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In the early 90s, war was waging within a budding industry,
and one of the heaviest hitters, Nintendo, released The
Legend of Zelda- Link's Awakening on the Game Boy.
Revolutionary as a portable adventure, the game took a
place in history as one of the greatest games of its
generation. Ballad of The Wind Fish is a tech-demo
returning players to the island on which the original game
took place, though with a massive modern makeover.
and one of the heaviest hitters, Nintendo, released The
Legend of Zelda- Link's Awakening on the Game Boy.
Revolutionary as a portable adventure, the game took a
place in history as one of the greatest games of its
generation. Ballad of The Wind Fish is a tech-demo
returning players to the island on which the original game
took place, though with a massive modern makeover.
Gameplay
Taking a cue from 3D *Zelda games such as
Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker and Twilight
Princess, Ballad of the Wind Fish puts players in
control of intrepid hero, Link, in a highly
interactive, fully 3D environment. BotWF featured
climbable walls, ledges to grab onto, and even
water in which to swim. Nearly every element
found in a traditional 3D *Zelda game was
duplicated in the game engine.
A streamlined yet faithful-to-the-original
inventory menu fully incorporated swords, shields,
and all manner of tools and weapons. Players
could lock onto signs, enemies and townspeople
using the perfectly-duplicated Z-targetting system.
When locked on, weapons such as the Bow and
Boomerang could be used with perfect accuracy.
Players could even manually aim tools such as the
hookshot to pull themselves onto ledges.
Taking a cue from 3D *Zelda games such as
Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker and Twilight
Princess, Ballad of the Wind Fish puts players in
control of intrepid hero, Link, in a highly
interactive, fully 3D environment. BotWF featured
climbable walls, ledges to grab onto, and even
water in which to swim. Nearly every element
found in a traditional 3D *Zelda game was
duplicated in the game engine.
A streamlined yet faithful-to-the-original
inventory menu fully incorporated swords, shields,
and all manner of tools and weapons. Players
could lock onto signs, enemies and townspeople
using the perfectly-duplicated Z-targetting system.
When locked on, weapons such as the Bow and
Boomerang could be used with perfect accuracy.
Players could even manually aim tools such as the
hookshot to pull themselves onto ledges.
Graphics & Sound
Ballad of The Wind Fish makes use of
intuitively optimized geometry to portray
the setting oh Koholint Island; the
environment in which the game takes
place. Enemies, NPCs, and the main
character are rendered with no polygons
gone to waste to ensure smooth
gameplay during intense scenes of
action. Environmental objects such as
house shared universal textures to
reduce graphical memory usage.
Original combat, inventory menu, and
voice acting sound effects were
incorporated in the tech demo to further
the immersive experience.
Environment
Players began the journey in a small,
comfortable looking home. The world
outside featured a quite village nestled
beneath the shadow of the Wind Fish's
Egg, overlooking the ocean.
Past the village is a path to the forest, a
beach crawling with monsters, and even a
sneak peak at a dungeon.
Ballad of The Wind Fish makes use of
intuitively optimized geometry to portray
the setting oh Koholint Island; the
environment in which the game takes
place. Enemies, NPCs, and the main
character are rendered with no polygons
gone to waste to ensure smooth
gameplay during intense scenes of
action. Environmental objects such as
house shared universal textures to
reduce graphical memory usage.
Original combat, inventory menu, and
voice acting sound effects were
incorporated in the tech demo to further
the immersive experience.
Environment
Players began the journey in a small,
comfortable looking home. The world
outside featured a quite village nestled
beneath the shadow of the Wind Fish's
Egg, overlooking the ocean.
Past the village is a path to the forest, a
beach crawling with monsters, and even a
sneak peak at a dungeon.
Development
Shortly after taking the big jump and
moving from 2D gaming into 3D, I
found myself full of confusion. I decided
the best way to get my bearings was to
reverse engineer and build duplicate
systems of 3D games that already
existed. Link's Awakening is one of my
favorite games of all time, and I love
the unique gameplay of 3D *Zelda. As
a kid, I always wondered if I could make
a game like Ocarina of Time.
Shortly after taking the big jump and
moving from 2D gaming into 3D, I
found myself full of confusion. I decided
the best way to get my bearings was to
reverse engineer and build duplicate
systems of 3D games that already
existed. Link's Awakening is one of my
favorite games of all time, and I love
the unique gameplay of 3D *Zelda. As
a kid, I always wondered if I could make
a game like Ocarina of Time.
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Before this project, I was actually
working on a 3D puzzle/adventure
game with a much simpler design
than a *Zelda game. When I
realized I had accidently
developed a camera and control
system nearly identical to that of a
3D *Zelda game, I realized what a
valuable learning opportunity I
had found.
I spent about two weeks studying
the 3D games, and within those
two weeks I had developed a fully
functioning 3D game engine that
performed surprisingly faithful to
the series I was aiming for.
Unfortunately within those two
weeks, the project was leaked
across the internet by my testers,
and the 'privacy' of my private
educational tech demo was
compromised.
working on a 3D puzzle/adventure
game with a much simpler design
than a *Zelda game. When I
realized I had accidently
developed a camera and control
system nearly identical to that of a
3D *Zelda game, I realized what a
valuable learning opportunity I
had found.
I spent about two weeks studying
the 3D games, and within those
two weeks I had developed a fully
functioning 3D game engine that
performed surprisingly faithful to
the series I was aiming for.
Unfortunately within those two
weeks, the project was leaked
across the internet by my testers,
and the 'privacy' of my private
educational tech demo was
compromised.
Ballad of the Wind Fish Gameplay Footage - 2009
The skills and experienced I've
gained make this one of the most
valuable projects I have worked
on. Not only was I able to reverse
engineer and build a solid game
engine, but I also developed a
firm grasp on 3D modeling,
texturing, material properties and
developing and linking fluid
animations.
During this exercise, I also developed a very solid technique
of level building and setting up a
refined, solid combat system.
Though intended to remain a
private tech demo for educational
purposes only, the game was met
with overwhelming support and
encouragement by fans over the
internet. From this project I gained
skills and experience for
developing complex, highly
advanced games that I doubt I
could have acquired any other
way.
gained make this one of the most
valuable projects I have worked
on. Not only was I able to reverse
engineer and build a solid game
engine, but I also developed a
firm grasp on 3D modeling,
texturing, material properties and
developing and linking fluid
animations.
During this exercise, I also developed a very solid technique
of level building and setting up a
refined, solid combat system.
Though intended to remain a
private tech demo for educational
purposes only, the game was met
with overwhelming support and
encouragement by fans over the
internet. From this project I gained
skills and experience for
developing complex, highly
advanced games that I doubt I
could have acquired any other
way.
