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Zelda Lawn Ornaments
So that last post got me thinking about how great it would be for a city park to adopt a Zelda layout, enough to get me thinking about doing a crowdfunding project (still mulling it over). My thoughts then migrated to something a little closer to home - the backyard to be exact. How cool would it be decorate the yard with Zelda-themed lawn ornaments in the style of item pickups? This is a million times better than gnomes!*
These would be ornaments with a little peg underneath that you’d plug into the lawn anywhere you want. It would look like Link invaded your property and struck down all the shrubs (he has issues).
I think this would be a fun DIY project for lawn-loving geeks. I have no idea how you’d make such large Rupees though (any thoughts out there?). For safety reasons I’d want the arrows made out of rubber (or something not stabby in general, as we’ve learned from lawn darts).
*The opinions expressed by this blogger do reflect those of this blog, and should be completely embraced by you without hesitation.
Thinkgeek Remix Part 1: Firefly Jar
This is a ‘what-if’ series where I apply my spin on actual products available from Thinkgeek.
Ah, Thinkgeek. Home to many cool and creative products. Every so often I will browse their wares and see what cool toys they have for discriminating geeks like myself. Once in awhile I’ll see something they’re selling and think, hey wouldn’t it be cool if…? Well I thought I’d share some of my musings, because that’s what I do.
First up we have the ‘Electronic Firefly in a Jar‘, which is a neat simulation of a real firefly trapped in a jar (video at the link). The fake firefly ‘flies’ around (it’s tethered to the lid), emits light, and sometimes parks itself on the side of the jar, where it reacts to your tapping. It flaps its wings too. Cool beans.
I’d just swap out the firefly for Zelda’s Navi, the true antagonist of Ocarina of Time (Ganondorf had nothing on her). The hapless Navi would still fly around and emit light, in addition I would also add a sound chip to the inside of the lid, allowing Navi to emit her famous phrases. And this would be brilliant because most sound chips have poor-sounding quality, but inside the jar it would sound muffled and mostly inaudible*.
If I had one of these on my desk, I would wring my hands and laugh maniacally every time I heard the faintest protest coming from Navi. It would be glorious.
There would need to be a switch where the frequency of her voice phrases could be determined (once every half hour would be ideal). I’d also add an on-demand button on the lid to trigger a line of dialogue too.
I’d try to make the jar look Zelda-ish too (above example was a stock photo). I think this would make for a nice ambient lamp as well.
If you like this product idea, I suggest you bug Thinkgeek about it. Get it? Bug?
*I suppose if you wanted to hear her you could crack the lid open a bit.
Zelda Lamp And Clock Combo
While Ocarina of Time is a celebrated benchmark in gaming, it had a direct sequel that doesn’t get nearly as much attention - Majora’s Mask. Despite the lack of hype, this game did have a lot of memorable imagery, such as that creepy moon that was in the sky, constantly inbound to destroy the planet.
So I thought this menacing backdrop for Majora’s Mask would make for a cool lamp, accompanied by the central Clock Tower as, well, a clock.
The moon lamp would change colors, and the clock would feature all the bell sounds heard in game. Like everything I post, this is just the basic idea. The base could feature a larger section of the town, and perhaps a few figures from the game as well.
Admittedly, the moon is too creepy for many. I do think many Zelda fans can appreciate how this encapsulates the classic game, recreating a pivotal/iconic moment. I’d want one on my desk!
If you like this check out the Ocarina Watch.
Watch This! Part 1: Zelda Ocarina Of Time
A wristwatch based on Link’s Ocarina. The display is spread between the instrument’s openings. Would be nice if this watch played chimes (like the song of time) at hourly intervals.
Geeky Gadget Wish List #9: Video Game Door Locks
Wouldn’t it be neat to hear a familiar video game chime when you unlock your front door? Like the sound when opening a dungeon or treasure chest in a Zelda game. Suddenly the mundane task of entering or exiting your home would sound like an adventure.
I feel that creating a deadbolt with a speaker would be the best way to accomplish this. Another way is to incorporate a sound chip into the key itself, but that would be difficult to create an electronic key fob that will fit onto any key.
Special thanks to my friend Matt Rose for suggesting the latter idea (the chime built into the key).
UPDATE: You might have noticed that Zelda chime when the door rang at the beginning of the Scott Pilgrim movie! I think an accompanying door bell would be great too.