The Ocarina
The ocarina is a meaningful element of the Ocarina of Time. In the narrative we set, the advantage of the game is the story of Link, a boy who awakens to a destiny far more substantial than himself. He embarks on a journey to save the land of Hyrule from the treacherous machinations of the evil Ganondorf. At the beginning of the story, Link receives an ocarina from Saria.
Throughout his journey, he uses ocarina to advance beyond obstacles he could not overcome without them. We note that Link obtained a shield and sword before the ocarina. However, the stuff doesn’t last through time the story did. As such, it has special meaning and importance in the game as it persists with Link throughout the narrative we define. Even though we cannot change the larger story, we can play with ourselves in Hyrule indefinitely.
It is a story about the struggle, power, wisdom, and courage between them. The narrative is independent but does not change from the perspective of the specific player. In a nutshell, Ocarina of Time is the cornerstone of the Zelda franchise. The defining characteristic and titularity of the sequel, concerning the game’s fictional narrative, are more critical than the Triforce and Master Sword in the game.
Zelda Mythos
However, it is also due to the game’s significant and unique function as a mythological constant in the Zelda mythos. The game’s introduction serves as a new branch of the saga, characterized by ocarina’s magical potential, and further develops the game as the hero we all need. In the same way, the game stands at the confluence of narratives that are personal and defined by us. Ocarina is an unavoidable feature of any personal story in games.
Its prominence in the tale is that we depict how, when, and where to play it, which can vary from player to player. While this is especially true in songs like Saria’s Song and various dungeon songs that can have an effect anywhere, Ocarina of Time thus exists as a narrative expression of players and developers alike. It involves creative action from both sides. The ocarina’s nature as a sign becomes plain when various parties who use it in playing or communicating use and make it.
However, it also has a life of its own, independent of any individual. Indeed, it is not limited to the game itself. Outside of games, however, the ocarina becomes a cross-cultural object as part of an abundant larger collective narrative.
The Antithetical of Ocarina of Time
In addition, the ocarina is not the only significant object in the narrative. However, it is also an important game mechanic; without it, one cannot progress. In many instances, Link runs into a hurdle that we can only overcome by playing certain songs on an ocarina. It serves as the intersection between gameplay and in-game narrative. Apart from expressing how the two are intricately bound together, the music becomes a performance and an account.
However, it varies within the game as it tries to specific commands and tunes. Ocarina has become a central figure in the much larger collective narrative that the game has built. On the antithetical, the meaning of building ocarina’s relationships does not confine the personal chronicle in the game. Around the world, the game has become a frankly cross-cultural object in the sense that it is instantly recognizable to us in the game culture.
Nintendo well documents the success of Ocarina of Time in the setting. The game and the series remain very popular internationally. Ocarina allows players to relate to legends, myths, and narratives much vaster than themselves. Thus, it becomes a focal point where players can relate to each other. The recognition and success were not accidental.
Inclusion of Religion
However, it derives directly from the meaning of the ocarina and its ability to build meaningful relationships and experiences. The ability to construct similar objects in other games has the potential to be a robust game development goal because pieces that are receptive to cross-cultural meaning can generate the collective narratives that make the game successful. Logically, the connotation of Ocarina of Time comes from what it is and its function.
It is the instrument that plays the music; it plays to hint at its true meaning. In brief, ocarina refers to the relationships we maintain and build as we play the game, including relationships between characters and time, characters and locations, and each other. For example, Saria’s gift of an ocarina to Link taught Link Saria’s song. Link plays the ocarina and continues the relationship between the two best friends.
Zelda and Link built a similar relationship through Ocarina of Time. All the different dungeon tracks establish a connection between specific locations and players, allowing players to return to them. Apart from music, analyzing religion in video games rises above the literary analysis of media culture. The paradigm suggests that the developer’s culture influences the culture of the players who consume it, influencing the inclusion of religion in video games.
Iconography
In this tradition, Robertson and Tuckett discuss how careful attention to religious rituals and narratives in video games can create space for critical reflection on how religion manifests in contemporary media. One of the central aspects of faith is that the analysis of rituals and ritual acts reveals a lot about it. Often, ceremonies become interactive retellings of root stories. Religious rites become a means of engaging with religious myths.
