Co-authored with Cody Mejeur of Michigan State University. Published in the proceedings of the Replaying Japan 2015 Conference 3rd International Conference on Japan Game Studies It has become commonplace in recent years to talk about narrative in games, but generally such discussions are limited to isolated concepts about the nature of game narrative, particularly that it is interactive and emergent. Such concepts are certainly essential, but their usage has too often been limited to the modes of reading and analysis used in other media (visual analysis, textual analysis, etc.). This paper presents an alternative–a unique theoretical framework and methodology for the analysis of game narrative. Our paper will explore new narrative concepts such as determined, personal, and collective narrative (Narrative Expression Model) in games that speak to larger relationships between play, narrative, and experience (Mejeur 2014). This exploration is enabled by the proposed CIMI method (Yap 2014), which lays out specific processes for the identification and analysis of ludo-narrative mechanics. To that end, this paper focuses on one of the most critically-acclaimed games of all time (Guinness 2008, Schneider 1998): Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998). In fact, it is the titular Ocarina itself that represents the nexus of several important phenomena in game mechanics, narrative, and culture. As a unique game mechanic, it constitutes one of the first uses of memory and rhythm in an epic fantasy adventure video game. As a semiotic narrative symbol, it accounts for the focal point of meaning in the greater plot of the game. Finally, through the collective player narratives of the digital communities and international acclaim surrounding the game, the ocarina becomes a truly cross-cultural object. By drawing these elements of Ocarina of Time together and exploring the relationships between them, we demonstrate both the presence of multiple narrative forces in the game and methods for analyzing them. Further refinement of our approach not only enables the analyses of individual games, players, and stories, but also how they fit into larger social and cultural contexts. In this way the story of a single cross-cultural object, the ocarina, can become part of a collective narrative of Nintendo on an international scale. This novel approach to the study of game narrative is not only useful on a scholarly or critical level, but could also help game designers in the imagining of new game mechanics and the potential creation of new cross-cultural objects

1. Playing the Ocarina
Across Cultures:
Explicating Ludo-Narrative Experience in
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Cody Mejeur
Michigan State
University
1
Christopher Michael Yap
Youki Kadobayashi
Suguru Yamaguchi
Nara Institute of Science and
Technology
Replaying Japan 2015 at Ritsumeikan University. May 21st, 2015.

2. Dungeon Map
1. Analyzing Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
(OoT)
a. The Model of Narrative Expression
b. The CIMI Method
2. Close Critical Reading
a. Ocarina as a (Symbol/Sign)
b. Ocarina as a Mechanic
3. Ocarina as a Cross-Cultural Object
4. Future Work
2

3. Analyzing the Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time (OoT)
3
● Nintendo
● Released in 1998
● Action-Adventure genre
● Platform: N64, 3DS remake
● 5th Game in the series
● Guinness: highest-rated game
ever reviewed*
Guinness World Records (April 5, 2008). "Nintendo Records". Archived from the original on
April 5, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2015.

4. Model of Narrative Expression
4
Mejeur, Cody. (2013). Interactive Stories in Virtual Worlds: Theorizing Narrative Expression in
Guild Wars 2. (Master’s Thesis, University of Chicago)

5. Model of Narrative Expression
● Accounts feasibly for the multiple narrative
forces present within interactive games
● Considers expressions and creation of
narrative outside of the game, which springs
from the player community
5

6. 6
Determined
Narrative
Personal +
Collective
Narrative
Yap, C. M. (2014). Using the Proposed CIMI Method to Understand Interactive Narrative in
Digital Games. (Master's Thesis, Nara Institute of Science and Technology).

7. Scope of this paper
To utilize the Model of Narrative Expression in
the 1st Step of CIMI (Close Critical Reading)
-->Identify the Target Mechanic (Ocarina)
7http://sacking-jimmy.deviantart.com/art/Link-to-the-Future-424872817

8. Close Critical Reading of OoT
The Ocarina as a Symbol/Sign:
● Representative of Connection
● Building Relationships
● Each song is associated with a particular
place and character
8http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Seven-Sages-Ocarina-of-Time-313032328

9. Close Critical Reading of OoT
The Ocarina as a Mechanic:
● Controls pacing of game progress/narrative
● Controls access to areas
● Manifests in game as a memory puzzle
9http://canadarocker.deviantart.com/art/Link-Playing-Ocarina-309223884

10. The Ocarina as a Cross-Cultural
Object
“Cross-Cultural Object” - any narrative symbol,
mechanic, or character, which exists within and
originates from the game, which then become
adopted by the fan community on the
international level.
10

11. Cross-Cultural Objects from Video
Games
11

12. 12

13. The Ocarina as a Cross-Cultural
Object
13

14. The Ocarina as a Cross-Cultural
Object
14
http://pertheseus.deviantart.com/art/Triforce-and-a-bit-of-darkness-240389997

15. 15

16. 16

17. Future Work
Continue the CIMI Method, explore Narrative
Expressions:
● Player Interviews first in order to gain
insights as to how the Ocarina exists as a
cross-cultural object
● Isolate Mechanic / Prototype last (based on
above info)
17
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?96201-Comicon-Challenge-2010-maddam-
Elder-Link

18. 18
Determined
Narrative
Personal +
Collective
Narrative
Yap, C. M. (2014). Using the Proposed CIMI Method to Understand Interactive Narrative in
Digital Games. (Master's Thesis, Nara Institute of Science and Technology).

19. Let’s Talk!
19
Cody Mejeur
● mejeurco@msu.edu
● http://www.cmejeur.com
Christopher Michael Yap
● christopher-y@is.naist.jp
● http://www.chris-yap.com