Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda: Group Project of Destiny- No longer active

[Jam Stunna]

After finishing Skyward Sword, I find myself in the mood for more fantasy. I'm also in the writing mood, so why not combine both desires together? I've wanted to write a videogame for a long time (and even kind of did so), but it's no fun to write something by yourself, something that assuredly no one else will ever read.

So I figured: why not make it a group project? After all, real games aren't written by just one person. I've tried group writing projects on SWF in the past, with varying degrees of success (here's the best example), and while those didn't exactly go according to plan, they were fun.

What I'm proposing is not a Legend of Zelda story or fanfiction; instead, I want us to come up with the elements that would be necessary to make a game: plot, characters, locations, enemies, scenarios, weapons, etc. If we eventually came up with a bunch of notes and ideas, that would be cool, but ideally I would like to have everything done short of actual programming, including a script and some artwork. It doesn't have to be professional quality, obviously. This is just for fun, but I do think we could come up with some interesting, quality stuff.

The main place where I think the other group projects failed was in structure. There were too many people who wanted to be the star of the story, and the group's efforts suffered as a result. Before you volunteer for this, understand two things: 1) This project will be run by committee, and in a democratic fashion (we'll vote on major changes and additions to the project) and 2) THIS IS A GROUP PROJECT! We all have to work together to make it work; if you're idea is not adopted by the group, then that's it. If the group asks you to write a scene or scenario that you don't like, you still have to do it. This will only work if the contributors think of this as "our project," "our story," not "my story."

Also, there will be leaders in this project. Those leaders won't have veto power or have unilateral decision making power, but instead will facilitate aspects of the project as they become necessary. For example, if we actually do get to the point where we're writing a script or making character sketches, someone will need to take a leadership role to make sure those tasks are completed. I don't have anything or anyone in mind yet, but I'm letting you know that it will happen eventually.

Lastly, there will be deadlines and a schedule. The #1 thing that kills projects like this isn't individual ego or disorganization, it's inertia. Everyone starts off interested, then people start dropping off as time passes. I'd rather everyone get pissed off and quit because of expectations that they actually do something than the project just fade away as people stop doing things. So, if you do join the project, please do your part, and in a timely manner.

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Now that all the official stuff is out of the way, who's interested? Please post in this thread by MONDAY, JANUARY 2ND AT 11:59 PST. NO ONE WILL BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GROUP PROJECT WHO HAS NOT POSTED AN INTEREST BY THE DEADLINE. One of the problems with other group projects was that people jumped in without actually having read the story. I want everyone who finishes this to have been a part of it from the beginning. Thanks, and let's have some fun!

 

[Orboknown]

I cant program/draw,but i do put effort into anything i commit myself too.And i can write decently.Count me in Jam.

 

[Jam Stunna]

Yeah, don't worry about programming. The most this is going to be is writing/drawings.

 

[Orboknown]

Awesome.Yes ill do my part.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Man I'm doing this on my own already.

And after that I wanna work on a concept by me and Spire.

So yeah, I'd love to help, but I'm pretty much covered in Zelda chocolate already.

 

[etecoon]

If we eventually came up with a bunch of notes and ideas, that would be cool, but ideally I would like to have everything done short of actual programming, including a script and some artwork.

music? I would be very interested in this

 

[Spire]

Heh, we attempted this long ago, and in several forms. None of them worked, and that's because of the reasons you addressed.

Consider me on board Jam!

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

I remember that. It looked promising too.

 

[Jam Stunna]

music? I would be very interested in this

Sure! I hadn't even thought of that, but if you want to contribute music, by all means!

Heh, we attempted this long ago, and in several forms. None of them worked, and that's because of the reasons you addressed.

Consider me on board Jam!

Yeah, honestly, projects like this almost never actually come to much of anything. I hope that since we've experienced some of the pitfalls before, we can get past them. But if not, let's try to at least have fun failing miserably.

 

[Spire]

Whether or not it is ever completed, we'll be developing through ideas which requires the brain to work through all kinds of concepts. Because of that, we'll gain experience and that's worth working for.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

I'll join in. Since the idea is creating the layout for a game short of actual production, it will be interesting to see what people agree on doing. Puzzles? FPS? Turn-based? Fighter?

 

[kupo15]

Sounds interesting. What type of game are you thinking of? A 3d game or a 2d game? I've been getting into 2d programming a lot lately (programming my own game as we speak) and I might be able to help out with that

 

[Jam Stunna]

It's all still up in the air at this point. I want to gauge interest before making any decisions, and if possible, leave as much of the decision making process up to the group as possible. It might make things more difficult, but hopefully if people help make decisions, they'll feel more invested in the process and actually see it through to completion.

