Animation Short - Victims Of Vice City

Short Films

Nov 14

Dark Link and Navi hit the streets of Vice City and their worst qualities come out when they find their old friend Tingle 🔫

Inspiration of the short

There were several influential things that made me want to produce this short. In previous blogs I mentioned how my brother helped brainstorm ideas for some of shorts that would premiere in the 2nd half of 2026. This is one of those shorts where our conversation had an effect, but there was also a bit more to it (I won’t dive into this again here, but it is on record in other blogs). The other factor was that I knew in advance that I wanted to do a video game short. Earlier this year, the plan was to do a Mario short, under the assumption there would be a Mario game. That never manifested and instead we were treated with the surprise of an “Ocarina of time” remake. That’s when I knew I needed to make a new Zelda short. However, there was also a lot of hype over Grand Theft Auto 6. That’s a game that people have been waiting almost a decade for. It would be a missed opportunity to not do a short inspired by the Grand Theft Auto series.

After some time I decided it would be cool to merge some of the characters in the Zelda games, with the modern world of Grand Theft Auto. After that, it took even longer to settle on an idea. The most difficult part was making sure that whatever video I did end up making would not get me banned from my social media accounts. That’s usually not too hard to do, but some of the charm of the Grand Theft Auto world is in how violent it can be. I figured, I should take a risk, for the sake of comedy to get close to the line, but try my best to not cross too far over it. I landed on the scenario of Dark Link and Navi robbing tingle in “Vice City”. I figured a good way to merge the worlds would be putting the popular Nintendo characters in a typical Grand Theft Auto scenario. I made Tingle the victim because I never liked the character, and I used Dark Link, instead of regular Link, because Dark Link is “Black”. That adds an extra element of shock humor to the short, that you might not get on the first watch until you have to piece together why the normal Link is absent.

Goal of the short

The goal for this short was simple. I wanted to make a better video game parody than my last Zelda short. I knew there would be more pieces to account for in this short and that it would be a more difficult experience but I think the challenge was worth it. When I looked at my previous Zelda short, I noticed a lot of flaws and to top it off, my production for shorts has gotten far more sophisticated. I thought it would be a great opportunity to put my new pipeline to the test and see how far I can push my shorts now that the many limiting barriers of past productions have been mostly addressed. In the previous Zelda parody, I had 2 characters. The main puppet, and a lesser rig for the cuckoo. In this short, there are 3 characters, 2 full rigs for Link and Tingle and a lesser rig for Navi. I also think the overall aesthetic is far cleaner and nicer than the previous short. Finally and most importantly, I think this short is a lot funnier than the previous parody. It’s so ridiculous and there are more subtle jokes at play in addition to the main gag. Overall, I think this is a massive upgrade!

Production intrigue

There are 2 things about this short that I think were interesting. Both were also last minute additions that weren’t in the script (you should always leave room for improvisational elements in your work because they can add a lot of raw energy to your finished piece). The first was to have Tingle pantless in the reveal that Navi shot him. This idea came spontaneously to me as I was animating the first shot, and I thought it was hilarious (I mean, Tingle does seem kinda pervy). The second idea was about the pool of what should be blood that he is steeped in. At the time of this writing, I have not rendered out the final film, and have not yet made a decision on whether to keep it as blood or some other bodily fluid. It’s starting to look like this short might get me in trouble! I’m leaning toward having the fluid be urine, as in Tingle pees himself. I think there’s a shock value there that equals the impactful visual of blood, while still being safe for social media. The other option is to use another fluid, but that might get me permanently banned.

Fun fact

Even though there was another Zelda short made a few years ago, none of the assets used in that short were used here. Everything is new.

Final thoughts

I really like how this short came out and I had a ton of fun making everything. The visuals, animation and sound design were all a blast, and I think it shows a lot of the growth that I’ve had as an artist since I’ve been making content. I think it sets a new standard of quality for my shorts that I’ve been working very hard to achieve. I hope you enjoy watching it!