Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda: Group Project of Destiny- No longer active

[Spire]

Zelda is not an unfamiliar franchise for having very disturbing albeit tolerable elements, like Dead Hand. Dead Hand is an element that would be scary in literally any part of Zelda. Imagine facing it in the Deku Tree, or within the fenced area of Lon Lon at night. That is such a well-designed fiend that its creepiness is not wholly contingent on the environment in which it is encountered. Dead Hand is intrinsically scary and we need to design a monster even scarier. Giving it the right environment would be just perfect.

I love the dark, underground railroad idea. You're basically traveling along a linear pathway so with the right buildup, we could invoke some real fear. Even SA-X Samus was frightening, and that was a colorful GBA game, so Dead Hand-like terror can be evoked in a 2D format.

Update: The Link design is coming along very well. I expect to finish it either today or tomorrow.

 

[Orboknown]

very nice spire.
that should somewhat help with our decision process

 

[etecoon]

Of course terror can be expressed in 2D, it's been proven since forever

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

 

[Spire]

http://spire-iii.deviantart.com/art/Link-20XII-292058999

-Link

This is our Link. He is donned in his classic green tunic, striped airy pants, a Hylian cloak, and braced gauntlets/boots. He uses no shield, as his cloak—attached to his right gauntlet—serves as his shield, hence the bearing of the Hylian royal crest. The cloak also serves as his hood. This is our nimble, agile Link who will be scaling walls in high fashion.

 

[etecoon]

YES!

All I have to say about this really, I love the redesign, as well as being excellent in itself even just this one picture gives me a much clearer focus of the direction I want to take the audio

Speaking of which since we have a few visuals up I should share some of what I've been doing too

http://soundcloud.com/liquid-wind/labyri-canyons-2

Possibly updated later/by the end of the project with better samples if I ever decide buying them is worth it, also considering changing the main melody(for like the fourth time...)

 

[Spire]

0:58 - awesome
1:11 - awesomer

The background horns are a very identifiable Zelda sound. The marimbas need to have a more consistent presence, weaving with the fast-paced percussion (because they're awesome). That whimsical bit halfway through that recurs at the end is an fantastic breakaway, when I hear it, I see strange glowing life peaking through the crevices of the canyon walls.

I think you see Link flying on a Pterodactyl because: a) the Zora's River segments in Twilight Princess and b) Loftwing. A Pterodactyl buddy would be awesome. Perhaps there's a mother Pterodactyl-like creature atop a nest at the peak of Fissure Falls who provides a quest of retrieving a fallen egg of hers from the depths of Fissure Falls (it has fallen to the waters of the subterranean Zora's Domain). She could be a reptilian counterpart to the Helmaroc King. So you retrieve the egg (not the first egg quest in Zelda—a reference to OoT) and it hatches. You return later in the game and the baby Pterodactyl has grown to a Loftwing size, which serves as a flight mount through the otherwise lengthy and dangerous Labyri Canyons.

Edit: I am listening to A Temple Covered in Ice right now. This is beautiful. I need to talk to you on aim.

 

[etecoon]

Yeah Zora's River in TP definitely had something to do with it, you also said that area with everything that you only catch a glimpse of was an inspiration so of course I thought of that. Pterodactyl because it fits with the post extinction event extremes of life I think, I'm not entirely happy with how the perspective looks in a lot of my landscapes so far, I think maybe I'll try to work on the bestiary more when this resumes, there could be so many interesting creatures.

AIM is liquidwind2, about to go to sleep right now but I'll be on a lot in the next few days so you should be able to catch me sometime

 

[Orboknown]

that link is amazing spire.

 

[Jakor]

http://spire-iii.deviantart.com/art/Link-20XII-292058999

-Link

This is our Link. He is donned in his classic green tunic, striped airy pants, a Hylian cloak, and braced gauntlets/boots. He uses no shield, as his cloak—attached to his right gauntlet—serves as his shield, hence the bearing of the Hylian royal crest. The cloak also serves as his hood. This is our nimble, agile Link who will be scaling walls in high fashion.

Great drawing. The design is very interesting. My only grip would be the white/gray hair, which I'm not too fond of. Only my opinion though. Other than that, awesome.

Speaking of which since we have a few visuals up I should share some of what I've been doing too

http://soundcloud.com/liquid-wind/labyri-canyons-2

Possibly updated later/by the end of the project with better samples if I ever decide buying them is worth it, also considering changing the main melody(for like the fourth time...)

This sounds amazing. I really like it.

 

[KrIsP!]

^Yeah, grey hair kind is too much change for me to get used to. I'm fine with the hat change because it uses shiekah design and is really cool. Overall though, this looks professional!