About programming: I have no realistic expectation that this project will actually make it to that point. However, that doesn't mean that I'm against the idea (to the contrary, I think it would be amazing), and if people decide later that they're interested in programming, then I'm all for it.

 

[kupo15]

Got it. If it gets to that point, I can definitely help with the music since its my field and I do compose as a hobby.

 

[etecoon]

I have no preference for 2D or 3D myself but I would have to imagine that 2D would be much simpler and thus more likely to be completed, another idea I'd had was that if an actual game couldn't be done perhaps a visual novel would be doable

 

[Jam Stunna]

Yeah, in my mind the difference between 2D and 3D is that a 2D project would focus more on the nuts and bolts of an actual game since it would be doable, while a 3D game would probably be more about an epic story since we wouldn't be able to program it anyway.

 

[Spire]

Guys, don't think about making this into a game. Think about what makes a game without being a game itself. The art, the writing, the characters, places, ideas. All of that. Dungeons & Dragons isn't a game until it's played, but all of the manuals provide you with so many resources. We're basically creating all the resources necessary to assemble a specific Zelda game.

Let's not focus on programming at all until we've gotten a cohesive production completed.

 

[etecoon]

I agree that it shouldn't be the focus at all at this point but no harm kicking around ideas especially since said assets and concepts won't really start to be worked on until january 3rd, it's something to keep interest in this until the real work begins

how do you intend to organize this and keep everyone on the same page? just using this thread? scheduled chats? a separate forum entirely?

 

[Spire]

If it really kicks off, we could create a subforum for this project.

 

[Jam Stunna]

Well, I think that we should keep it in the back of our mind right now if we want this to actually be a game or not, because that will dictate what we create. For example, if this is just going to stay at the level of writing and artwork, then an undersea dungeon won't be a problem. However, if we do want to make a 2D game, then we'll have to keep our ideas within the realm of what's possible for a (very) small team with time and technological constraints.

As for organization, we'll use this thread for now. As the project grows, we'll re-evaluate our needs.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

By keeping this project to simply a non-production state should be better for creativity, I would think. Fewer restrictions, the more ideas that can get thrown around without fear of "will it work with this limitation?"

 

[Jam Stunna]

Okay, so we have:
Orboknown
etecoon
Spire
Xeylode
kupo15

All right. I'll post about the next phase later today.

 

[Spire]

Alright Jam, so what's next?

 

[Jam Stunna]

Okay, sorry about the delay. I wasn't feeling too well the last few days.

For now, I think we should just do some group brainstorming and throw out ideas. Things you would like to see in the project, possible plots/characters/locations. None of it is binding, and it doesn't have to be organized or even that thoroughly thought out. Let's just get some stuff out there and see what everyone is thinking.

Personally, I'm inclined to going with a 3D game that we don't actually have to program, so that we can let our imaginations run wild. A game or a demo would be awesome, but I think that might be pushing it, and asking alot of the 1-2 people who could actually do it. As for ideas, I already have a few, and I'll post those later tonight.

 

[etecoon]

Personally, in creative terms I prefer the games that don't take place in Hyrule and would prefer something like that for this project. I think it gives more flexibility since you can create a whole new culture and aren't trapped into "get the master sword and slay Ganon". There are a few ideas I do have within those confines however.

-Great flood era. This is great because it can be pretty ambiguous until the end, Ganondorf escaping a seal and wreaking havoc is a common theme so him gaining the upper hand at the end and forcing a plan B where he's sealed in a flooded Hyrule could come out of left field if done right. This also plays on a known event in Hyrule's history that Nintendo will likely never make a game about themselves because the tragic ending doesn't jive with their family friendly image.

-Pre-SS era. SS hints at thousands of years of undocumented history prior to the rest of the series, so much so that some people suspected shenanigans of SS being both the first and last game in the timeline before finishing it because of the time gate.

-Post-SS. Settlement of the surface, sky realm is still accessible...maybe try to explain where the **** the Oocca came from...

 

[Luigitoilet]

Motion to make Tingle the main character.

 

[Problem2]

Sorry for posting so late into this group. Here are my thoughts on some ideas.

-Hyrulean Civil War / Interloper's War. The War that happens just before Ocarina of Time would be a good spot for a game. The plot could be that the Zuna tribe splits into two camps. One camp tries to control the Sacred Realm, but is eventually stopped by the other Zunas uniting with the remaining races of Hyrule. This allows for some of the Zunas to be imprisoned and become the Twili, while the nicer ones can continue to exist in Four Swords Adventures. This era could talk heavily about magic. From my understanding, the only group that can use magic before this era is the Sheikah and the Picori. Here we can address the "dark eye" symbol that we see all the evil sorcerers bare. (ie. the eye on Zant's throne)

-Something in the future. There is always room to talk about anything in the future. It kind of annoys me, like something in the back of my mind poking me, asking "Well why does Hyrule never seem to develop any new technology?". We've seen trains in Spirit Tracks, but I wonder if anyone would be on board for a very modern like Zelda game. We could have Link exist in a futuristc world with cell phones and cars and tall skyscrapers, and then contrast it with a parallel world that resembles a very classical Hyrule.

and of course, all of etecoon's ideas are very nice too.

