Zelda on Broadway

Videogames.com's own James Mielke, a New York native, signed on to participate in a Nintendo-sponsored scavenger hunt held in the Big Apple. He documents his trials and tribulations here. Sure, he won the big prize, but the ultimate prize was a relaxed conversation with Nintendo game designer extraordinaire Shigeru Miyamoto. Here's how he bagged them both.

3:30pm-4:00pmThe media was expected to gather outside the landmark Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan at approximately 3:30pm. New York City being what it is, several members of the press were either lost or stuck in traffic, neither reason of which was sufficient enough for the assembled members to stick around. Seeing as how there were enough people to divide into two groups, parties were chosen, and I, along with game journalist Tom Ham, his two kids Ana and Alex, and some hepcat named Jason, sallied forth on our quest to find Zelda.

4:01pm-4:30pmThe first clue given to us: "Begin in the North Cemetery and seek out my little friend. He is close by the symbolized parents to us all. Thou must triumph. My life depends on it. Z (as in 'Zelda')." Well, I don't know about the clue, so to speak, but you couldn't miss the guy in the elfy green pajamas standing half a block up the street, juggling some bowling pins. After launching into some medieval monologue we absconded with the second clue: "Now, go find a path, named for a River in England. Follow it down the hill and waiting for you will be a coach and friendly driver, to aid you in your search."

The street was named "Thames," and with that, we hung a left and booked down the street, darting through traffic, to arrive at our "coach," which in New York City means "your limo."

4:31pm-5:00pm"Our next destination is the forest at the end of civilization. In it, between the arch to the underworld and the calm waters of truth, is the tree of knowledge. Hurry and seek out the soldiers of the sword." Whatever. Sitting in the limo were three grown men saying "What the...?", while 11-year-old Ana made quick work of the street map provided and said, "We need to go to Washington Square Park!" Not bad for a little kid who comes from DC. Hmm.

Upon arriving at the park, yours truly made like Carl Lewis until I found myself in between WSP's neo-fountain and mini-Arche de Triomphe. Looking around, your eagle-eyed reporter's gaze fell upon the fruitcake with the gold plate on his chest, wearing maroon tights that would make Barishnikov proud. "Zelda sent us!" cried the assembled troops, and once again, after enduring some rather painful medievalese ("Thou needeth to venture forth... thataway!"), we found ourselves on the other side of the park, with our driver waiting for us.5:01pm-5:30pmHere's where we ran into a little trouble. When we got back to the limo, we received another clue that read "Go North and East again. My love for you is set into the building in front of you. Release your coach and driver - he knows where to find you. Set your eye on the Graceful spire, find a magical place and a magical being. Thou art my hero. Z." Well, at this point I almost shed a single tear, but I refrained. Instead I fixated on the "Graceful spire" bit, knowing that about three blocks up Broadway was a church that went by the name of Grace. So, we went up to the spot, full of confidence, only to discover that no one in a silly costume was there. Imagine the five of us, roaming around this church looking for some kind of Peter Pan, to no avail. Something was wrong. Going back over the clues, I eventually kick-started my memory banks and said "Waitaminnit! There's a store back down a couple of blocks called Star Magic. Maybe that's it!" We ran back down to that very store, and sure enough, right there was some poor woman dressed up in purple rhinestones, waving a purple glitter-stick. Some more ham-fisted dialogue was to follow and off we went, another clue in hand.

5:31pm-5:45pm"The olde bookseller's is not your destination, but further on to the place of good and evil. In the back, almost hidden from sight is the sweet Princess. She will provide you with the knowledge you need to find your faithful driver, who holds the final key. Thou Shall Soon Have The Power To Change Destiny. Z." Anyway, what this meant was that we were to breeze past the landmark Strand bookstore, and mosey up the block to the almost equally legendary Forbidden Planet comic-book store (good and evil?). Almost instantly we could see the woman in the back with the crown and bright green dress on. After dispensing with the niceties, we received the final clue to our destination: "Your faithful driver awaits you on another road with many names. He sits on the small part of the road not named - just a number." With that, I dragged our party around the block to 4th Avenue (which, three blocks down is called Lafayette) and pointed them in the direction of our limo, where the driver was waiting for one of us to declare our name and publication, just in case we were one of Ganondorf's henchmen in disguise. Shyeah, right! Heck, we just won the scavenger hunt! As I had fearlessly predicted prior to embarking on our journey, we had come in first place and were quite satisfied with the results. On to the banquet!5:46pm-6:00pmHuddled safely in the warmth of our limousine, we all happily celebrated the victory by driving around the block ten times, to kill a little time since we finished so early. After that, we made our way to Candela's (a rustic old-fashioned restaurant, presumably selected to offer a Zelda-like atmosphere) for an evening's repast.

