually was not a major concern for us when we decided to use the train. In The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, the boat was the key mode of transportation. Now that Spirit Tracks takes place on land, we needed a new way for players to get around, and felt that the train offered the best sense of exploration and discovery. We don’t think it feels out of place in the game world. Trains are also a popular mode of transportation in Japan. My children and I still feel a great sense of adventure when we ride trains in Japan.”
How in the world can trains explore when they are on pre-determined tracks? The second bold is more ominous.
Remember Sid Meir’s “dinosaur” game? His son liked dinosaurs so he thought he should make a dinosaur game. Fortunately, that dinosaur game got scrapped.
Aonuma is, unfortunately, using what his children do as the basis of how to design Zelda. When I first saw Spirit Tracks, I immediately thought of Thomas the Train games that my nephews play. Aonuma, when he suggested flight in Zelda Wii, said he was inspired to do it because of his kid. This is all very troubling because Zelda is not being designed by the rules of nature or by what works in entertainment but by the eccentricities of Aonuma’s offspring.
“Regarding use of other forms in technology in the future, as long it adds to the overall game experience and is something we feel the player would enjoy, we wouldn’t be afraid to implement it. As a matter of fact, we have used the Hook Shot in several previous games, which would be considered a very modern type of technology, even by today’s standards. “
The issue is not technology but about the content of the game universe. Guys like Aonuma cannot even define what Zelda is. If you cannot define what Zelda is, how in the hell can you define what the consumer experience of Zelda is?
The Zelda series is being run into the ground. Zelda fans will be unhappy with this post. But Zelda fans, remember that if what I say is true, that if the Zelda series is being run into the ground, the people who will detect it last will be the core Zelda fans. There are some who hold Aonuma as the ‘true genius’ behind Zelda and that Miyamoto should get out of the way. But ever since Aonuma came on board, the Zelda series keeps sinking both in sales and in reputation. The gold cartridge game is now tarnished. It is no longer ’special’.
A bad writer changes the content of the story to suit the writing rather than the other way around. In the same way, a bad game designer changes the content of the game to suit the gameplay rather than the other way around. And by content, I do not mean an item or a monster. I mean the game world.