 

[etecoon]

Well we do see ancient technology in SS and beyond that there are numerous near apocalyptic events that take place, you have to think that technology gets set back a bit every time the earth is flooded or Ganondorf turns Hyrule into a derelict wasteland. You can see this mirrored in the real world with the fall of the roman empire, and some have even theorized that civilization dates back much further than we think and it was wiped out by the end of the last ice age(flooding, there are hundreds of apocalyptic flood myths throughout the world too...)

I don't know about a modern Zelda in a thriving futuristic setting but I think something like a Skyward Sword or Metroid Prime scenario where you find an extinct civilization with advanced technology could be cool. This civilization could even be Hyrule

 

[Problem2]

Well if we do Pre-SS, we could expand on that Robot Civilization. I see your point about catastrophic events holding back technological progress. Even so, I think that shouldn't prevent us from doing a future Hyrule game if we really wanted to, but it is up to everyone if they think that would be worth working on.

 

[etecoon]

It seems a little weird for a Zelda game because they have always been traditionally in an ancient kind of setting, but if the group agrees with it I'd definitely be on board. I signed on mostly for music and although I have done a lot of more orchestral or acoustic type songs, synthesizers are more of my specialty and this works perfectly with a futuristic setting

As an expansion on that, the games frequently feature time travel and two worlds as mechanics, you could even have a future setting long after Hyrule where time travel takes someone back there and you have both coexisting in the same game

 

[Jam Stunna]

I like the idea of the game not taking place in Hyrule. I'd like to see us try some interesting things, and not being burdened by the mythology of Hyrule and Ganondorf could make that alot easier. Also, I don't want our Link to just be the Hero of Legend or anything like that. One of the things I really appreciate about LttP and WW is that Link is just a kid who gets dragged into bigger events by his family. I think it makes him more interesting to see him grow into a hero, instead of just being one from the very beginning.

So, onto the idea I've been kicking around. Does anyone remember this trailer for TP? I was pretty hyped about the idea of a Moblin army invading Hyrule. It never happened, sadly, but that trailer is the starting point for my idea. Also, the world of Hyrule is pretty segregated when you think about it: Hylians live in one area, Kokiri, Gorons, Zora, Gerudo etc. live in their own areas. Why not make that an explicit issue?

Non-humans have been driven out of the prime areas, what comes to be known as Hyrule someday. They're relegated to the deserts and swamps and volcanoes and other crappy locations. The game would be about the non-humans of the Zelda universe attacking the humans, and conquering Hyrule. The non-humans would be led by several dragons that lay waste to everything in their path; not pansy dragons like Volvagia or the WW dragon, but tough-as-nails, Skyrim type dragons.

Link would just be a regular knight or soldier or something fighting the non-humans. When the dragons arrive, they wipe out everyone, and Link survives because he runs away. The game would be about the struggle to take Hyrule back and defeat the dragons, but also about Link's journey to find courage within himself.

I don't want to make it sound too Elder Scrolls-like. The regular Zelda elements would be there, I just haven't really thought much about how to work them in. But no matter what, I do want Great Fairies, darn it.

 

[kupo15]

Idk how helpful I'll be with the story and such especially since school is going to make me busy. I actually made or started making my own zelda game story and puzzles a while back actually lol. I made the villain the guy standing in the Happy Mask Shop in OOT. I made up that he was the son of the HMG and was tired of being treated like a no one. It took place in a place outside of Hyrule I'm pretty sure. The game is heavily influenced by MM's game style planned as a sequel to it.

If this has any chance of being a playable game, I feel like 2D is our only option.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

As far as plot-line goes, it seems like we want to keep it within the Zelda universe. However, we wish to deviate from Nintendo's story-line as Etecoon put it well, "get the master sword and slay Ganon".

To do such a thing, I believe we need to go even further into the past of the Zelda series that predates the Skyward Sword.

Tweaking Jam's idea a bit, I would say that we create a variety of tribal names that represent the future groups of inhabitants of Hyrule. Something could come to name the Zoras, Gorons, Humans, and any other civilized creature. It would be interesting to develop how they become the way they are in future. Now, these tribes would be hostile towards each other. It could be for any number of reasons: superiority, struggles over land, food issues, etc. But for whatever reason, these tribes do not get along.

