Wherein I defeat Ganon and restore peace to Hyrule Level-9 is the culmination of all prior level designs—the meta-dungeon, if you will. (The game cues you to its special status audibly; Level-9 is the only dungeon to get a unique soundtrack.) It took me over an hour to complete, so in lieu of turn-by-turn directions, I'll recap the design highlights. There are fifty-four mapped rooms, by my count, plus a few more hidden rooms and subterranean passageways. That's nearly half the size ...
Wherein I succumb to temptation and consult the NES Atlas I admit that I cheated. The whole purpose of the Cold Run Experiment (TM) is to play Zelda 'cold,' i.e., with no assistance from FAQs, walkthroughs, online guides, etc. I've adhered to this rule as best as possible—years of videogame study have sullied many of the game's secrets—but Level-6 BROKE ME, people. I was dying so consistently that I decided to consult a guide to make sure I hadn't missed a crucial ...
Wherein I master using it Last time, I picked up the blue ring, but I still don't feel ready to face the Wizzrobes again. With bait in hand, I decide to skip ahead to Level-7. The green dungeon proves far simpler than Level-6. The rooms are filled primarily with boomerang folk and sword-toting skeletons. Along the way, I recover the red candle, which apparently is the 'unlimited' upgrade of the blue candle. Instead of a single illuminating discharge per room, Link ...
Wherein I continue to hate the Wizzrobes of Level-6 I have reached an impasse. Level-6 continues to be a bastard. Even with full health, a magic shield, and an upgraded sword, the long string of rooms with spitting gargoyles and blue/orange wizards proves difficult. The one time I make it past the trickiest room (filled with wizards, shield-stealing Like Likes, and sword-stealing bubble-whatevers), I run into mid-level boss Gleeok. The balance breaks down at this point. The wizards are too powerful ...
Porting randomness The 10 PRINT book is now available for purchase and download. Its full title is a single line of BASIC code, written for the Commodore 64, that generates a random maze pattern comprised of two PETSCII characters: 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 The output looks something like this (in an emulator): From those humble beginnings, the book's ten (!) authors (writing in a single voice) explore computer platforms, programming, porting, labyrinths, random number generators, art history, and more. It's great ...
Ghosts of an obsolete medium As the 90s make their inevitable loop back through the pop culture recycle bin, we find artists embracing the quirks and flaws of that decade's media fatalities: CD-ROM, cassette, Netscape Navigator, VHS, and so on. Chillwave fetishizes the warp and warble of tape. Seapunk aestheticizes the detritus of the web's early landscapes. Fashion reaffirms elf boots and acid wash denim. And so it goes. Though I've still found cassettes useful in my own sound projects, I ...
Wherein I toot my own whistle After stumbling across dungeon 6 in my previous session, I renew my efforts to locate dungeon 5. The only region of Hyrule left unexplored is in the northeast, where I previously ran into a mountain pass that had an infinite loop similar to the Lost Woods. A directional combination unlocked the latter and I remember one of the NPCs in the cave telling me to head 'up up' the waterfall. The looping mountain pass is ...
Wherein I ponder the 8-bit sublime and disturb the dead I am nearing the completion of my hand-drawn map, so I decide to venture out and fill in my missing blanks, in hopes that I might accumulate some rubies and pick up a few hints along the way. This means heading toward the northeast and northwest regions of Hyrule, where bleak mountains and dangerous Lynels abide. I'm now thankful I decided to draw a map, because the mountains are difficult to navigate. ...
Wherein I spring traps in darkness and pursue the Hydra Last session, I was lauding The Legend of Zelda for its smooth difficulty curve and empowering character progression. I take it all back. I begin my session exploring the upper regions of the map. I head vaguely northwest through mountainous terrain, where Lynels appear in swarms. Despite my increased health and shield upgrade, their swords lop off hearts at a time. I die ...
Silent Hill 2, horror, and duration Our gaming priorities change as we get older. In my late teens, when I purchased my first console with my own money (a Sony PlayStation), the prospect of 50+ hour roleplaying games seemed like a sound fiscal investment. I could only afford two or three games a year, so they had to last. Of course, gameplay length comes in different forms. In Final Fantasy VII, you spend a lot of time 'outside' of the game's ...