Academics in the Zelda universe

Adrien Robertson presented his paper on Zelda to the English Society Colloquium. (Katherine Wooler Photo)

Fourth-year student Adrien Robertson kicked off the English Society’s first colloquium of the year recently by presenting his paper, “The Legend of Zelda: Technology and Textuality."

The Honours student in English enjoys gaming as a hobby and is interested in Zelda due to its open-ended narrative and the new types of analysis that such a narrative demanded.

Similar to a Choose Your Own Adventure book, Zelda not only directs dialogue at the player, but also encourages the person reading the story to take control of it. “There are infinite possibilities with narrative and character,” says Mr. Robertson. Many people may own a copy of Zelda, but a new sequence of events and a new version of the protagonist are created every time a game is played. However the creators of the game have still imposed an over-arching narrative and the player is “bound by the medium,” Mr. Robertson adds.

Fine line between reality and fantasy

Mr. Robertson’s essay moves from Zelda to a spin-off alternate reality game called You Shouldn’t Have Done That. This is an online game that eliminates onscreen avatars and requires the gamer to engage directly with the narrative. “If the narrative requires you to wait three days to continue playing,” explains Mr. Robertson, “you must actually wait three days.”

Consequently, each player’s actions affect the overall outcome of the plot. This type of computer game blurs the line between reality and fantasy because you cannot logout from the action and the events progress in real time. It is the ultimate level of interaction between reader and narrative. “The audience’s reaction determines what happens next in the game,” sums up Mr. Robertson.

The Big Picture

While video and computer games may seem a world away from paperbacks and anthologies, even alternate reality games suffer the same limitations as books. The plot of a novel is told through the restrictions of written language, just as Zelda and You Shouldn’t Have Done That are, as Mr. Robertson puts it, “bound by technological advances.”

Mr. Robertson suggests the closest literary equivalent of Zelda would be any author who responds to fan fiction and alters their work accordingly.

In a world with ever-evolving mediums of story-telling, Mr. Robertson’s paper reminds us that “when boundaries collapse, revitalized modes of reading across genre become necessary.” When the reader becomes co-creator, methods of analysis and criticism must be restructured.

Want more?

Colloquium organizer Leslie Gallagher invites students to submit papers for consideration for the next colloquium that will be held in March, as well as check out undergrad journals Verso (literary criticism) and Fathom (creative writing), which will both launch in April. Colloquiums are open to any students or community members who are interested in attending.

Those who are interested in writing their own alternative fiction should check out the Alternative Fiction Society, headed by Mark Chetcuti. The society hopes to encourage the discussion and creation of such genres as Science Fiction, Gothic/Horror, and Fantasy Literature, as well as explore other narrative mediums such as comic books.

Mr. Robertson, who also spends time as a freelance editor and peer reviewer, encourages students to get involved in academic societies because they provide a forum and opportunity for scholarly expansion.

Katherine Wooler is a third-year student majoring in English and Creative Writing.