In comes our pre-cursor to the whole creation of demise and Ganon, evil itself if you will. This explicit evil (which I would really like to give an origin rather than simply existing) drives the tribes too unite together or at the very least become more friendly towards each other in face of a common enemy. A hero will arise to unite the tribes against the evil. Another little quark of mine is that fact that heroes are overwhelmingly male. It would be nice to see a female hero for a change.

Anyway, the plot twist would be that after uniting the people and going to war against said evil, the unified army fails. The hero, she fails as well. However, despite failure the evil is dealt a large blow. Thus, the fight of good vs evil continues.

There are a whole slew of other nitpicks to work out, but this should be enough food for thought at the moment.

Also, I am completely against Tingle ever being the main character of the game. Do you really want this to be the main character?
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[Vionce]

I have no preference for 2D or 3D myself but I would have to imagine that 2D would be much simpler and thus more likely to be completed, another idea I'd had was that if an actual game couldn't be done perhaps a visual novel would be doable

It really depends on how much you want to code from scratch. If you find an existing game engine that the creators are willing to allow us to use then 3D i think is viable.

what if the game let you play as zelda? And I mean more than just open doors or stand on a switch (like majora's mask when you play as kaffei). I think playing as zelda who would have a unique moveset and abilities would be pretty cool.

 

[Spire]

Despite being given the timeline, I'm against working with it in any way. At the beginning of 2011, I started working on a Zelda project built around a "what if" timeline contingent on Link failing to defeat Ganon in OoT because I thought they'd never do something like that (somehow I was wrong!). I saw it as a means to write my own history without interfering with the actual timeline.

I say we go a similar route. Tie it to the main series with the repetition of some elements; let our audience discern how it's connected by the information we provide. Ambiguity will work to our benefit, I guarantee it.

Now, I'll provide my own ideas. Upon completing Skyward Sword, I tried working on a new Legend of Zelda (interlude question: should we pursue this name, or go with an alternative like The Myth of Zelda?) I'll copypasta the blurb I wrote up:

Hyrule is but a myth to the people of the new world. It was an age of high technology before the destruction of Death Mountain. Remnants of sprawling temples dot the central regions of the land. Legend has it that the old king feared the land so much, that he took his people far, far away. The kingdom that was once green has returned to sand. The Goron race now populates that old kingdom, fit for the harsh environment left by the ashen skies. Transforming and repopulating the Hylian ruins, the Gorons have spread their influence across the surface from Eldin Caldera to Hylia Canyon. Beneath the land however is but the last semblance of the mythic kingdom. An ancient tribe that once protected the people of yore has returned in shadow. A young man named Link is training in their arts.

Basically, there's an overworld and an underworld. Each are equal in size and scope, though the former is more horizontal while the latter is conversely vertical. Years ago I fantastized about a Zelda game depicting a desert Hyrule, many times I opted for the transformative excuse of Ganon reigning over the land (hence the idea I hinted about at the top of this post). Funny how Skyward Sword kind of answered this desire of mine with Lanayru Desert. I can't say I wasn't totally surprised and thrilled at its inclusion.

This is a story of Link the Sheikah. The last Sheikah and humans cohabit a village in the Hyrule Underground. Children in this village are taught the shadow arts of the Sheikah, a necessity in preparing these people for the depths of their subterranean world. The land that was once Hyrule was scorched when Death Mountain exploded, bringing a new meaning to (or perhaps fulfilling) the name of the once-volcano. In wake of the massive eruption, the skies darkened and almost all life in the land perished. Death Mountain itself collapsed into a massive crater, engulfing much of the land around it and was thus renamed the Eldin Caldera. Fissures trembled the land for miles, collapsing the font of Zora's Domain into the earth, halting the flow of Zora's River into Lake Hylia, transforming the basin into Hylia Canyon. While the surface may be estranged, the Hyrule Underground flourishes with life as the water from what was Zora's Domain now flows downward, repurposing many derelict caverns into underground sluices.

