The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy_ I Link Therefore I Am - Luke Cuddy [120]
Heroes of Hyrule
ROBERT ARP is a Research Associate through the National Center for Biomedical Ontology and works with the Ontology Research Group in Buffalo. Despite his love for the Zelda games, he still thinks Mario could kick Link’s ass in a virtual back alley brawl.
PAUL BROWN teaches English and Media at a high school in North-East England. He recently completed an MA in Computer Game Studies and is continuing his work on player motivation through a PhD at the University of Manchester. He has been playing computer games since 1983, when his father brought home a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. “Not only a great computer,” he thought, “but also one whose name really trips off the tongue! It can’t fail to conquer the market.” His current ambition is to discover the rift in the space/time/reality/fantasy continuum that must inevitably lead to Hyrule. Once there, he intends to buy a nice cottage in Kokiriko village and gain reflected glory by telling everyone he is Link’s best friend.
MICHAEL BRUCE has multiple degrees in philosophy and works as a residential treatment counselor for at-risk boys. He publishes in comparative philosophy and spends his free time juggling his own Triforce: life—philosophy—poverty!
DWAYNE COLLINS is a part-time master’s student in the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto and received his BA (Hon.) from Peter Robinson College, Trent University, in Peterborough, Ontario. He balances school with full-time work as the Steward of Sadleir House, a cultural and educational facility also located in Peterborough. His primary area of research focuses on identity and video games and the intersection between the player and the game experience. Dwayne also has an irrational fear of falling through puddles into a parallel dimension and turning into a pink bunny and thusly keeps a mystical mirror in his pocket at all times.
DARIO S. COMPAGNO is a PhD student in Semiotics at the University of Siena (Italy). In the daytime he seeks answers to matters of the greatest importance, like what came first, the text or its author; at night he plays games like Wesnoth (for academic purposes only). The episode of Zelda he loves most is Link’s Awakening. One night, he dreamt of an isle … and he has been dwelling in there ever since. Be quiet!
LUKE CUDDY teaches philosophy at Southwestern College and lives in San Diego. A longtime gamer, he has recently taken up writing which is so much easier than defeating Ganon! He has written for Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy, Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy, and Dialogue. When he isn’t nerding out with a book or a video game he travels the mountain ranges, randomly bombing rocky cliff sides, babbling on about the entrance to Level 9.
PATRICK DUGAN is an independent game designer who lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His primary focus is on how games can work as propaganda and as tools for enlightenment. He shorted Ganon on the stock market during the upset of January 2008, and now has a tremendous bank account denominated in souls.
SEAN C. DUNCAN is a doctoral student in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and member of the Games + Learning + Society Initiative at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research deals with digital media literacy, online gaming communities, and learning. He often dreams of sailing on a Great Sea in a talkative red boat.
KRISTINA DRZAIC is a videogame designer, a creator of movies and a master of secrets. She once spoke to a gossip stone and used the knowledge therein to earn a BA in Film from the University of Notre Dame and an MS from MIT’s Comparative Media Studies Department. Due to fate she is now in Australia filming Re-dead and hoping to unite her Triforce.
TONI FELLELA is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Connecticut. Her focus is on popular culture and twentieth century American novels. Living in Providence, Rhode Island, Toni just may be a testament