Hmmm.
I've been told by people that one of the things they most love about my fanfiction is the realism that I bring to the Zelda world.
I'm not completely realistic. I *like* being able to defy physics in a cartoony-way with things like riding cuccoos - it's so ridculous it's hilarious. I actually once read an article about the art and craft of science fiction and fantasy writing in a writer's magazine my household susbscribes to. The article was by a sci-fi writer who claimed that he learned the concept of "writing physics for other-worlds" via his childhood love of videogames. As long as the the rules-that-don't-work-in-our-world are *consistent* for the otherworld, it will make sense. You can't do this too much. Hyrule is supposed to feel like a real country, not anvil-dropping Looney Tunes land (so that kind of thing has to be used sparingly and consistently when it does come up).
Legend, Myth and Religion in Hyrule I'm mixed on. Really. I co-wrote a long fanfiction once that featured "people losing faith in the Goddesses and the magic going away" as a part of the storyline. Link brought it back, but found out that the Goddesses weren't quite as divine as advertised. Still, there was another, basic magic force/universal neutral life-force at work in the world. So, in the end, the growing skeptics were partially right? And so were those that still held to the "old ways." Partially right, if not completely. The other day, I was thinking of another videogame I haven't played in a while: "Wild ARMS 3." As I recall the world of Filiagia, I remember there being two major religions on the planet. One was the Baskar people, who were psuedo-Native American hippie types who believed in elemental spirits. The other was, I kid you not, a rationalist-religion that "didn't follow any gods" and "believed in science and reason" but still operated like and was considered by the people of the planet a "religious order." (They believed in the crazy idea that humans came from space and were dedicated to unearthing lost technology to help people). Both religions turn out to be right - as the lost technology exists *and* your party makes use of the elemental spirits for magic-casting. I like situations where there's a third-option or all sides have a "piece of the truth." I think that's more realistic than either destroying a world's religion completely or making everyone devout. I was really impressed in Skyward Sword with the character of Jakamar. He tells you to pray at the bird statues (to save your game), yet, later you find out that he doesn't believe in the Surface. He believes in one side of an "old myth" but not the other. It's a little detail, but I loved it (even though he turned out to be wrong, it didn't matter - it was just a little detail that made an NPC have a little realism).
Realism I'd like to see:
I think it would be interesting if injuries and medicine were slightly more real. I don't think it would be too horrible to have Link bleed a little. There was a little flash of red when he got hit by a guillotine in the Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time. It would be cool if his uniform took a little damage. I mean, "Shadow of the Colossus" remains a T-rated game, but it features (black) blood (from enemies) and a progressive disheveling of the character's apperance. It wasn't so nasty that it put it into M-rated territory. Let Link's tunic get a little scuffed and burned. Have it "fixed" when he visits NPC friends or rests a bit. I think if injuries and medical stuff were as realistic as how I write them in my fanfiction, the gameplay wouldn't be as fun, but adding a *slight* bit of realism wouldn't be so bad.
Care of steed-beasts and other animals. Okay, all I'm asking for is a little bit of poop in the fields. Come on! A goat-field without Cocco-Puffs? I've worked with goats and horses! I KNOW BETTER! It's not good to leave a horse saddled all the time, or to make the horse's "home" a teather to a stake. They should have an open pen to run in, or a stable, or best-yet, alternation between the two (the stable for bad weather, the penned field for exercise and grazing).
Little details. I think it would be interesting if the games made you maintain your weapons every once in a while, or have to do things to take care of your hygine or had Link sit down to eat a meal to replenish his strength.
Those are my thoughts on the realism. In the end, I like a mix of reality and fantasy in my fantasy stories. Too much of one or another can become a bore.
As far as art style... Skyward Sword's style is my favorite. My guy points out some of the jaggedness and mistakes in animation, but if those could be cleared up, future games with Skyward's general style would be quite nice for me. It's colorful and has that "Impressionist painting" feel. It's vibrant without the ridiculous cartoon proportions. Wind Waker was fun in that it felt like playing a child's storybook, but it also felt "too childish" for the somewhat dark story it presented. (Wind Waker Ganondorf does remain my favorite style for him, though). But, yeah, I think Skyward had a good balance as far as "look."