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The Reliquaries of Hyrule: a Semiotic and Iconographic Analysis of Sacred Architecture Within Ocarina of Time

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The Reliquaries of Hyrule: a Semiotic and Iconographic Analysis of Sacred Architecture Within Ocarina of Time Press Start The Reliquaries of Hyrule The Reliquaries of Hyrule: A Semiotic and Iconographic Analysis of Sacred Architecture Within Ocarina of Time Jared Hansen University of Oregon Abstract This study is a semiotic and iconographic analysis of the sacred architecture in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo, 1998). Through an analysis of the visual elements of the game, the researcher found evidence of visual metaphors that coded three temples as sacred spaces. This coding of the temples is accomplished through the symbolism of progression that matches the design of shrines and cathedrals, drawing on iconography and other symbolism associated with Shinto, Buddhist, and Christian sacred architecture. Such indications of sacred spaces highlight the ways in which these virtual environments are designed to symbolize the progression of the player from secular to sacred, much like the player’s progression from zero to hero. By using the architecture and symbolism of the three aforementioned belief systems, Ocarina of Time signifies these temples as reliquaries—that is, sacred places that house reverential items as part of the apotheosis of the player. Keywords Art history; The Legend of Zelda; sacred space; symbolism; temple. Press Start 2021 | Volume 7 | Issue 1 ISSN: 2055-8198 URL: http://press-start.gla.ac.uk Press Start is an open access student journal that publishes the best undergraduate and postgraduate research, essays and dissertations from across the multidisciplinary subject of game studies. Press Start is published by HATII at the University of Glasgow. Hansen The Reliquaries of Hyrule Introduction The video game experiences that I remember and treasure most are the feelings I have within the virtual environments. Exploring new areas, encountering enemies, levelling up—these feelings are encapsulated in the visual language of the medium. Similar to theories of architecture, the games matter to me because of how the virtual space is designed and how that space feels to explore. As architecture shapes feelings in the physical space (Homan, 2006), video game architecture can shape atmosphere in the virtual (Rollings, 2004). One series in particular that I loved for the atmosphere of the virtual space is The Legend of Zelda (hereafter Zelda). It goes to great lengths to create memorable experiences in its dungeons and temples, as evident in interviews with level designer Eiji Onozuka (later known as Eiji Aonuma). In discussing the process for designing dungeons in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo, 1998; hereafter OoT) with Japanese news outlet 1101, Onozuka states: When creating the dungeons, we drew level blueprints to consult and spoke in detail to the designers making it for us. We got a lot of time to think about the dungeons, so we experimented on the CAD (Computer-Aided Design; used a lot in architecture) sheets the designers made. We ended up planning them like houses, so to speak. (Tanner, 2007a, para. 6) Onouzuka describes the process of level design—especially in the context of OoT—similar to that of drafting the architecture for a physical building, which suggests the virtual architecture of a video game can be understood with architectural theories of space. The series has deep ties to Japanese culture, and any analysis of a game’s architecture should include the culture in which it was created (Osborne, 2014). Researchers such as Djinn (2012) and Flanagan (2015) have found evidence for Shintoism in Zelda—citing the religion’s influence on OoT. Hemmann (2016) further develops this argument, using OoT as a means of exploring the cultural impact of Shintoism on contemporary Japan. These foundational texts on Shintoism in Zelda games provide a starting point for this article in which I conduct a textual analysis of the temple architecture and consider how these virtual spaces are coded as sacred through religious iconography. Building on scholarship about sacred spaces and the three religions of Shintoism, Buddhism, and Christianity, this study finds that the dungeons of OoT are coded as sacred architecture. Furthermore, I suggest that video games—much like physical architecture—can use religious design to influence players to engage in ritual along their path to apotheosis (becoming deity). Press Start 2021 | Volume 7 | Issue 1 ISSN: 2055-8198 Page 84 URL: http://press-start.gla.ac.uk Hansen The Reliquaries of Hyrule Religion in Video Games Analysing religion in video games builds upon literature of cultural analysis of the medium (e.g., Consalvo, 2016; Dovey & Kennedy, 2006; Flanagan, 2015; Gray et al., 2018; Kafai et al., 2017). This research paradigm suggests that the inclusion of religion in video games is affected by the culture of the developers who created it and that it affects the culture of the players who consume it. In this research tradition, Campbell et al. (2016) discuss how careful attention to religious narratives and rituals within video games