Veepa
07-30-2005, 12:13 AM
Let me make this clear first.. Unlike my previous rants, this is something that doesn't bother me. I'm actually quite fond of it. That said, let me accomplish nothing by posting this.
It seems that in the 8-bit era of videogaming (and onward) one of the main themes were "rescue the dame." Ofcourse you just ignore it, because you see it so many times. But I think there's something much deeper here. I'm a bit of a romantic myself, and I like the idea of completing a challenge to win the love of your favorite gal. When you think about it, it's really a metaphor for love.
In order to understand it all further you have to trace the roots.. And to the best of my knowledge (which isn't very vast, mind you) it all started with a man named Shigeru Miyamoto. Now, I'm sure he wasn't the first person to design a game in which your goal is to rescue a female.. but if you look at Miyamoto's games, there's something deeper.
1981 - Donkey Kong
You play as Mario (Originally referred to as "Jumpman") and you attempt to rescue your girlfriend Pauline from an ape. But what are you really rescuing her from? And what do all of these obstacles really represent? This is just a thought, but.. what if it is actually you trying to save this female that you love, from the immature and ape-like qualities of shallow men. And you have to avoid the obstacles that are thrown at you, to get what you want done. You have to either jump (completely avoid it).. or take a hammer and use physical violence to solve your problems, which will delay your quest, because you can't climb latters.. Which must mean that resorting the physical violence isn't the answer, and isn't what your love wants to see you do.. Once you beat all the levels, Donkey Kong is defeated.. and you and your love are happy together.
1985- Super Mario Bros.
The first true adventure.. and what is your mission? To rescue the princess. You must go on a long quest through 8 worlds, to rescue her from a turtle/dinosaur/thing known as King Koopa. Incidentally you make 7 wrong turns, and wind up saving a bunch of gracious toadstools. When you devour a magic mushroom you grow... it represents you becoming more of a man.. but as you find on your quest, there are villains, that can put you down.. but there's always a chance to rise again. This isn't just a simple "go get the princess" quest.. It's an entire journey of love for Mario.. He experiences completely new worlds to find his true desire. It shows his true dedication.. Every minor affair, or bizarre one-sided obsession has an interesting story to it. Maybe Miyamoto was trying to tell his story.
1985 - The Legend of Zelda
The epic that started it all. Tells the tale of Link.. a brave young hero is told to rescue Princess Zelda, a female he doesn't even know.. but she must be helped, to free the land of Hyrule. It doesn't seem like the traditional lovestory. But it is surely a lovestory, nonetheless. Link strives to be with her.. but he hasn't even met her. So what's driving him? That's something I can't directly figure out.. well, something I can't really explain. "A vague feeling of extraordinary love" is all I can come up. Maybe only Miyamoto can explain that one. I have always thought that it was strange that the title is "The Legend of Zelda" instead of "The Legend of Link." I guess that's because the true centerpiece here is her.. Your input is welcome.
Ofcourse, these are just my views. I'm not trying to write "The Miyamoto Code".. I'm sure none of this has any truth to it at all, but I thought I'd just try to explain things from a different angle.. I am a romantic after all. But I believe it is true that Miyamoto did create the lovestory in videogames, and that all the other games, were inspired by his. One of my favorite examples is the Adventures of Lolo trilogy..
1989-1991 - The Adventure of Lolo I-III
It seems that Lolo is in love with Lala, but she keeps getting taken away by some evil bastard. I apologize for not knowing his name. Anyway, to get her back you have to enter a series of puzzles that grow in complexity and difficulty as you progress. I thought this was one of the most obvious metaphors for love! Think about it.. love is often a very complex emotion. It's very hard to figure out what you want, and how to get it. It's like a puzzle. But after you figure things out, it's always satisfying... or incredibly depressing... But that part aside,.. All of these puzzles really represent Lolo's difficulty in getting the love, he so desperately desires. (By the way, I know Lala isn't captured in part III)
So there you go. That's it. If you actually read through this whole thing, I'm surprised, and your feedback would be greatly appreciated. If you didn't, I don't blame you.
