I would like to make a clear explanation of my reasoning for disliking that this TAS was made on the Japanese version of the game:
- I do not like fast-forwarding through TASes
- If I am going to sit through a bunch of cutscenes, I want to be able to understand what is happening in them.
- I have not played Ocarina of Time, so I can't understand cutscenes that I haven't already seen in prior versions published in English.
Why I think this is important:
- I have not noticed anyone saying that they would be inconvenienced or discontented by the run being in English instead of Japanese
- While the majority doesn't particularly care about the language issue, there are people, including myself, who are significantly less entertained by the run being in a language they do not understand.
- This site operates in English, so it is reasonable to assume people who access the video through this site will be familiar with it.
- When 99% of people saying "this isn't important to me" overrules 1% of people who say "this is important to me", it sets a precedent that minority opinions cannot expect any consideration whatsoever.
I believe this is the reasoning by which the "prefer English language versions" rule was adopted, to begin with, and I have not heard anyone actually arguing against these points.
Other thoughts:
It is true that if this particular run is not accepted for publication, it will mean that Swordless Link wasted a great deal of time and effort. However, I find this to be acceptable because:
- The whole point of TASing is that the player assumes a great burden of time and effort to create something interesting to the viewers
- Whenever any run is rejected for publication, it means the player wasted a great deal of time and effort.
- Swordless Link was fully aware of the rule stating that English versions should be used except where there are significant non-textual differences between the English version and the version used in its stead.
- The stance on language does perhaps warrant reconsideration, given Tasvideos' more recent efforts to provide some area for non-english speaking community members, but that is a separate matter, as the existence of any given non-english run isn't really relevant to the issue of how language should be handled on the whole, though it would certainly be worth re-assessing any run that has been rejected on language grounds once that has happened.
I realize that I haven't been much active in this community for quite a while, but I do still
watch new TASes somewhat frequently. And ultimately, a decision has to be made whether the site exists to serve the vocal community of TAS makers, or the largely silent community of TAS viewers...