6:01pmAnd so on and so forth: After having witnessed Tom Ham make like Warren Sapp every time a waiter came by with a tray full of hors d'oeuvres, I decided to get myself a Coca-Cola and watch the carnage. Surrounding the room were television monitors, all equipped with N64s and Zelda cartridges, waiting to be played by any in attendance. Each setup featured Link at various points in the game.

After a short introduction, which highlighted the Zelda trailer now being shown nationwide in movie theaters everywhere, we all gave a nice round of applause. A round of applause, I might add, that grew into a thunderous barrage of whoops and cheers when Shigeru Miyamoto himself entered the room. As modest and unassuming as they come, Miyamoto-san took the most delight in showing the young kids in the room the ins and outs of navigating Link through the 3D world.As the evening passed on (and several autographed items later) I managed to get Miyamoto-san, and his translator Mr. Minagawa, alone for a little Q&A. Here's what was said:

videogames.com: After having spent so much time living and breathing Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, now that it's about to arrive in gamers' hands all around the world, what would you hope a person feels when playing this game?Miyamoto-san: I hope, very much, that they can say, "I have never played a game like this." I want them to feel as if they are visiting a place called Hyrule.

videogames.com: Knowing that you're a bit of a perfectionist, it's also known that you have spent months and months refining Zelda to suit your tastes. Is Zelda everything you wanted it to be?Miyamoto-san: Since the original Zelda on NES, the idea of Zelda has remained the same. With the new hardware we wanted to make a new kind of Zelda game that retained the original concept. I think we have done that.

videogames.com: With each and every successive game you release, you raise the bar on what can be done in the world of video games. Is this the best game you've ever made?Miyamoto-san: I think that Mario 64 is a great action game in much the same way that Zelda is a great adventure game. I think they're both great games.

videogames.com: What was the hardest part about bringing Link and Zelda from the world of 2D into the world of 3D?Miyamoto-san: The most difficult part was to realize a virtual 3D world. It's difficult to give the best 3D angle so that the players don't experience frustration. The game must remain fun to play. Once these issues have been ironed out, the rest of the process is easy. At that point, all you have to do is develop the characters and models and create the scenarios.

videogames.com: Leading up to the creation of Zelda, you've had plenty of time to discover the ins and outs of working with the N64 hardware. During this time you've also admitted to keeping an eye out for Rare and the increasing quality of its projects, like Banjo-Kazooie. As a result, have you developed new ideas for the future that haven't been done before?Miyamoto-san: Yes. Many new ideas have come up. There have been many new discoveries. With Zelda, timing was delicate. Developing this game, we would discover new things all the time, but you have to learn when to start and when to stop. If we continued to implement all of our new ideas, we would never get the game finished. For comparison's sake, Mario used about 60 percent of the N64's power, whereas Zelda probably uses around 90 percent of the technology. There is definitely room for more.

videogames.com: On a side note, has any progress been made on your hush-hush project, Jungle Emperor Leo?Miyamoto-san: Unfortunately, we are in a situation where Makoto Tezuka (son of anime legend Osamu Tezuka) must approve the various steps to begin creating the game. He is very enthusiastic about the game but has had to concentrate on the upcoming movie of Leo. After he has sorted out the movie, then he will be able to work with us on the game. Whenever that occurs, at that point we will renew the process.

videogames.com: Having spent so much time on Zelda, are you going to take some time off to recharge your batteries?Miyamoto-san: (Laughs) I'm taking a break right now. I went to see the Museum of Modern Art today.

videogames.com: After having your hands in so many of Nintendo's 64-bit projects, like Wave Race, Mario Kart, F-Zero X, StarFox, etc., has Zelda been the title you spent the majority of your energies on?Miyamoto-san: Actually, Mario 64 took most of my concentration. In Zelda, I was giving the ideas to the directors who would then develop them into actual gameplay. My job was to watch over the whole project and make sure all the parts worked and fit together.

videogames.com: In closing, considering that this game is currently poised to be the most successful game ever, critically and commercially, what would you like to say to all the people about to embark on this labor of love?Miyamoto-san: I think Zelda is going to be the game where you can say, "Doing something by yourself can be really fun." Sometimes this game may be difficult, but please be patient. Although many of you might want to look at cheat books, you'll enjoy the game the most if you don't ruin the surprises in store. Exchanging information with your friends may be the best idea.

With that, I concluded my interview with Mr. Miyamoto, thanked Miyamoto-san and Minagawa-san for their time, and let the busy game designer get back to his cappuccino.

Shortly after this little episode I was presented with a silver plaque commemorating our victory in Zelda's Scavenger Hunt and Grand Feast, November 1998. It's not every day you get to meet the man who changed the face of gaming. A fine day and a fine adventure indeed.