Fathom for a second these vast caverns, with sunlight cracking through holes in the stalactite ceiling illuminating the trickling sand. Your eyes follow the sand until it disappears halfway to the ground, the darkness of a distant room shrouding its visibility, but the motion drives your eyes downward still. And there it is, the base of this great cave a floor of small dunes carved by the breath that flows through these tunnels, from the lungs of Hyrule herself. The land above has calmed, the sky cleared. But that is above your own ceiling of rock. The surface is largely populated by the Goron race. When Hyrule fell, the central region had been refined into sprawling bouts of Temple-like architecture. The last dynasty of kings found it necessary to transform as much the land as possible into a gleaming white surface akin with the Temple of Time, to make known the aesthetic of the Hylia for all to see. Imagine for miles, spanning much the expanse of the surrounding Hyrule Fields: columns, arches, paved walkways, and all that connotes a pristine affection for a Temple of yore. The Temple of Time played a pivotal role in the ancient history of Hyrule, but its religious use had dissolved as technology supplanted the needs of man. To honor the virtues of yore, the last three kings of Hyrule oversaw rapid expansion of a once secular state to appease the gods. The first of these kings had learned of the impending threat that Death Mountain posed for all people. He sought to transform the land into a relic only the gods could truly appreciate from their seats far above. Both his son and grandson continued this work for nearly a century, hoping to prevent the disaster of Death Mountain. As the mountain began to rumble (and it did so for days preceding the catastrophe), the last king of Hyrule moved his people far away. Those that remained fled underground as instructed by the surprise reemergence of the mythic Sheikah, a people heard only about in folklore.

I imagine Link eventually ventures to the ruins of the Temple of Time at the center of Hyrule and finds the Master Sword within the Pedestal of Time, but none of which is usable. The temple itself is but a desert ruin and the sword a rusted artifact. In fact, Link should try and draw the sword but breaks it in the process. I see him approached soon after by a Sheikah elder, explaining that not all that appears promising proves reliable and that he should venture further into the depths of the land for a means to solve whatever's at stake. As of now, I don't have a story whatsoever—just this land.

Thoughts?

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

I like that Spire's idea works in the future of the franchise timeline rather than our ideas of some sort of prelude to the entire thing. I honestly had no ideas for what could be set in the future.

But an apocalyptic world brought about by the destruction of Death Mountain is intriguing. I am not sure which I like more. Going for a past or future of the Zelda world.

 

[Spire]

The future doesn't have to be steampunk or cyberpunk. It can be templepunk! And yeah, Death Mountain's name needed to finally mean something, so I drafted an idea chronicling such.

Since taking an art history class a few years ago, I've seen Death Mountain akin with Mt. Vesuvius. I'd like to excavate Hyrule in much the same way Pompeii was. Imagine venturing through these vast Hyrulean ruins, finding countless remains of the land and people we've all grown to love.

Despite this taking place in perhaps the far, far future of Hyrule, it cycles into a past we're familiar with, and so the setting kind of transcends time and its emplacement properties. This neither takes place in the Zelda timeline or in a discernible Hyrule. I would like recognizable elements (as previously mentioned) to remain, though repurposed or "unpurposed" to a great extent. I enjoy settings like the Temple of Time for their relevance to the series, but purported in very new context.

Edit: to expand on my last post, I imagine Link using more or less entirely new items. The only ones I could see him reusing are the clawshot and bombs, or offshoots of both. Link is much more acrobatic in this setting, utilizing the verticality of his cavernous homeland to his advantage. I want Link to be climbing all kinds of stuff, above and beyond the likes of Tomb Raider and Assassin's Creed. I don't envision this to be action oriented, just a much more agile experience with space a definitive agent in Link's journey. With that being said, I want this to be the largest depiction of Hyrule yet seen, accentuating Link's Sheikah background with his abilities to ascend over a footed journey. I want Link to have some sort of clawshot/hookshot evolution that enables him to move around almost as freely as Spiderman, effectively balancing his groundwork with, ehem wallwork (?). This is to give Link a more universal experience of space, allowing him to explore reaches up and beyond the typically grounded adventure we've experienced thus far with the series.

Placing this in the future would yield the means to a more acceptable medium of technology for such exploration, even if the world no longer reflects such. Oh, some other thoughts:

• Zoras live underground; aren't necessarily friendly.
• The Deku Forest is bare, bleached, totally dead, and haunted; overrun with fungus (Deku Forest? Guess I just named the typical forest region as such; writing this on a whim). Could be renamed Marrowoods? Because the trees will be bleached white by the sun, petrified by the sand, resembling bones jutting from the ground. Maro Woods. I dunno. I want Deku Caps (mushroom Deku Scrub equivalents), Deku Spores, Deku Stalks, you have it. All these fungal Deku cousins. Stalfos inhabit the woods as well as other undead foes. Maybe they're not dubbed Deku at all. The wood died. Maro Caps, Maro Stalks, Maro Tree (a giant mushroom tree equivalent of the Deku Tree?) I'm liking Maro.
• The first of the three kings was alerted by the then-Goron Elder of Death Mountain's churning. By the time the third king took the throne, the Goron Elder's son (who had become the Goron Patriarch) asked the king for admittance of all Gorons into the eastern lands, suggesting he too flee his people. At the dawn of Death Mountain's destruction, the King of Hyrule evacuated as many of his people through the Gerudo Desert to a land situated beyond the sand's reach. Many died along the way, but those who survived disappeared with history, never returning to their homeland. The Gorons able to leave their volcanic home repopulated the rest of Hyrule.
• The antagonist of this story could be an embodiment of the force that drove Death Mountain to its own death. A supernatural force billowing a second eruption more powerful than the first, one that would effectively consume the entire land in lava, killing everyone and everything. Link's journey would constitute a gathering of knowledge of the earth itself, versus the arcane of Zelda games past. While this would take place in Hyrule, it would have little to nothing dealing with the Triforce, the goddesses, Ganon, the Master Sword, or any other main series characteristics.
• Zelda could be the name of the underground village Link is from; she may not be an actual person at all. The "Legend of Zelda" in this context would be our story and how it becomes the legend of the village called Zelda, the legend of a young man named Link who left his village of Zelda to save the world.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