 

[Spire]

The white hair signifies his Sheikah heritage. It's not changing. He retains his blue eyes though.

 

[WindMajor]

Does anyone have any idea how the game is gonna be played? As in, 2D, 3D, side scroller, etc.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Spire, I'm really against the idea of a sword. Really.

I'd prefer an arm-guard with an extend-able sword or whatever. Remember that arm-guard which holds items that we talked about? Going back to the one item equipped a time, like in LoZ1.

 

[Spire]

That's the only thing I'd be willing to change about the design. I reverted to the Master Sword because I wanted a more iconic appeal for this drawing.

Consider his left arm to be versatile in its equipment and function. The Master Sword is a placeholder item for the sake of being the Master Sword. Also consider that his left gauntlet might look different to accommodate such an installed mechanism.

 

[Orboknown]

I'm still hoping for that armguard that does everything lol. an extandable blade would fit the sleek assassin style of this link.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

That's the only thing I'd be willing to change about the design. I reverted to the Master Sword because I wanted a more iconic appeal for this drawing.

Consider his left arm to be versatile in its equipment and function. The Master Sword is a placeholder item for the sake of being the Master Sword. Also consider that his left gauntlet might look different to accommodate such an installed mechanism.

It's great to see you posting again, by the by.

I'm also quite amazed by your usage of color here. That shadow/aura effect especially is really well done, you hand painted this, didn't you? I also love the dark Skyward Sword style. No black used, really well done.

 

[etecoon]

Updated Labyri Canyons(flying) trying to implement some of Spire's advice, I also threw a synthesizer in behind the strings in the B section, figured it was a good place to try something unusual

http://soundcloud.com/liquid-wind/labyri-canyons-2

 

[Orboknown]

that sounds realy good etecoon.

 

[Spire]

Everyone should listen to what etecoon is working on in the above post. It's coming along really well. This Labyri Canyons theme evokes a fast-paced, thrillingly treacherous journey. Imagine hanging rock bridges from wall to wall adorned with stalactites and foes hunting you Tusken Raider style. Imagine larger dinosaur-like beasts stampeding along the floor of the canyon, kicking up clouds of dust into your face. Also listen to A Temple Covered in Ice. It's a beautiful fusion of eastern sounds and sensibility with phasing synthesizers and it's just about exactly what I want to hear in this game. Etecoon is making some breakthrough progress with this music. It's really beautiful work.

Going back to this "big bad monster" idea we've been tossing around. The last thing mentioned was a superboss idea. Scratch that. Imagine that this monster is a real threat but cannot be defeated, no matter what. Essentially, this monster is more powerful than our antagonist (whoever that ends up being). Fortunately for everyone in Hyrule, this monster is not antagonistic; unintelligent probably as well. And so it lurks in the depths of the land, preying on anything and everything. Being able to defeat everything in the game entitles Link with a power I don't think he deserves. Remember that frightening shark at the bottom of the Lakeside Laboratory tank? Take that idea, merge it with Dead Hand, and let it wander around in the dark. We're not literally merging a shark with Dead Hand though, that'd be silly.. Thoughts?

 

[etecoon]

Another one, music for the underground village

http://soundcloud.com/liquid-wind/hidden-village-zelda

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

That's more something I'd see for an outskirt Goron village on the surface (which it would fit perfectly imo). Goron are happy people etc.

I'd see the underground village to be far more grim.

 

[KrIsP!]

I'm just amazed at how well this is coming along. From a design stand point at least. If we could turn this into a playable game, even if only a demo I'd be really impressed. Great work guys, it looks and sounds terrific.

 

[Spire]

That's more something I'd see for an outskirt Goron village on the surface (which it would fit perfectly imo). Goron are happy people etc.

I'd see the underground village to be far more grim.

Gah you know what, I wanted to say this to etecoon on aim just now, but then my imagination was carried away to a well-lit vertical city. Imagine stacked housing climbing the rock walls with denizens traversing spiraling staircases and bridges, or climbing the very walls themselves as they've been trained to do. Hanging paper lanterns and christmas light-like fixtures dangle between the housing towers.

It works in my mind, but maybe this Sheikah village is too well lit in the first place, considering they'd want to take cover.

It could definitely work for a Goron outskirt village, no doubt.

Edit: I think I need to draft up some concept art for Hyrule soon. Haven't done that for this project at all.

