The Appeal of Zelda-based Websites
By Maniacal Clown
On a little corner of the vast computer network that we lowly people have dubbed "The Internet," resides a group of websites with just about the most devoted fans and visitors anywhere. These sites, however, have grown around just a simple videogame called "The Legend of Zelda." What could cause tens of thousands of people a day to access these pages about a sixty dollar piece of metal, plastic, silicon, and gold? Is it the information? The downloads? The webmasters? The general companionship of fellow fans? A combonation of all? Read on...
I know that the reason I got involved with Zelda sites is the information. Okay, I was kind of stuck in the game, and I felt like cheating. That's not important, however, because it shows that these websites provide a place for thousands of poor, stumped videogaming souls to come and make their lives a little easier. Sure it's cheating, but we don't really care!
What would a website be if you couldn't download your favorite music from the game or specially composed versions of it? Being the videogame music lover that I am (I wish there was a StarCraft soundtrack...), I let out shrieks of joy when i discovered IZC's vast music section. Of course, certain competing sites like it too, but that just proves my point.
And then there's your everyday suck-up. (*whistles and looks around*) They search out these websites and get themselves close to the local webmaster. They make themselves trusted to the point that they are granted membership on the staff. Then, they make evryone angry, resign, and do it all over again some place else. It's true. Just ask that guy with the initials "JN." (Sorry...he was disappointed I didn't insult him in my last one...) Of course, there's nothing wrong with these people. It's just what they do.
Finally, there's the element that nakes this whole Internet thing worth while. People can come to these sites and find hundreds or even thousands of people just like them from all over the world. They converge in the site's message board and usually come back for years. While they're there, they all discuss what brought them there in the first place, Zelda (well, most of the time!), and they do it without worrying about race, gender, or religion (usually). It truly is beautiful.
So what, overall, makes this ring of Zelda sites popular? I really don't know. What I do know is that they'll continue to be popular right into the new millenium and beyond. Which, by the way, doesn't start until January 1, 2001. ;)
~Maniacal Clown