want Link to have some sort of clawshot/hookshot evolution that enables him to move around almost as freely as Spiderman, effectively balancing his groundwork with, ehem wallwork (?). This is to give Link a more universal experience of space, allowing him to explore reaches up and beyond the typically grounded adventure we've experienced thus far with the series.

Which would fit in nicely with an underground theme, wall adventures lol Skeptical if that could be worked into a fun game play other than simply imagining or watching it happen as cut scene.

How do you feel about the level of culture or civilization? Something that has always bothered me about timelines are how civilizations seem to be caught in a constant state of stagnation. I include the Zelda Series as well. I suppose periods of decline and improvement are bound to happen when you have evil killing everybody off every so often. But still, I wonder if we should include some state of advancement that the other games did not have.

 

[Spire]

I continued updating my last post without refreshing, so I hadn't seen your post until now.

Alright, culturization. I mentioned that Hyrule had some level of advanced technology as it's based in the future. I imagine a technology similar to that seen in ancient Hyrule via the timeshift stones in Lanayru Desert; a technology that borders on magic. I kind of have in mind a cyclical view of technology in Hyrule; Hyrule grows until it collapses back into desert time and again (in WW the 'desert' is that of water, a sea—a metaphoric concept at most). The Sheikah-Hylian tribe that lives beneath the ground have the remnants of their world's technology at hand, so imagine the crazy light-beam technology crafted by the Ancient Robots in Skyward Sword but crafted by man, with all of man's imagination and intuition inspiring the development. Instead of such a caliber of technology used to strictly mine timeshift zones, it must have been used for something else. Technology does not advance without a means for doing so. This state of Hyrule used the technology to build vast metropoli of templesque architecture under the command of the last three kings. Such technology would pervade vertical transportation.

I imagine at some point Link ventures deep into a command center within the ruins of Hyrule Castle (or whatever stands in its place) and actually manages to activate some of the tech sprawling for miles in radiant directions. From the center, great transportational devices are activated, bringing back to life a rickety functionality to the derelict world. The Gorons inhabiting the ruins are awed, and soon enough begin using the railways to expedite their own mining of the land (as they had been attempting). I forgot to mention, but there exists a strong Goron society in these ruins; a populace rivaling that of Twilight Princess's Hyrule Castle Town. After Link activates the remaining power, the Gorons seemingly find a new reason for habitation in this area and instantly enter an accelerated phase of work that yields quick excavation (going back to my Pompeii statement).

I guess if you want to read this in a fate-driven manner, you could say that Link's emergence at this particular time aligns with the Goron relocation to central Hyrule, as the two must work together to unearth the secrets of the lost civilization. Link activates the technology and the Gorons use it to excavate. How Link activates it will probably be contingent on something only he could do. Perhaps the Master Sword has something to do with it after all. Maybe the Temple of Time is revealed to be a source of infinite energy as it supposedly connects to the Sacred Realm, a place of infinite possibility. Maybe the Master Sword is simply an activation key for this "temple". Maybe the temple once served religious purposes but has now assumed a technological role. Maybe religion and technology are one in the same.

 

[etecoon]

I like the idea of the game not taking place in Hyrule. I'd like to see us try some interesting things, and not being burdened by the mythology of Hyrule and Ganondorf could make that alot easier. Also, I don't want our Link to just be the Hero of Legend or anything like that. One of the things I really appreciate about LttP and WW is that Link is just a kid who gets dragged into bigger events by his family. I think it makes him more interesting to see him grow into a hero, instead of just being one from the very beginning.

This is a good idea, problem is that these two ideas jive pretty badly with each other, typically for another land you take an established Link that's already done his job in Hyrule and have him go somewhere else for some reason. Though to tie it into the Zeldaverse you could have it take place in another established land like Termina or Labrynna.