 

[etecoon]

hmm, perhaps. my idea for it was that this would be like the one or two(goron city) places in the world that ISN'T grim. I wanted it to have the comforting feeling of home, very nearly literally the only place in the entire world that isn't dangerous in this case. kind of like hip tanaka's theory on metroid music that has been carried forward by the other composers who've worked on that series, where the entire soundtrack is full of weird unfamiliar rhythms, dissonant tension, and amelodic danger, only resolving to a more comfortable major key when at last the credits roll. the whole world is full of monsters and reminders of hyrule's mysterious past, so I liked the idea of that contrast

there's also a musical easter egg in this that would make me more reserved about using it elsewhere...

 

[Orboknown]

Going back to this "big bad monster" idea we've been tossing around. The last thing mentioned was a superboss idea. Scratch that. Imagine that this monster is a real threat but cannot be defeated, no matter what. Essentially, this monster is more powerful than our antagonist (whoever that ends up being). Fortunately for everyone in Hyrule, this monster is not antagonistic; unintelligent probably as well. And so it lurks in the depths of the land, preying on anything and everything. Being able to defeat everything in the game entitles Link with a power I don't think he deserves. Remember that frightening shark at the bottom of the Lakeside Laboratory tank? Take that idea, merge it with Dead Hand, and let it wander around in the dark. We're not literally merging a shark with Dead Hand though, that'd be silly.. Thoughts?

Dear lord, a guardian of the Goddesses sent to protect something incredibly important? something that cannot be defeated, but only allowed to pass? May be at the end of the game you are allowed past this thing once you find some secret item?

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

hmm, perhaps. my idea for it was that this would be like the one or two(goron city) places in the world that ISN'T grim.

But why would we want that?

 

[etecoon]

as I said, for contrast

however, there is a point that this is slightly out of place. while the home village being a place of refuge makes sense, I also need to recognize that the sheikah are implied to be a pretty shady group of people that are involved in all kinds of questionable activities. maybe I can change this to reflect that, as I said, I'd prefer not to move it because this song is specifically tied to zelda

 

[Spire]

Goron Villages need to have the classic Goron/Death Mountain theme worked into them for the sake of continuity and recognition, though it can be expected Etecoon will take great pleasure in composing very different arrangements with instrumentation unlike before.

The music should reflect the culture of the area it illustrates. If the Gorons inhabit the ruins of Hyrule City, then you could employ some vacuous sounds signifying the wind howling through the torn architectural seams, coupled with Goron machinery, drums, etc.

 

[Jakor]

The white hair signifies his Sheikah heritage. It's not changing. He retains his blue eyes though.

Well, Sheikahs don't really have white hair by default. Impa in OOT has white hair only because she's old. In SS, she's younger and actually has blond hair. And although Sheik isn't really a Sheikah, she has blond hair too. So in the end, Link could keep his trademark blond hair.

Keep coming with the excellent music, etecoon. You're doing some impressive work.

 

[WindMajor]

Everyone should listen to what etecoon is working on in the above post. It's coming along really well. This Labyri Canyons theme evokes a fast-paced, thrillingly treacherous journey. Imagine hanging rock bridges from wall to wall adorned with stalactites and foes hunting you Tusken Raider style. Imagine larger dinosaur-like beasts stampeding along the floor of the canyon, kicking up clouds of dust into your face. Also listen to A Temple Covered in Ice. It's a beautiful fusion of eastern sounds and sensibility with phasing synthesizers and it's just about exactly what I want to hear in this game. Etecoon is making some breakthrough progress with this music. It's really beautiful work.

Going back to this "big bad monster" idea we've been tossing around. The last thing mentioned was a superboss idea. Scratch that. Imagine that this monster is a real threat but cannot be defeated, no matter what. Essentially, this monster is more powerful than our antagonist (whoever that ends up being). Fortunately for everyone in Hyrule, this monster is not antagonistic; unintelligent probably as well. And so it lurks in the depths of the land, preying on anything and everything. Being able to defeat everything in the game entitles Link with a power I don't think he deserves. Remember that frightening shark at the bottom of the Lakeside Laboratory tank? Take that idea, merge it with Dead Hand, and let it wander around in the dark. We're not literally merging a shark with Dead Hand though, that'd be silly.. Thoughts?

I do like the idea of a boss that doesn't die, but I do think that at the end, perhaps with the power of the Triforce or something, that the monster should be defeated, in order to show closure to the story and show our protagonist also growing in strength. Our protagonist might have gotten upgrades to slow the enemy down, but it just wasn't enough to actually defeat him, just make it slightly easier. It's only at the end where he gets his final upgrade (Triforce or whatever) and he's like, "Okay, lets do this mother****er" and he slays the beast.

It would be like an Imprisoned that you cannot defeat (only run away from) but he's so super powerful and hostile that even running away from him is a frightening experience. It's only until the end where you're like, "Oh I have a sword now, my final upgrade" where you can finally face him.

