The Legend of Zelda DS

[OB1]

Hehe, if you know the context of the picture.

From ign's Aonuma GDC speech:

The first thing I want to tell you about in my discussion of Zelda-esqueness is an extremely important process that is incessantly connected to Zelda development and that is something I call the "Miyamoto Test," also known as "upending the tea table".
The tea table is a low dining table that you sit on the floor to eat at. But, you don't see them often now a days as most Japanese people eat at Western-styled dining tables. When I was growing up in the 1950s through the 1970s, every house had one. What it means to upend the tea table -- it actually comes from a scene in a famous Japanese manga called "Star of the Giants," in which the father seated in back there on the left hits his son in front of him so hard that the food on the table is knocked up into the air. The father being in no mood to eat what's been served, upended the table -- forcing his wife to cook a new meal. This action by the head of the household was absolute and it represents the action of an old fashioned Japanese father.

Of course now a days, if someone was to do that it would actually destroy the family and the father would be arrested for child abuse. So, all that remains today is the phrase 'upending the tea table.' So, long ago there was period in Japan where they thought this was proper and acceptable. Now a days with only the phrase remaining, it is generally the lead figure who takes on the role of the strong proper father. Whenever a game nears completion with only the final polish remaining, with no fail Mr. Miyamoto upends our tea table and the direction that we all thought we were going in suddenly changes dramatically.

Mr. Miyamoto doesn't just upend the tea table and send the team into utter confusion. He then sits down with us and together we rethink what we've done that has been affective and what we can do that will create a positive result for a Zelda game. Mr. Miyamoto always says that when it comes to upending the tea table, I always pick up my own plate. His test is very important, and it's something that we actually welcome.

When he speaks, there is a phrase that Mr. Miyamoto always mentions that speaks directly to the very nature of the Zelda series. The phrase is, 'Zelda is a game that values reality over realism.' In the art world, realism is a movement to faithfully replicate the real world to whatever extent possible. Reality is not mimicking the real world, but rather making players feel like what they are experiencing is real. The big difference is that even exaggerated expression through toon-shading can be an effective means of making things feel more real.