The Hylia

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I've taken a good, hard look at my site, and I've decided it's time to change a few things. It's obvious I am not very good at creating a site that is filled with tons of facts, with tons of fan works, or tons of game area sections. What is clear is that I'm a writer, a media guy, and a news person. Sure, the site sort of reflects the last three in terms of updates, but the site is still designed like classical fan site. So, in the coming month, there will be some drastic changes.

For starters, this will not affect our community whatsoever. It will be the same, so don't freak out. The first thing I will be changing is the design of the site. Martin will no longer be serving as the active site designer, although he will still assist with the new logo and some graphics. I have several people working on the new layout, and it is being designed to integrate a dynamic front page manager.

The reason I want a dynamic front page manager, or a watered down version of a CMS, is because updating traditionally, as nice as it is to have so much control over the look, is too tedious and too damn slow. I'm at work during the majority of big gaming developments, and I can't update from there using traditional means. With a web based updating system, such as what Cute News and Word Press offer, this gives me the optimal solution.

However, I've noticed that many sites and blogs have too similar a look, which is in part due to the constrictive nature of a CMS or front page manager. Our current site designers are working on a layout that truly taps into the essence of Zelda, which I'm giving very strict input - the site can't look like a tech or flashy site, which 90% of the fan sites and blogs out there do. It's not that those sites aren't good - most of them are - I just have always desired a look that shouts "Zelda".

The next big change is I am totally ditching the games sections. This classical style of "fan site" is becoming archaic, and it is seriously a LOT OF WORK for sections that EVERYONE ELSE HAS, and that nobody really visits. In this day and age, you can hop on over to GameFAQs or Wikipedia, and you're instantly "owned" by superior references. Sure, we can make ours look "prettier", but honestly, how many of you out there come to a Zelda fan site to see how to beat Level 5 of Zelda IX? Or you come to our sites to see what the name of that item in the Water Temple is.

So much energy and work, and so little return. Also, I don't feel like droning out boring information. The best way to learn about this stuff is to actually go out and play the games. Who wants to sit down and read 100 pages of Ocarina of Time information? Ok, maybe me if it is new info, but the average fan, I think, doesn't want that. So, all that will remain in the "games" area will simply be "reviews" for each game, giving you opinions on the title from various staff members.

What the site will push is what we already really focus on. News. Media. Editorials. This layout, nor anyone before it, really hasn't catered to this type of site. The Joomla site was honestly the best incarnation for this, and updates were coming out really fast. As such, it is my goal that this site will be updated at least once a day with Zelda news. But it doesn't stop there. Additionally, I want to try and branch out and begin covering more Nintendo news. The site will still remain dedicated to Zelda and specialize in it, but I really hate the term "fan site".

I also don't like the term "blog", either, but that's just my taste. I have no intention of turning this site into anything "professional", but I believe in this day an age, fans have more power than ever, and settling for arcahiac definitions and standards will only result in stagnation, as many of the the fan sites, even longstanding ones, have encountered. I have press status with Nintendo - it's time I used it. I think the best thing I can say is I feel I can do so much more, but I've been held back by a few things.

So, no more "exclusive community for elite Zelda people" ideologies. No more "advanced Zelda gameplay" BS. No more "the best source of Zelda information" garbage. No more "TSA's way or the highway" on the site, either. I'll be bringing on a staff to update in addition to myself, so you will be meeting some new people around here very soon. Hopefully this new format and dedication will allow us to cover all the latest Zelda news as soon as possible, get you editorials that cause you to argue with us and others, to get all passionate about Zelda, and to give you the best possible media (artwork, screens, videos, scans) to give you as much access to Zelda.

Honestly, that's how Zelda is to me. Learning through experience and discussion. Not through sitting down and reading information all day. You may say people like me, who "knew" everything about Zelda, were truly Zelda masters. Knowledge is not the absolute path to wisdom. “One's first step in wisdom is to question everything and one's last is to come to terms with everything.” That is the very message that adorns our current banner in Hylian. Perhaps that is my greatest lesson learned from all these years as a fan. The very message. One never truly stops learning, and with Zelda, that is no exception. Those who believe they have achieved it all, experienced it all, learned it all - the complacent ones - fall behind and miss out.

I don't know if you realize it or not, for as much as I self-proclaim myself as a "Zelda expert", I seriously believe in some respects I am still very much a "n00b". There's still so much for me, and all of your, to learn and experience with Zelda. I will make it this site's and staff's goal to go out there and find those experiences for you and deliver them as best as possible. I hope you all will enjoy the changes that come in the next few weeks, and I wish everyone else the best of luck with their fan sites and blogs.

Discuss this in the forums.

Probably the most unappreciated form of media from the Zelda series is the manga. Part one of our three part segment focuses on a potential Zelda film inspired by the manga.