While gamers were soaking these demos in an E3 bliss, the "voice from above" (a booth babe with a microphone) was offering advice every so
often: "Please limit your play time to five minutes so that everyone gets a chance. If you see someone playing for much longer, tap them on the shoulder and ask if you can have a turn. They won't mind because they did it themselves before." "Remember that there's a whole other room where you can play even more Zelda demos, The Dungeon. Let's all go over to the dungeon now and give some new people a chance in here!" "Attention everybody, did you know there's a boss battle awaiting you in the Dungeon?"
For the most part, all the attendees in the room were courteous about handing over the controller and not hoarding demo stations, and the in-game time limit on each session ensured a steady turnover rate. No matter what you accomplished (or didn't), the screen would fade to "Thanks For Playing the E3 Demo!" after ten minutes and revert to the title screen. Best of all, for those already inside, not for those still waiting in line, Nintendo staff didn't actually enforce a set time limit on how long you could stay in the forest room. No one would physically move you along to the dungeon if you lingered for just one more crack at the marauders. This was unlike the behind-closed-doors Nintendo DS demo area last year, where the room was completely vacated every 15 minutes to make way for a new crowd.
But even without strict enforcement, the promise of what awaited in the Dungeon was enough incentive to keep folks cycling out of the room on
their own. Directly beyond that lovely stream projected on the floor was a dark hallway festooned with torchieres and cobwebs. At times a bottleneck formed, resulting in about a ten-minute wait to get through to the dungeon area, but this was made bearable by the preparations Nintendo had made to entertain folks filing slowly into the next room.
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Skeleton lurking in the hallway...
Creatures from the game were projected onto a screen at a fork in the dungeon corridor, and a startling discovery waited around the corner. A sword-wielding skeleton rose from the darkness of a jail cell and menaced passersby, and the effect was so well executed that it took me a minute to figure out exactly how it was done. Only after peering into the cell for awhile could I tell that it was a Lion King-style stage prop, a wooden mock-up controlled from behind by a person in a gray outfit. The staffer behind the skeleton was all but camouflaged, blending in with the dull faux-concrete walls, dim light, and mist provided by smoke machines in both the forest and dungeon areas.
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Entering the dungeon
Beauty and the Beast
The dungeon room's main attraction (besides more demo stations) was a large concrete-looking structure in the middle. Anyone who happened to be leaning against it unaware was in for a rude awakening, as a werewolf would periodically pop out and terrorize unsuspecting gamers. They even got me once or twice after I knew it was there. This seemed to be the same type of contraption as the skeleton in the hallway, controlled by someone hidden beneath it in the faux concrete enclosure. A loud growling sound effect was perfectly timed whenever the wolf lunged at someone for maximum scare factor. Since this is supposed to be the critter that Link morphs into in the game, you think he'd be a little more considerate! Two brand new demos awaited eager gamers...