 

[etecoon]

You know what's funny? The imprisoned is this big giant enemy and he's not that scary, you know what's ****ing terrifying?

Spoiler

things that are smaller than you.

And I really don't see how that works out, Link gets the triforce and his first thought is...

lets go get even with that random monster in the rail station!

?

There's no closure necessary because this thing isn't an evil thing threatening all life on earth or anything like that, he just sees you as a delicious pile of meat dressed in an awesome blue cloak

I also don't get how you guys can tell me Sheikah village isn't grim enough but it's not ok to have a monster that will completely destroy you no matter when you approach it, is this a rough post apocalyptic wilderness where man is NOT the dominant species anymore or is this another romp through "enemies do quarter of a heart damage" land?

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Gah you know what, I wanted to say this to etecoon on aim just now, but then my imagination was carried away to a well-lit vertical city. Imagine stacked housing climbing the rock walls with denizens traversing spiraling staircases and bridges, or climbing the very walls themselves as they've been trained to do. Hanging paper lanterns and christmas light-like fixtures dangle between the housing towers.

It works in my mind, but maybe this Sheikah village is too well lit in the first place, considering they'd want to take cover.

It could definitely work for a Goron outskirt village, no doubt.

We talked about this before.

Sheikah are refugees, they hardly had enough food etc to survive themselves. They hardly have food. These people can't climb walls, they can hardly live from day to day. The village is probably plagued by minor diseases and the people struggle to survive.
etcetc


also
@above
Ostrich is not scary
the others are scary because they are ****ing poisonous.

 

[etecoon]

Killer bees aren't really poisonous, they may have to sting you hundreds of times before it will kill you. The scary thing about these monsters is how malicious and intelligent they are, they'll follow you from miles away from their hive, they'll crawl inside your nose, ears, down your throat etc in order to sting more sensitive areas...and they've been seen to be using teamwork when there have been attacks on urban areas...

So uh, if the Sheikah are all malnourished and diseased how does Link become such a badass?

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Link is inherently a Sheikah, he has been raised at one and knows the skills. As the Sheikah are hunters and have been living like this for years, they obviously suffer less consequences. The refugees aren't used to the climate.
Sheikah can go up up up and hunt for food.

How I see it, they hardly do more than offer a place to live for the overworldlings.

 

[etecoon]

So the full blooded Sheikah are fine and everyone else isn't

Hyrule market and kakariko are still bright places in spite of hobos begging you for stuff in the street!

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

>_ >

 

[etecoon]

Another funny thing to think about is that this is a similar scenario to what WW is supposed to lay out, at least Ganondorf attempts to drive this point about the world now being unfit for life, and yet the game has the sunniest aesthetic in the whole series.

The whole thing is inconsistent though, I saw a map that referred to outset as a fishing village on my most recent play of WW and yet there are supposed to be no fish in the great sea?

 

[Spire]

This is an entirely different time period where we have absolute control over the cultural specificities of anything and everything. I don't imagine the Sheikah to be deprived. They choose to live in shadow but they are not malnourished. They are isolationists, not outcasts.

They have survived for a long, long time. How might malnourished people survive for centuries on end? The Sheikah feed on the bioluminescent life that thrives in the underground. Lower Hyrule houses vegetative bulk of the land while upper Hyrule has transformed into a highly competitive carnivorous ecosystem.

The Sheikah are just fine.

 

[WindMajor]

And I really don't see how that works out, Link gets the triforce and his first thought is...

lets go get even with that random monster in the rail station!

?

Well, if he's actually just "some random monster in the rail station", then that changes a lot of things. I figured that the monster would have some important purpose in the story given how powerful he is, you know? You would figure that the antagonist would have something to do with an enemy that strong running loose in a rail station, instead of him acting on his own free will.

But even if he's not a part of the story, would it make sense to end the game with a monster that powerful still hanging around in the rail station, after peace has been restored to the land? Couldn't Link defeat it for the sake of everybody else that wants to use the rail system? I know he's not supposed to be evil, but he is dangerous.

It would also make sense to defeat it so we can accomplish that whole "measuring growth in strength" concept that I read about earlier. No point in measuring growth if you're never going to get to the point of surpassing the person you're comparing yourself to, unless you want to end the game knowing that the protagonist was always inferior. It doesn't have to be at the end of the game either, the event could be shaped into any part of the adventure.

 

[Spire]

The monster should have absolutely nothing to do with the antagonist. The game doesn't end with this monster, it's just a constant threat that never ends throughout the course of the game.

Maybe the monster can be defeated in a game+ mode?