Saturday, August 9, 2014

If only I could be so grossly incandescent

Shigeru Miyamoto decided to bring the Legend of Zelda to life because of an early childhood experience. In a recent interview, he recanted the notion that his inspiration came from Western folklore. He instead spoke at length about the concept of adventure as a whole. He grew up in a rural area of Japan, replete with hills, ponds, caverns, and ravines. He used to invent scenarios as he ventured. This type of plastic imagination, thoughts that grow around one’s surroundings, is the most beautiful.

Today I decided that I’d have an adventure. I set out on foot and looked toward the sky. I found the highest point in Budapest and I walked toward it. I was met with a long, white suspension bridge and hundreds, maybe thousands of stairs. The stairs were broken up by long sections of paved sidewalk. These sidewalks were angled sharply upward. As I climbed up the edge of the cliff, strong winds and the awful, guttural squawking of mountain trolls buffeted me. This was a warning of the challenges yet to come. I ran through supplies quickly. Within an hour I had used up all of my water and stamina potions.

A beautiful panoramic view of the city was my reward. I took some time to soak in the sights in preparation for the next leg of my journey. Turrets that looked like they were transplanted from Helm’s Deep caught my eye. I decided I’d head there next. I haggled with a merchant and added a health potion and a stamina-boosting snack to my inventory. With newfound strength I shoved off. The turrets were about four kilometers away and I knew that some kind of foul beast would block my path.

I reached the edge of the Danube river without running through too much of my stamina meter. It was quiet for a time, until I encountered the Castle Hill guardsmen. There were riding large creatures whose strength and ire were both limitless. They were strong enough to fell buildings, so I decided to slink past them. I made it to the entrance of the passage without incident. I guess my equipment boosted my stealth status buff. I eventually made it to the top and was again treated to a beautiful view.

The mind is like a stove and the environment is like a cast-iron pot of water. If no heat is added, the water will remain calm and unchanging. Once heat is applied, it will boil vigorously and create a dense layer of steam. The steam will distort the environment and allow it to become a canvas on which you can paint your own picture.

Go outside and have an adventure. Walk around the block or around the world; just remember to let your imagination turn mundane sights into fantasy.


TTFN

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