Today I
shall share with you the results of a project I started back at the end of
December. While it’s true that I was working on this over the past seven
months, because of the on-and-off nature of the time I spent on it, I feel it’s
safe to say that the work itself only took a month or two.
The project
started when I decided to play through my collection of Zelda games – something
I do once every few years. However, I was having trouble convincing myself to
start playing the first one. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a game
from my earliest gaming days, back when the Super Nintendo was the hottest
system on the market. As a result, I’ve played it so much that I pretty much
have it memorized.
I wanted to
do something that would make this play-through of the game more interesting –
and to make it last more than a couple days. So, I came up with the idea of
combining it with another game: Minecraft. As I played through the A Link to
the Past, I was going to build the world map in Minecraft.
And now, at
long last, it’s done.
When I first
started it, I was considering making not only the world, but the insides of the
buildings and dungeons as well. However, I quickly discovered that this would
be impossible: as with many video games, the buildings were bigger on the inside
than the outside. Besides, I was beginning to understand the scope of the task
I had undertaken. I wasn’t certain I would ever complete it, when at the end of
my first session all I had was this:
Of course,
starting is always slow. The second day went much faster as I learned the rules
I needed to follow to convert the 2D world into the 3D one. I had thought it
would be easier, as both games were built on a block-like grid, however in the original
game they were able to place objects halfway between two squares – something it
was impossible to do in Minecraft. So, I had to take some artistic licence. By
the end of day two, I was quite happy with the progress I had made.
From there
on, my rendition of the map steadily grew as, piece by piece, it came together.
I did find
I had to make a number of adjustments to the map, just to make it hold
together. I needed to stretch a small section of the world so that it the rest
of the world would pass behind Hyrule castle, rather than through it. As it
was, the back of the castle had to be a sheer drop. However, the most annoying part
was when I built Kakariko village, only to find that – what with all the ledges
dropping ground level – the game designers had, thanks to the 2D nature of the
game, created an Escher-like world. Luckily I had enough space to build a steep
hill and connect the sections of the world as they were meant to be.
In spite of
the struggles, I was delighted with the results of my work. I was building
locations that would be instantly recognizable to anyone who had played the
game.
When I
completed the Master Sword’s grove....
... I knew
I had come to the final, and most challenging, part of my task. This was the
point where I would find out if I was going to complete this project, of give
up on it. Death Mountain: the mountain that looms over all of Hyrule. And I
have to admit, I came close to quitting when I had built most of the mountain
only to discover that I had to move the whole thing (I don’t use mods or
commands, so it was all done one block at a time).
But, I persevered
– and when part of the mountain still overlapped somewhere it shouldn’t, I
improvised and made it make sense.
Welcome to
the The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past’s kingdom of Hyrule, Minecraft style.
Or, as I like to call it, The Legend of Minecraft.
Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
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