The Legend of Zelda: Dungeon Maker - Would you buy it? I've started a friendly petition.

[Platinumfungi]

With the 30th Anniversary right around the corner on February 21st, I've been thinking a lot about the LoZ lately. I'm sure many of you have played Super Mario Maker and have wondered if Nintendo will create a LoZ Maker. I know there's a great fan created 'Zelda Maker' game, but I truly hope that the big N will make an official entry in the series. SMM is awesome, and I know that with careful planning and a creative team, Nintendo can do this.

Super Mario Maker producer, Takashi Tezuka, stated that creating a Zelda themed Maker game will most likely not be developed any time soon, but I believe that if fans show strong support of such a game, Nintendo will be much more likely to create it.

So, in that hope, I've created a friendly petition to request that Nintendo create a Legend of Zelda
themed video game in the 'Maker' series. I hope you will join me in this request, and help spread the word! By signing this petition, you are showing your support for the creation, and/or purchase, of such a game.
_______________________________________________________

Please join in and brainstorm with us.

Below, I am typing up some of the best ideas from the community about what such a game might look like. It would be awesome to see mock-up images of what you think the game might look like too! I'll update the info below to include the best ideas from the community as we go along.


SUPER MARIO MAKER vs ZELDA DUNGEON MAKER:
Since the only game currently available in the 'Maker' series is SMM, it's understandable that we all immediately start to think about ZDM in that same context and come up with a multitude of reasons that this might not work. However, I think it's very important to realize that ZDM would not be created using the exact same framework that SMM uses. Just as Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda are both unique series, SMM and ZDM would be rather different as well. So, as we brainstorm ZDM, try not to get too caught up with the limitations based off what SMM is.

MAKER vs DUNGEON MAKER:
The single biggest possible complication with a 'Zelda Maker' is the massive scope of developing an entire Overworld, complete with a whole series of unique dungeons. The amount of time and effort that would be required to create a high quality design of that magnitude is most likely well beyond what the majority of gamers would want to invest. Thus, I think the most realistic option is creating a game where, just like in Super Mario Maker, we design a single Level/Dungeon that is totally independent of all other Levels/Dungeons. This actually becomes a fun limitation when you realize that the creator is then not only able to design the Dungeon itself, but also dictate the available equipment that the player both starts with and is able to find in each Dungeon. The player cannot take equipment from one Dungeon to the next, so this allows for even greater creative opportunities - no sword challenge, anyone?

YOU CONTROL THE LENGTH OF THE DUNGEON YOU DESIGN AND PLAY:
Some people have voiced concerns that a single dungeon would both take too long to design and take too long to play through for most people's attention spans. Many SMM levels only take a few minutes to blaze through, and a dungeon/level in ZDM could take much longer. So, taking that into consideration, I think an important feature that could really help make this game work would be the ability to select the number of rooms that your dungeon will be both as the dungeon designer AND as a player who will be playing through the dungeons. So perhaps you literally just want to create a single room dungeon. Perhaps as a player, you just want to play for 5 mins instead of 20 mins so you pick a two room dungeon to play through. This would allow both creators and players to select the amount of time they invest and thus greatly increase their enjoyment of the experience of playing the game. Those who want to create or play through a small dungeon can do so, and those who wish to create or play through a large dungeon can do that too. Everyone wins. You'd never get thrown into a longer quest than what you asked for.

Another fun idea is having some sort of "Challenge Mode" where you play through a randomly generated dungeon that is made up of various singular rooms that different people have designed. So you'd never know what kind of challenge the next room would present you as it was created by a different architect. Or perhaps you could add rooms that others have designed to your own dungeon to allow you to create a dungeon much faster than you'd be able to create by yourself.

WHAT GAMES TO INCLUDE:
Although having 3D Zelda games would be incredible in a 'Maker' game, I think realistically we have to stick with 2D for now. With the multitude of 2D and pseudo 2D games, there are many choices though. I'm sure there will be challenges to using some of them, but many of the titles have great cross-over potential.

Here are some of the possible options:
- The Legend of Zelda (NES)
- Link's Awakening/DX (GB/GBC)
- Oracle of Ages/Seasons (GBC)
- A Link to the Past (SNES)
- Four Swords Adventures (GC)
- The Minish Cap (GBA)
- A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
- BRAND NEW GRAPHICS using current gen capabilities?

CROSSOVER GAMEPLAY ELEMENTS:
As some have asked, I think it's a must that elements from the various Zelda games can be combined into the dungeon you create. So if you want some LoZ and LoZ:A Link to the Past and some LoZ: Oracle of Ages you can do it. This would allow for all kinds of new experiences that were never possible in the original singular games. The opportunities are endless.

MULTI-PLAYER MODE:
Yes, playing as Link is fun, but what if you could also play as the various enemies in the dungeon and go head to head with Link? How about three Darknuts vs Link? This is almost an entirely different experience in and of itself, but I think could be something really fun if well thought out and programmed.

SECRETS/EXTRA/DLC:
Once the basic game engine is in place, it's exciting to think about all the extra additions that could be implemented. Here are a few random things I've thought up.

- In honor of the 30th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda (Feb 2016), create 8-bit Amiibo of Link, Zelda, the Old Man, etc. These then allow you to play as Zelda, the Old Man, (the
Fairy?) etc in game.

- Scan select Amiibo to play as that character. (Mario in a Zelda game anyone?)

- Vote for what the newest updates will include. The most popular choices
get implemented. This is a great opportunity for community involvement
and to strengthen the relationship between Nintendo and their fans.

