Fatal car accident kills the creator of one of the best N 64 titles ever made

Mar 26, 2007 08:54 GMT  ·  By

Creator of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 2D, Richard Denton in a lethal car accident, thus leading to the closure of the game, the official OoT2D website and forums, probably the fan's way of showing their dedication and respect to the creator.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a Nintendo 64 title, the fifth game in The Legend of Zelda series and the first of the series released on the Nintendo 64 platform. It was considered the game that positively redefined The Legend of Zelda video gaming franchise, and was the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences 1999 Game of the Year. First released in Japan on November 21, 1998, it was followed by a direct sequel, Majora's Mask.

The game's hero is Link, who is given a quest from the Great Deku Tree. Link's ultimate goal is to stop the evil Ganondorf from obtaining the legendary Triforce, a magical object made of three golden triangles, which can be used to control the land of Hyrule, where the game is set. Link must travel through time, interact with Hyrule's inhabitants, and use numerous weapons and items to conquer dungeons, in order to stop Ganondorf. During his journey, Link is helped by the fairy Navi and Princess Zelda, a member of Hyrule's Royal Family.

Within six months of its release, the Nintendo 64 installment sold more than five million copies and since its release, more than 7 million. Ocarina of Time is also often ranked as one of the greatest video games ever made.

Some may consider the death of a game developer not as tragic as the death of an actor or a writer, but in fact, it's the same: game creators are the ones helping youngsters develop imagination, coordination and skills they'll later need in life, they create the most wonderful stories and scenarios that we can actually interact with, thus becoming part of their creation. So if there's something that every game creator deserves, it's credit. Lots of it.

UPDATE: Richard Denton is very much alive. The man apparently faked his own death because of a difficult project he was having trouble with. Yeah well, that's pretty much it. There's nothing more to say than "jeez!"