Indeed, in-game items can become sacred to players socially by taking advantage of the rituals that World of Warcraft builds. Players create sacred meanings and ados for their own paratextual culture, the game’s internal lore, and beyond the narrative. Apart from other studies of religion in video games addressing how religion represents ludonarrative experiences, the game rule system is separate from contemporary world religion within the confines of virtual space.
Aupers and De Wildt have documented examples of religious iconography in video games, especially role-playing games. They highlight that the game borrows the iconography of a fictional world. It begs the question of how it affects the gaming experience. The use of religious iconography in designating virtual space as sacred implies that sacred space in the fictional world and its virtual version are not equal.
Christianity
The players can create religions in video games, are taught through the games, and may borrow iconography from existing religions. In the case of Ocarina of Time, there is evidence of religious iconography in the game, which serves to designate the area as a holy place from a Christian, Buddhist, and Shinto perspective. With its basic principles and teachings found in its sacred text, the Bible, Christianity is monotheistic.
The architecture of Christian houses of worship has changed over time as people, cultures, and continents have moved. Its particular interest is the cathedral Gothic style, which is difficult to define. The unifying aspect of cathedral Gothic that separates the manner from the rest is the desire to flood the interior with as much light as possible. In addition, the stone buildings are vast, majestic, and huge, leaving an impact.
The cathedral allows its visitors to rediscover the joys of ancient space. The mysterious, vast, dark cathedral’s resonant interior separates visitors from the outside world, creating a powerful spirit that influences visitors. Therefore, the symbolism of space constructs its architecture, and the sacredness of space determines visitors. The history of Christian art is entwined with symbolism, as artists sought to capture the invisible doctrines of the faith.
Buddhism
The Christian Basilica was designed in the shape’s octagon because it symbolizes the relationship between the circle and the square. Eight in symbology represents eternity. The spaces represent faith while also including artwork and faith’s iconography. Understanding Christian sacred spaces requires an understanding of iconography and symbolism. Buddhism arose from and is rooted in Buddhism.
The two sects of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism are the most well-known forms of Buddhism in the West, and they are also the ones that Westerners misunderstand the most. In the history of Buddhism, groups of monks gathered around a domed stupa containing relics of the Buddha, while later assembly halls, temples, and monasteries were nearby. Because it houses Buddhist relics or sacred objects, the stupa acquires the sacredness of space.
It was because sacred objects needed hallowed space to contain their power. The architecture of Buddhist places of worship is also mandala-patterned, namely the ground plan, representing the heavenly realms that encompass the material world. In meditation rituals, the pattern serves as concentric circular paths that worshipers can pass through to reach the center of the temple, the most sacred space.
At last, Shintoism centers on ritual practice, with a unifying doctrine that arose from God’s worship (kami), or the holy spirit of all beings.
Shintoism
The word “kami” refers to a power that inspires awe in beholders, attesting to the divinity of such a phenomenon. The veneration of the holy is the worship of the holiness of natural wonders. Shinto shrines establish the practice of religious rituals. In addition, they provide spiritual nutrition that comes from the reflection space. Similar to the sacred architecture of other religions, Shinto shrines are physical manifestations of ideas filled with iconic signs and values.
If not the most important symbol, the Triforce is one of the most important symbols in the myth of The Legend of Zelda. As an artifact that embodies virtues, the Triforce’s three-part design is a crucial symbol of Japanese history and the emblem of the powerful Hojo clan. It takes on a momentous meaning in Zelda’s verse mythology when associated with the Three Goddesses. The Triforce is a central element in the plot of almost every Zelda game.
Triforce’s roots seem to lie more in Shinto. Another game, A Link to the Past, investigates Shintoism. A cursory look into Japanese mythology speaks of the three regalia, symbolizing the Japanese royal family. The regalia represent the virtues that the descendants of the sun goddess, Amaterasu, embody.
Triforce
The virtues are courage, wisdom, strength, and benevolence, depending on the translation. Becoming the third Triforce was probably in mind from the start, perhaps with Link himself representing the virtues of the third Triforce appearing in the second game, The Adventure of Link. After that, the game’s heavy crossbreeding or Christian symbolism abandons the mythology’s favor of the Three Goddesses.