Personally, I think the opportunities are endless, and the game could easily become a beloved classic.

Thanks for your support, and for reading! Please help spread the word, and hopefully we'll be playing "The Legend of Zelda: Dungeon Maker" sometime soon

All the best,
Platinumfungi

 

[Derek Francis]

Absolutely! I signed your petition.

But I hope Nintendo gets it right and makes it the most complete experience possible. Nintendo should learn as much as they can about Super Mario Maker and apply those things to Zelda Maker.

 

[Platinumfungi]

Thanks Derek! When you said "most complete experience possible", did you mean that you'd like to see a full overworld creator?

 

[Beauts]

Although this is a genuinely cool idea, it's not my type of thing. I'm sure lots of people would really enjoy this though.

P.s. I'm not sure if this a) constitutes spam or not. Personally I'd argue it's a fan petition so not really. And b) this doesn't really belong in general discussion, I would have put it in World of Zelda

 

[Platinumfungi]

Thanks for the tips, Beauts. If there is a forum that would be more fitting to have this posted in, can a Mod move it? Or would I need to delete it?

Please let me know if there are any issues with posting about this here, thanks

 

[Djinn]

Off to World of Zelda it goes.

 

[MW7]

I think this is a great idea. I would lean towards the dungeon maker rather than a whole game maker due to the difference in complexity. I could see plenty of people putting together clever dungeons on their own, but it's hard to imagine many entire Zelda worlds being created by a single person that would be worth playing.

I would think Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past styles would be a must, but some others are different enough to warrant inclusion as well. I appreciate how practical your idea is by limiting it to 2d or quasi 2d style games. I also think this game concept has the potential to actually be made at some point in the future.

One thing that I think could simplify the game's creation without limiting possibilities is to allow for crossovers from different games. For instance the items from Link's Awakening could be used in creating a ALttP style dungeon. In this example you would have even more possibilities in the ALttP style dungeons, and the game's designers could just leave out a separate LA's style as the most relevant piece of its gameplay would already be implemented in another style.

 

[Platinumfungi]

Off to World of Zelda it goes.

Thanks for the help, Djinn. I've visited ZD's main site for quite awhile now, but I'm brand new to the forums so I'm not very familiar with the layout. I appreciate your help!

MW7 - All excellent ideas! I also feel that, if thoroughly planned out properly, this could be a really fun addition to the Zelda franchise that Nintendo might actually create. It's different enough from a 'regular' Zelda game experience that not all Zelda fans will like it, and I totally respect that, but imho it has the real potential to appeal to a wide audience and potentially bring many new fans to the series as well.

I am continuing to create mock up images of what the game could look like, so I'll try and incorporate your crossover concept in some of the near future images!

 

[TheHerbivoreWaffle]

I would be totally okay with this, if only to be able to play more dungeons. But I only played Mario Maker about 10 times before getting bored, so I'm not sure what I'd think of an actual Zelda maker.

 

[MetaBeta]

If they allow us to record our own sounds like in Mario Maker, I swear I'm gonna make a dungeon called the Fart Temple.

 

[Platinumfungi]

I've updated the thread to include the cool ideas the community is coming up with. Thanks for all the input so far, and keep it coming. I'll continue to update the main post with your best ideas and will try and make more cool mockup images of what the game might look like.

 

[MetaBeta]

My idea:

Make item progression essential. Similar to how you can't upload a level without beating it in Mario Maker, I think there should be a feature where the level creator could set required items in the dungeon and then progress through his own dungeons with said items. Then the level selection algorithm would be much more intuitive, as it feels like actual Zelda-like progression. It would also prevent every dungeon from becoming a hunt for 5 items to progress.

Another cool feature to have would be a Hyrule Fields pre-built by Nintendo. It would basically just work like the level progression in Mario Maker, but this time you get to travel from dungeon to dungeon yourself. It would be filled with a few monsters you have to fight to make it less boring.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

what do ya'll think of this

 

[Platinumfungi]

My idea:

Make item progression essential. Similar to how you can't upload a level without beating it in Mario Maker, I think there should be a feature where the level creator could set required items in the dungeon and then progress through his own dungeons with said items. Then the level selection algorithm would be much more intuitive, as it feels like actual Zelda-like progression. It would also prevent every dungeon from becoming a hunt for 5 items to progress.

I think that's a fun idea. If one level creator wanted to take the time to make a series of dungeons, where the player could actually progress through, I think that would be awesome.

what do ya'll think of this

Imho, people keep getting bogged down by comparing a possible 'Zelda Maker' game to the constraints of what SMM is. Although both games would be 'Maker' games, they'd really be very different experiences and most likely appeal to different audiences. As people have noted, SMM is all about speed and short play sessions. Yes, ZDM could have small single room (or very small) dungeons for speed's sake, but it could also be more about exploration and puzzle solving. If both the level's creator and the player got to select the length of the level they played through, (1 room, 5 rooms, etc) they'd never be forced to invest more time/effort than what they wanted.

Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda are different enough games that I think their respective 'Maker' games would be as well. I think they'd both be awesome, but fairly different. The people who would enjoy ZDM might not enjoy SMM and vice versa. Just my two cents

 

[Musicfan]

It would work fine but, I would want more options then what was presented in Mario Maker. More ability to control health and damage. Maybe have a site for user created content like sprites that could be used and downloaded into the game. Maybe a way to sort of make items use a simple set of rules. Sort of like the basic beginner tools of GMS. Allowing us to even make our own stories bosses and characters.