Love is a lot like a videogame, ya know?
It seems that in the 8-bit era of videogaming (and onward) one of the main themes were "rescue the dame." Ofcourse you just ignore it, because you see it so many times. But I think there's something much deeper here. I'm a bit of a romantic myself, and I like the idea of completing a challenge to win the love of your favorite gal. When you think about it, it's really a metaphor for love.
In order to understand it all further you have to trace the roots.. And to the best of my knowledge (which isn't very vast, mind you) it all started with a man named Shigeru Miyamoto. Now, I'm sure he wasn't the first person to design a game in which your goal is to rescue a female.. but if you look at Miyamoto's games, there's something deeper.
1981 - Donkey Kong
You play as Mario (Originally referred to as "Jumpman") and you attempt to rescue your girlfriend Pauline from an ape. But what are you really rescuing her from? And what do all of these obstacles really represent? This is just a thought, but.. what if it is actually you trying to save this female that you love, from the immature and ape-like qualities of shallow men. And you have to avoid the obstacles that are thrown at you, to get what you want done. You have to either jump (completely avoid it).. or take a hammer and use physical violence to solve your problems, which will delay your quest, because you can't climb latters.. Which must mean that resorting the physical violence isn't the answer, and isn't what your love wants to see you do.. Once you beat all the levels, Donkey Kong is defeated.. and you and your love are happy together.
1985- Super Mario Bros.
The first true adventure.. and what is your mission? To rescue the princess. You must go on a long quest through 8 worlds, to rescue her from a turtle/dinosaur/thing known as King Koopa. Incidentally you make 7 wrong turns, and wind up saving a bunch of gracious toadstools. When you devour a magic mushroom you grow... it represents you becoming more of a man.. but as you find on your quest, there are villains, that can put you down.. but there's always a chance to rise again. This isn't just a simple "go get the princess" quest.. It's an entire journey of love for Mario.. He experiences completely new worlds to find his true desire. It shows his true dedication.. Every minor affair, or bizarre one-sided obsession has an interesting story to it. Maybe Miyamoto was trying to tell his story.
1985 - The Legend of Zelda
The epic that started it all. Tells the tale of Link.. a brave young hero is told to rescue Princess Zelda, a female he doesn't even know.. but she must be helped, to free the land of Hyrule. It doesn't seem like the traditional lovestory. But it is surely a lovestory, nonetheless. Link strives to be with her.. but he hasn't even met her. So what's driving him? That's something I can't directly figure out.. well, something I can't really explain. "A vague feeling of extraordinary love" is all I can come up. Maybe only Miyamoto can explain that one. I have always thought that it was strange that the title is "The Legend of Zelda" instead of "The Legend of Link." I guess that's because the true centerpiece here is her.. Your input is welcome.
Ofcourse, these are just my views. I'm not trying to write "The Miyamoto Code".. I'm sure none of this has any truth to it at all, but I thought I'd just try to explain things from a different angle.. I am a romantic after all. But I believe it is true that Miyamoto did create the lovestory in videogames, and that all the other games, were inspired by his. One of my favorite examples is the Adventures of Lolo trilogy..
1989-1991 - The Adventure of Lolo I-III
It seems that Lolo is in love with Lala, but she keeps getting taken away by some evil bastard. I apologize for not knowing his name. Anyway, to get her back you have to enter a series of puzzles that grow in complexity and difficulty as you progress. I thought this was one of the most obvious metaphors for love! Think about it.. love is often a very complex emotion. It's very hard to figure out what you want, and how to get it. It's like a puzzle. But after you figure things out, it's always satisfying... or incredibly depressing... But that part aside,.. All of these puzzles really represent Lolo's difficulty in getting the love, he so desperately desires. (By the way, I know Lala isn't captured in part III)
So there you go. That's it. If you actually read through this whole thing, I'm surprised, and your feedback would be greatly appreciated. If you didn't, I don't blame you.
Love is a lot like a videogame, ya know?