The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker From ... - Douglas Wilson

I. Introduction
“Critics of virtual reality warn that technology-based 'psychedelics' will produce a
disembodied race, a culture that ceases to value the body, nature, or physical reality in
general because the alternative will be so persuasive. I believe that the reverse is true.” 1
– Brenda Laurel, Computers as Theatre
One of the thrills of growing up in a New Jersey suburb were the “snow days”
that winter would inevitably bring. These were days in which school would be cancelled
due to icy road conditions and snow accumulation – glorious days, in the eyes of a pre-
adolescent kid.
Back then, I developed a seemingly odd tradition for those quiet, snowy
mornings. Before the family had the chance to roll out of bed, I would sneak into the
living room, take a few minutes to stare out the window into a pristinely white
backyard… and then turn on the Super Nintendo. Specifically, I would load up Donkey
Kong Country and play two levels of “Gorilla Glacier” (the obligatory ice world). The
first level, “Snow Barrel Blast,” boasted an impressive digital environment for its time;
the level’s weather conditions, which began as clear blue skies, gradually metamorphosed
into a raging blizzard. The second level, “Slipslide Ride,” was a crystalline ice cave that
seemed to sing the spirits of an exhilarating sleigh ride. Afterwards, of course, I would
spend the day with my neighborhood friends outside in the snow. The tradition continued
well into the Nintendo 64 era, when I had all but forgotten about my Super Nintendo.
The point here is not nostalgia for older days or Donkey Kong Country itself.
Rather, I want to illuminate just why I repeatedly revisited those levels. Contrary to the
stereotype of videogames as a purely escapist pursuit, I was visiting those virtual worlds
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