can create a space for critical reflection on how religion manifests within contemporary media. One central aspect of religion is the act of ritual, and an analysis of ritual reveals much about the religion. Rituals are often interactive retellings of foundational stories, with religious rituals being a means for engaging with a religion’s myths (Wagner, 2012). Sapach (2015) has analysed how in-game items can become sacred to players, drawing upon socially constructed rituals within World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment, 2004). Players create rituals and the meaning of sacred for their own paratextual culture, outside of the game’s internal narrative and lore. Other studies of religion in video games discuss how religion is incorporated into the ludonarrative experience. Šisler (2017), for example, analyses how video games create procedural religion— divorced from contemporary world religions—through the rule systems of the game, where players learn or value ethical decisions within the confines of the virtual space. Love (2010) has documented some examples of religious iconography in video games, highlighting that games are borrowing iconography in their construction of fictional worlds. This raises the question of how it affects the game experience. The use of religious iconography to designate virtual spaces as sacred is central to Wagner’s (2012) notion that the sacred space in the physical world—such as a church or temple—and its virtual version are not equivalent. She asks who decides if the virtual space is sacred: is it the player or the designer? According to her research, the power of video game storytelling through its use of virtual architecture coded with religious iconography is an area of research with unresolved questions. Religion in video games can be created by the player (Sapach, 2015), can be taught by the game (Šisler, 2017), and can borrow iconography from existing religions (Love, 2010). In the case of OoT, there is evidence of religious iconography in the game which serves to designate these areas as sacred from the perspectives of Shintoism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Religions and Their Architecture Shintoism is centred on ritual practices (Nelson, 2000), with its unifying doctrine arising from the worship of kami, or the sacred spirits of all beings (Ono & Woodard, 1962). The word “kami” also refers to the Press Start 2021 | Volume 7 | Issue 1 ISSN: 2055-8198 Page 85 URL: http://press-start.gla.ac.uk Hansen The Reliquaries of Hyrule power of phenomena that inspire a sense of wonder and awe in the beholder (the sacred), testifying to the divinity of such a phenomenon (Picken, 1994). The worship of kami is then the worship of the sacred, the divinity of natural wonder. Shinto shrines are erected for the ritual practices of the religion. They also provide the spiritual nourishment that comes from these reflective—and nature-centric—spaces (Ono & Woodard, 1962). Similar to the sacred architecture of other religions (Hindu temples, Hopi kivas, Catholic cathedrals, etc.), Shinto shrines are physical manifestations of ideas and are filled with iconic signs and values (Nelson, 2000). Buddhism derived from and grew out of the teachings of Buddha (Cantwell, 2009). The two sects of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism are the best-known forms of Buddhism in the West, while also being the most misunderstood by Westerners (Faure, 2011). In the history of Buddhism, the first groups of monks congregated around the domed stupas that contained the relics of the Buddha, while later chaityas (temples or assembly halls) and viharas (monasteries) were constructed nearby (Humphrey & Vitebsky, 1997). Stupas gained their sacrality of space due to their purpose of housing sacred objects or relics of the Buddha (Humphrey & Vitebsky, 1997), as sacred objects required sacred spaces to contain their powers (Scott, 2011). The architecture of Buddhist sites of worship is also patterned after the mandala, which is a ground plan that represents the celestial realm (depicted as a circle) enclosing the material world (a square; Humphrey & Vitebsky, 1997). This blueprint is used in the rituals of meditation and serves as a concentric path of circles that worshippers can travel as they progress toward the temple’s centre, which is considered the most sacred space. Christianity is monotheistic, with its foundational teachings and principles found in its scriptural text, the Bible (Homan, 2006; Newton & Neil, 1966). The architecture of Christian houses of worship has evolved through the centuries, across continents, cultures, and peoples. Of special interest for this paper is the style of Gothic cathedrals which, in and of itself, is difficult to define. Scott (2011) argues that the unifying aspect of Gothic cathedrals that separates that style from others—with its features of pointed arches, flying buttresses, ribbed vaults, soaring ceiling, stained glass windows, and pinnacles—is the desire to flood the interior with as much light as possible.1 These stone edifices are large, majestic, and cavernous; leaving an impact, as Shackley (2002) notes: The cathedral allows its visitors to rediscover the joys of ancient space.
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