Non-humans have been driven out of the prime areas, what comes to be known as Hyrule someday. They're relegated to the deserts and swamps and volcanoes and other crappy locations. The game would be about the non-humans of the Zelda universe attacking the humans, and conquering Hyrule. The non-humans would be led by several dragons that lay waste to everything in their path; not pansy dragons like Volvagia or the WW dragon, but tough-as-nails, Skyrim type dragons.

Cool idea, as a matter of design I have to say I actually prefer serpent type dragons like Volvagia to quadruped dragons like those in Skyrim or Valoo, but it would be great to have both and maybe others too.

Link would just be a regular knight or soldier or something fighting the non-humans. When the dragons arrive, they wipe out everyone, and Link survives because he runs away. The game would be about the struggle to take Hyrule back and defeat the dragons, but also about Link's journey to find courage within himself.

I don't want to make it sound too Elder Scrolls-like. The regular Zelda elements would be there, I just haven't really thought much about how to work them in. But no matter what, I do want Great Fairies, darn it.

Make Link a released con just to make it more TESish! <_<

I like how this gives a reason for Hyrule being a derelict wasteland, there are times where you really have to wonder why it's so unpopulated. Earlier games you can use tech restrictions as the main issue but by TP it felt strange for this "kingdom" with such massive pieces of architecture even to have so few inhabitants. In this concept you can have all that grandiose architecture and few NPCs and it still makes sense, and you get more of a "man vs wilderness" kind of feel kinda like the original LoZ which had almost no constructs of civilization(just the cemetery as I recall)

As far as plot-line goes, it seems like we want to keep it within the Zelda universe. However, we wish to deviate from Nintendo's story-line as Etecoon put it well, "get the master sword and slay Ganon".

To do such a thing, I believe we need to go even further into the past of the Zelda series that predates the Skyward Sword.

I also like this idea, there's a lot you can work with there where it's all familiar but also very very different

Tweaking Jam's idea a bit, I would say that we create a variety of tribal names that represent the future groups of inhabitants of Hyrule. Something could come to name the Zoras, Gorons, Humans, and any other civilized creature.

Liking this so far but idk about Zora's, they don't exist in Skyward Sword, I'm thinking they come to Hyrule later or evolve from a different species(they may rapidly change forms when you see that they've evolved into birds in WW but Gorons are still the same in that world).

Now, these tribes would be hostile towards each other. It could be for any number of reasons: superiority, struggles over land, food issues, etc. But for whatever reason, these tribes do not get along.

Could also be racism, if you look at history it's actually pretty unusual for people to get along with each other that well, and that's just with minor differences not like the extreme difference between Zora/Goron/Human even! Though it's also unusual for Zelda to go into the dark side of humanity like that, even Ganondorf has fairly innocent motivation if you take WW at face value.

Another little quark of mine is that fact that heroes are overwhelmingly male. It would be nice to see a female hero for a change.

I approve.

Ambiguity will work to our benefit, I guarantee it.

This is more or less how Nintendo has always operated until they suddenly said "HEY GUYS LETS RELEASE A CANONICAL TIMELINE" and ruined everything ended that practice.

Basically, there's an overworld and an underworld. Each are equal in size and scope, though the former is more horizontal while the latter is conversely vertical.

I like the idea of an underworld but don't like the idea of specifying it's dimensions as of yet, vertical vs horizontal has gameplay implications so no sense locking that in just in case of the highly unlikely event that we actually make a game.

After reading the rest of your idea, I also don't see how this makes sense. Hyrule was once a surface kingdom existing primarily in the horizontal plane, how does it all get compressed into a vertical shaft(without completely breaking everything)?

Years ago I fantastized about a Zelda game depicting a desert Hyrule, many times I opted for the transformative excuse of Ganon reigning over the land (hence the idea I hinted about at the top of this post).

This is more or less the original LoZ scenario, it's not a desert but Hyrule is pretty much a wilderness where civilization is almost entirely wiped out. I like it in part but dunno about the entirety of Hyrule being a desert, you can only stare at sand for so long before it gets boring. I tend to like desert areas in games too, just the lack of variety gives me pause about an entire game taking place in one

This is a story of Link the Sheikah. The last Sheikah and humans cohabit a village in the Hyrule Underground. Children in this village are taught the shadow arts of the Sheikah, a necessity in preparing these people for the depths of their subterranean world. The land that was once Hyrule was scorched when Death Mountain exploded, bringing a new meaning to (or perhaps fulfilling) the name of the once-volcano. In wake of the massive eruption, the skies darkened and almost all life in the land perished. Death Mountain itself collapsed into a massive crater, engulfing much of the land around it and was thus renamed the Eldin Caldera. Fissures trembled the land for miles, collapsing the font of Zora's Domain into the earth, halting the flow of Zora's River into Lake Hylia, transforming the basin into Hylia Canyon. While the surface may be estranged, the Hyrule Underground flourishes with life as the water from what was Zora's Domain now flows downward, repurposing many derelict caverns into underground sluices.

