Topic: Realistic Zelda!

[Ian Sane]

"By the way, just like in Wind Waker, Link will look at important things around him."

You know it's funny.  Miyamoto hyped up that element of Wind Waker huge.  He even explained that part of the reason they went cel-shaded was because it would make it easier for Link to have facial expressions and look at things.  Yet I NEVER noticed it while I was playing and never once solved a puzzle because Link looked at something.  It was just so minor.  The only times I really noticed LInk's facial expressions were in very obvious situations like the super fun happy dance he did when he beat a boss.  In other words the only times I noticed Link had facial expressions was when they appeared out-of-place for a Zelda game.

[Termin8Anakin]

I loved backing up against the walls in WW for the sole purpose of watching Link's eyes move. I would sit there for a long time, watching him look in different directions while trying to keep still with his mouth pursed. It was brilliant. His big bright eyes made it so good
Have a look at Link when the Deku Tree is talking to you for the first time, in Hylian. That look is GOLD hahaha.

The cartoon element definitely made it more charming, while the realistic approach here would add a more epic feel to it.  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Link's eyes told me where to look to find the switch for the hidden passage in the teacher's isolated vacation house.

I ran around the place for like 5 minutes then i simply got stumped.  Hrrrmmmm, what to do.

So I had Link stand in the middle of the room and stare at me (into the camera).

All of a sudden he was like --

*o*

looking straight up into the heavens AND I'M LIKE HUH?  HOLY SHHIT! IT'S THERE!

That's probably the first time Link ever helped ME out.
BRILLIANT!!

Reggie like!

[KDR_11k]

What's the point of having a character in a realistic game look around? Usually the eyes are just a few pixels large, you can't make out anything there.

[Ocarina Blue]

Still, Link could turn his entire head to face the main object if too much time is spent in once room. Or they could just bring back the faeries

[mouse_clicker]

Quote
Still, Link could turn his entire head to face the main object if too much time is spent in once room. Or they could just bring back the faeries

People complain enough about Wind Waker's lack of difficulty as it is- if Nintendo had done something like that people woul just complain that they were being given the answer and didn't even have a chance to come up with the solution themselves. If you never needed the help of Link's eyes, good for you. If you did, aren't you glad it was just a little push in the right direction rather than a blatan revealing of what you were supposed to figure out on your own?

[Ocarina Blue]

I feel that as long as the time-delay is long enough, the eye movement decreases frustration more than difficulty. For example, I spent 10 minutes (and I could have spent much longer) looking for the scroll in the teacherĀ“s house before I noticed LinkĀ“s eyes.

I canĀ“t remember how many times IĀ“ve solved a large puzzle several times over but not completed it because I missed a small part of it. Imagine trying to light a whole lot of torches: you run from the start to the finish, and by the time you get to the finish you presume the reason nothingĀ“s happening is because the earlier torches have gone out, but the fact is youĀ“ve missed one all along. ThatĀ“s the sort of thing that LinkĀ“s eyes can tell you. What they canĀ“t tell you is why you need to light the torches, or when you need to to turn the dungeon upside down, or how you need to defeat phantom gannon etc.  

[KDR_11k]

Apropos phantom Ganon, anyone else annoyed by the fact that the autoaim doesn't track his weak point but his head whereas it tracks the weak spots of all other enemies?

[TheYoungerPlumber]

"By the way, just like in Wind Waker, Link will look at important things around him."

Yup.  Aonuma confirmed that one in the just-posted GDC roundtable, despite the denial of sex...er...darker Link.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

It'll work as long as new Link maintains his arguably large anime-ish eyeballs.

The way the characters turned/titled their heads in Eternal Darkness was also quite noticeable, and therefore functional.

[linkmeister]

To bring up an old topic, (like 6 months old) the new realistic zelda does look amazing, all bits from the E3 2004 video that quite a few of us saw were from gameplay without any CG parts and hopefully it won't be too long until it's released! Also, in this game link is supposed to 16 and they couldn't think of a way to potray a teenage link with Cel-shading which is why they reverted back to the realistic look.  Good choice

[KDR_11k]

Actually it depicts how Link perceives the world: As a child he sees the world around him happy and bright, now that he is older everything seems dark and depressing to him, that's why he fills his blog with angsty poems about suicide.

[KnowsNothing]

New emo Link is BEST.