The three-part symbol is also important to several other mythologies and religions. From the Holy Trinity of Christianity to the Great Trinity of Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, vital symbols in modern lore and ancient Wicca, the Hecate Sisters have significance for various spiritual traditions. In particular, the Christian Holy Trinity is a difficult concept for us to understand and explain.
The doctrine is that the Almighty God reveals Himself to humanity in three forms: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. At the same time, it becomes one. In The Legend of Zelda universe, we know that the Triforce represents courage, wisdom, and strength, manifested in the artifact of a single entity that serves as the providence of the Three Goddesses.
Concepts of Sacred
Shinto is the original religion of Japan; it is a philosophy of life, a way of bridging the gap between the past and the present, and a way of relating to the world and the spiritual realms; the influence on the spiritual world of the game The Legend of Zelda. However, it’s on the spiritual world of The Legend of Zelda games is easy to see. The practitioners hold that everything has a spirit.
Various objects in the human realm worship sturdy spirits, such as certain sacred trees and mountains. While one considers the several minor gods and spirits given in The Legend of Zelda games, one might conclude that we found the Shinto influence in many Japanese media stories. The primary designers for the Zelda series—Eiji Aonuma and Shigeru Miyamoto—have stated that the game’s shrines design around a theme or atmosphere.
We call the dungeons temples, towers, and caves; they have a unifying principle of trials, puzzles, and enemies. Sacred architecture serves the purpose of delineating the blessed from the profane, distinguishing revered spaces from the rest of the world. The depiction occurs using symbols and iconography that represent the concepts of sacred boundaries and thresholds.
Architecture
For Shinto shrines, the philosophy describes Torii gates, which serve as the gateway from the usual space to the sacred space of a shrine. We find these features in the virtual architecture of the temple of Ocarina of Time. It serves the same purpose, except outside of each temple, there is an immense hexagonal pedestal. They are also similar to Romon and Torii gates in that they are a reminder that the player is crossing a threshold and entering a sacred or mystical space.
Another recurring element of dungeons in the game is the presence of twin guards at the entrance. There are two Wolfos at the entrance to Forest Temple, Jabu Jabu’s Belly has two Octorok, and Spirit Temple has two Flying Pots. It mirrors Shinto shrine iconography, with their komainu—guard dogs that come in pairs and station on either side of the shrine’s main entrance. The spiritual guard becomes a symbol that delimits the sacred space of the shrine.
Another symbol of sacred space in the game is the development of sacredness through architecture apart from that. The layout and structure of the Shinto shrine complex follow an archetype. When visiting the complex, a familiar map and a direct path lead from the Torii at the entrance to the Honden, in contrast to the shrine where the kami live.
Final Shrine
The part of the road that runs from the Romon to the Torii is known as the sandō and can contain various elements, depending on the size of the shrine. After all, the Romon is the gate along the wall, separating the outer from the inner court. It serves as another threshold for worshipers to cross. Within the inner court is the main altar for worship, whereby the final sill most worshipers cross.
In addition to Gothic cathedrals, the progression from space to the more sacred profane is similar. In the design, the configuration of the sacral separates is concentric and axial. Attention is drawn to the altar through architectural design because the altar is the most sacred location and focal point. The fortress-like exterior wall separated the outside world from the inside, with the presbytery and choir as the inner sanctuary, which had many exterior walls.
In the game, the sacred architecture and dungeons create the impression of progression from the entrance to the final shrine.
Bibliography
- De Wildt, L., & Aupers, S. (2019). Playing the Other: Role-playing religion in videogames. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 22(5-6), 867-884.
- Hansen, J. (2021). The Reliquaries of Hyrule. Press Start, 7(1), 83-103.
- Koenitz, H. (2019). Narrative in Video Games.
- Sivak, S. (2009). Each link in the chain is a journey–an analysis of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Well played, 1, 297-330.
- Tuckett, J. D. F., & Robertson, D. G. (2014). Locating the locus of study on” religion” in video games. Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, 5.
