Link the Link

Meet Stephen! He works with instructor Zack as part of Game-U’s New Jersey Accelerate program. Stephen’s all about learning to use Unity, the professional gaming engine, and he loves bringing his favorite characters and games into his lessons. After success with a Spiderman-based Venom game, Stephen’s now building a new game inspired by The Legend of Zelda! See how he does it!

Because Unity works well with imported 3D models, Stephen and Zack tapped a models resource to create custom Zelda-style characters and props. Using these models, as well as Unity’s assets, Stephen assembles complex environments that recreate his favorite places in The Legend of Zelda. Stephen’s aiming high with this project, not only creating multiple environments for the game – like Ganondorf’s castle or the Kokiri Forest – but also developing past and present versions of each environment to fit with canon Zelda chronology. The key to exploring or playing these worlds is Link, Zelda’s main character. With Zack’s help, Stephen “rigged” the Link model just like a puppeteer attaches strings to his puppets. Rigging identifies the character’s points of movement to the controller, so that the computer, via the controller, can execute the code that responds to the player’s commands (jump, run, climb, etc.). The rigged and animated Link then functions as the player’s link to Stephen’s Zelda worlds, giving him or her an avatar that interacts with Stephen’s Unity project environment. While the game’s a work in progress, the video above – hosted by Link – shows just how much progress Stephen’s made!

Thanks for sharing your game with us, Stephen! We love the detail and effort that went into this project. Keep aiming high! Stay in touch, too. We’d like to see more of your version of Legend of Zelda as you continue the development process!