Fathom for a second these vast caverns, with sunlight cracking through holes in the stalactite ceiling illuminating the trickling sand. Your eyes follow the sand until it disappears halfway to the ground, the darkness of a distant room shrouding its visibility, but the motion drives your eyes downward still. And there it is, the base of this great cave a floor of small dunes carved by the breath that flows through these tunnels, from the lungs of Hyrule herself. The land above has calmed, the sky cleared. But that is above your own ceiling of rock. The surface is largely populated by the Goron race. When Hyrule fell, the central region had been refined into sprawling bouts of Temple-like architecture. The last dynasty of kings found it necessary to transform as much the land as possible into a gleaming white surface akin with the Temple of Time, to make known the aesthetic of the Hylia for all to see. Imagine for miles, spanning much the expanse of the surrounding Hyrule Fields: columns, arches, paved walkways, and all that connotes a pristine affection for a Temple of yore. The Temple of Time played a pivotal role in the ancient history of Hyrule, but its religious use had dissolved as technology supplanted the needs of man. To honor the virtues of yore, the last three kings of Hyrule oversaw rapid expansion of a once secular state to appease the gods. The first of these kings had learned of the impending threat that Death Mountain posed for all people. He sought to transform the land into a relic only the gods could truly appreciate from their seats far above. Both his son and grandson continued this work for nearly a century, hoping to prevent the disaster of Death Mountain. As the mountain began to rumble (and it did so for days preceding the catastrophe), the last king of Hyrule moved his people far away. Those that remained fled underground as instructed by the surprise reemergence of the mythic Sheikah, a people heard only about in folklore.

I imagine Link eventually ventures to the ruins of the Temple of Time at the center of Hyrule and finds the Master Sword within the Pedestal of Time, but none of which is usable. The temple itself is but a desert ruin and the sword a rusted artifact. In fact, Link should try and draw the sword but breaks it in the process. I see him approached soon after by a Sheikah elder, explaining that not all that appears promising proves reliable and that he should venture further into the depths of the land for a means to solve whatever's at stake. As of now, I don't have a story whatsoever—just this land.

Thoughts?

I'm liking this post apocalyptic vision of Hyrule a lot. Ash covered...templepunk all the way!

Since taking an art history class a few years ago, I've seen Death Mountain akin with Mt. Vesuvius. I'd like to excavate Hyrule in much the same way Pompeii was. Imagine venturing through these vast Hyrulean ruins, finding countless remains of the land and people we've all grown to love.

This is great but I thought Link was already living underground? For that matter if this is ages after Hyrule's demise it doesn't really make sense for the Sheikah to still be around?

Edit: to expand on my last post, I imagine Link using more or less entirely new items. The only ones I could see him reusing are the clawshot and bombs, or offshoots of both. Link is much more acrobatic in this setting, utilizing the verticality of his cavernous homeland to his advantage. I want Link to be climbing all kinds of stuff, above and beyond the likes of Tomb Raider and Assassin's Creed. I don't envision this to be action oriented, just a much more agile experience with space a definitive agent in Link's journey. With that being said, I want this to be the largest depiction of Hyrule yet seen, accentuating Link's Sheikah background with his abilities to ascend over a footed journey. I want Link to have some sort of clawshot/hookshot evolution that enables him to move around almost as freely as Spiderman

I've been dreaming of SpiderLink for a long time, double clawshot that works on almost any surface = win. SS also gave us a hint at a more athletic Link which was nice but it can be taken even further and not restricted via a stamina meter

[*]The Deku Forest is bare, bleached, totally dead, and haunted; overrun with fungus (Deku Forest? Guess I just named the typical forest region as such; writing this on a whim). Could be renamed Marrowoods? Because the trees will be bleached white by the sun, petrified by the sand, resembling bones jutting from the ground. Maro Woods. I dunno. I want Deku Caps (mushroom Deku Scrub equivalents), Deku Spores, Deku Stalks, you have it. All these fungal Deku cousins. Stalfos inhabit the woods as well as other undead foes. Maybe they're not dubbed Deku at all. The wood died. Maro Caps, Maro Stalks, Maro Tree (a giant mushroom tree equivalent of the Deku Tree?) I'm liking Maro.

I like a lot of your ideas but I LOVE this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvTvaxVySlE

Fungus is too fascinating

[*]Zelda could be the name of the underground village Link is from; she may not be an actual person at all. The "Legend of Zelda" in this context would be our story and how it becomes the legend of the village called Zelda, the legend of a young man named Link who left his village of Zelda to save the world.

I like this, much like how the sages are north Hyrule towns. A village is named for Zelda and over time it's origin is lost