Meet the ZI Staff: Rodney “Rod” Lloyd

Wow, I forgot how difficult it was to write about myself… Anyway, hi. My name is Rodney Lloyd, but you can call me Rod if you prefer. I’m a writer here at Zelda Informer, keeping you all up-to-date on the world of Zelda news. You’re welcome. Anyway, I reside in Southern California with my family. I recently graduated college with a degree in English and I’m currently fighting against every societal roadblock in my way of succeeding as a real games journalist. But you don’t really care about that, right? You want some childhood Zelda stories, right? Well, keep reading and you’re sure to find a few of those.

Beginnings…

When I was an awkward, little third grader, I was obsessed with my Nintendo 64. I wasn’t exactly the most popular kid in school, so I escaped into video games to feel a little more fulfilled. Now, I should I mention that I had never played a Zelda game at this point. I barely even knew what Zelda was. I only recognized Link from Super Smash Bros., and assumed he was some third-string hero who was nowhere near as popular as Mario or Pikachu. Please forgive my young, naive mind.

One fateful day, a kid my age moved into the house across the street from mine. I learned that he too had a Nintendo 64 and we both happened to be playing Rayman 2: The Great Escape at the same time. I invited him over to play games with me, and he brought over a game I’d never seen before: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. I think I’m one of the only Zelda fans to say that their fandom was directly influenced by Rayman. Thanks, Rayman.

I was immediately captivated by Majora’s Mask. My friend and I played that game through countless nights. I remember staying up until 2 A.M. to complete the Romani Ranch cow abduction side-quest, and trying for weeks to secure the Couple’s Mask. It may seem like a Zelda fan cliché, but I still hold Majora’s Mask as a favorite in the series. (Notice I said a favorite, not the favorite)

From there, I let Zelda completely consume my life. I rented Ocarina of Time every week from the local video store; it reached the point in which the store owner just gave me the cartridge. I borrowed Link’s Awakening DX from a friend and forgot to give it back. I even read the Oracle of Ages and Seasons choose-your-own-adventure books for my school’s required reading.

This guy’s a writer, right?

It was around this time that I also developed an interest in writing, but never in the way teachers wanted me to. For most writing assignments, I wrote about aspects of the Zelda universe. I summarized the games, I developed timelines, and I wrote fan theories in class. I even remember using Zelda for an essay about my “culture.” I’m sure the assignment was designed for students to write about their family’s culture, but being an American, middle-class kid in California, I had no real culture. Zelda was my culture.

When the GameCube came around, I was one of those people who was not impressed with Wind Waker‘s art style. I was hoping for something like that Zelda SpaceWorld 2000 demo! I still bought Wind Waker, partially because it was released on my birthday, which was pretty cool considering it’s Link‘s birthday at the start of the game. (…Okay. The game came out the day before my birthday, but it makes for a better story this way). To be honest, I’m still not a fan of the original Wind Waker, mostly because the pacing is awful. That Triforce hunt at the end still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Relax, everybody. I’ve since repented and think Wind Waker HD is a fantastic game. It’s probably among my top 5 favorite Zelda games.

In an effort to make up for my Wind Waker disappointment, a friend and I took it upon ourselves to develop our own Zelda game. He worked on the weapon and dungeon designs while I developed the story and characters. The project never got past the concept phase (which is probably a good thing considering we never had to be ruthlessly shut down by Nintendo).

I’m still impressed by the story details my young mind conceived. I planned to set my story after Wind Waker, in a restored, expansive Hyrule City. In the center of the city, forebodingly unmoved, would stand the statue of the defeated Ganondorf. But one day, it vanishes, causing panic across the denizens of Hyrule City. Link would then take it upon himself to solve the mystery and save Hyrule. Heck, I’d play that game.

Life is hard sometimes…

My love of Zelda and video games has not wavered since those days. During college, no matter how often I tried to fool myself that it was a dumb idea, I really wanted to pursue games journalism. Write about video games? That sounds amazing! So after I graduated, I started applying to any writing job I could find. Of the few interviews I actually landed, I was sadly overlooked in favor of other candidates. I was forced to take up a night job at UPS to make money.

That was when I saw a post by Nathanial Rumphol-Janc on the Zelda Informer Facebook page. Nate mentioned that the site was looking for new writers and I knew what I had to do. I emailed him immediately and… nothing. In hindsight, I probably made my email sound too forced and too professional. I blame the atmosphere of other jobs I had applied to, but I probably looked really foolish in that email.

Anyway, I began to feel completely down, as if I’d run out of options. On

a day in which I was rejected by yet another job, I was listening to a podcast with Capcom Unity’s Seth Killian, who mentioned the many, many attempts it took for him to get the attention of Capcom. So, feeling a little inspired, I emailed Nate a second time. This time, surprisingly, he emailed me back almost immediately.

That was how I got linked into Zelda Informer. I’ve worked here for over a month and there’s no argument that this is the best job I’ve ever had. I feel incredibly lucky to know that everyone I work with and everyone I write for shares the same love of Zelda I do. I know that we’ll all always have the same wide-eyed expression when Nintendo announces some shiny, new Zelda thing.

The miscellaneous faff…

In my free time, I’ve been writing a post-modern novel and some screenplays. I also some ideas for a comic book I may produce one day. Who knows? I also produce gameplay videos with my friends on YouTube. We call ourselves the CynicTeam.

I’ve got some exciting things to come in the next few months. In addition to news, I’ll be posting a few editorials soon. I won’t give away too much, but maybe this gentleman will give you a hint.

I’m going pretty long, huh? Okay…

Lightning round!

Favorite Zelda game in terms of story: Majora’s Mask.

Favorite Zelda game in terms of gameplay: A Link Between Worlds

Least Favorite Zelda game: Skyward Sword

Zelda Waifu: Midna

Favorite Non-Zelda Game: Metroid Prime

Favorite Non-Nintendo Game: Resident Evil (2002)

Favorite Zelda Related Internet Video: This one

Favorite Film: Pulp Fiction

Favorite Web Comic: Homestuck

For My Random Thoughts: Twitter

K bai…

Anyway thanks for taking the time to read through my story, and big thanks to every single one of you for accepting me into the Zelda Informer family. Now if you’ve managed to get through this monstrous thing, take a bow and let me know your Zelda stories. I really want to get to know all of you better (not just Greenbeans). Heck, maybe just yell at me and tell me I’m wrong about Skyward Sword.

(Wow, I just realized how many Wind Waker images I used. I think I am Toon Link in spirit)

Anyway, that’s it! Rodney Lloyd out!