Tag: Locke

“Goal-oriented gameplay and environmental presence exist in unavoidable tension. In moderation, sense of purpose can make a place come alive. But when we focus on moves, strategy, puzzles, and other performance-oriented tasks, we’re left with little cognitive room to appreciate the surrounding environment.” – Douglas Wilson, “Look Before You Warp”1 The above quote is from a chapter in The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am (a collection of essays, edited by Luke Cuddy) in which Wilson…

As I had expected, Nintendo’s E3 2011 press conference treated us with not another gameplay trailer but a cinematic trailer for Skyward Sword featuring much of the early story. It was well put together, giving us a good feel of what the beginning of the game will be like without actually revealing too much of the story itself. It’s enough to prepare us for it while still allowing us the full experience when the game finally comes out. As always…

What? How could that old trailer be more important than the new GDC 2011 one? Well, I certainly wouldn’t say it’s more important, and this article will focus primarily on the more recent one. Discussions with other theorists during and shortly after the first trailer’s release brought up a very wide range of topics and theories. I realized that it all relates to the short introduction to the first Skyward Sword footage we ever saw, and I thought that would…

Shigeru Miyamoto constantly reminds us that he sees gameplay as the most important aspect of Zelda games to keep people playing them. This may be true overall, but I am more drawn in by the individual stories of each game and each character, and especially by the overarching themes of the Zelda timeline. While most are probably looking forward to the new Wii Motion Plus controls and enjoy Miyamoto’s interviews about the gameplay, I’ve focused almost entirely on the story…