Characters who the player may encounter:
The Mentor
The Threshold Guardian
The Shapeshifter
The Trickster
"What practical use is the Hero's journey to us as story tellers and game writers?"
Why the Hero's Journey is so important:
"It's important because myths and important. Myths convey the values of society. Myths are how we teach each other who we are and how we should behave"
"Myths actively guide our actions. They're not dusty old stories in a book, or crumbling temples in a far-off land. 62% of people in America say they believe in the literal truth of the Bible, and that became a critical factor in the election of George Bush to the White House. Suicide bombers in Iraq believe by blowing themselves up in their holy cause, they will go directly to Paradise and will this day be with Allah. Game developers believe that if we work just a little bit harder, we'll soon see fat royalty checks."
Rollo May Four myths still active in Modern Life:
"Myths give us a sense of personal identity"
"Myths make possible our sense of community"
"Myths are what lie underneath our moral values"
"Mythology is our way of dealing with the inscrutable mystery of creation and death"
In ancient times a cavemen and tribes, the tribes that adapted and grouped together passed their genes on to use and was established by the telling of stories, myths, legends etc. Not just where the prey us but motivational stories i.e. "the good Samaritan" to tell them how to behave and to look out for others, not just themselves, making the stories, main character a role model.
James Frey writes in The Key about "Beowulf's heroic deeds" and how they are conveyed to others in the tribe to show how to act and to admire to be the next Beowulf.
"Hero's are our models: Their stories convey to each succeeding generation the cultural values of the tribe"
"By definition we are the biological descendants of the tribes who told stories to survive"
Carl Jung believes we have "Mythic structure built in to us, waiting for a particular belief system to be imprinted upon us by the culture we grow up in"
Frey - "The force of a myth is irresistible" they are the "foundations on which all good stories are built"
So story telling is hard wired into us to make sense of the world.
Without myths in our lives we would be lost.
When making games we need to, "what in previous ages was done by family, custom, church and state" basically create our myths to tell the story of the world of our game.
May - "Myths carry on the essential task of trying to create meaning out of our lives and actions, in a world that doesn't care"
"If we you take away a man's myth, the result is mental illness, depression and the loss of the will to live"
We need to believe that we matter, because it not what is the point of us being here.
"Literature proves there is order in the universe"
"I believe games are myth-reinforcing activities" - Gerard Jones
To make deeper, better and more complex game play experiences the myths need to be just as deep and complex combined with a deep storyline.
"To write those storied, you need to understand how myths are put together and communicated. And that is why the Hero's journey is important!"
What is the Hero's Journey?:
Joseph Campbell states that after analysing thousands of myths found that a few common elements kept appearing and no single myth contains them all. "But in categorising them, he tells us that the more of them a narrative has, the more likely it is to strike a deep mythological chord with the audience."
"Campbell summarises these elements, which become known as the Hero's journey", these are briefly :
" Establishing the hero's world
The call to adventure
Entering the mythological woods
Trail of trials
Encountering the evil one
Gaining the hero's prize
Returning that prize to the community"
How can we use the Hero's Journey to build stories?
"Must the hero encounter all of Campbell's archetypical characters, or is it ok if he skips a few? We are continuously cautioned against using the Hero's Journey as a template"
Two things not to do:
"Don't look at all the possible steps in the Hero's Journey and make sure you've got them all in there and in the proper order. Fiction is flexible. Don't make a list of all of Campbell 's mythological characters and try to find a spot for each of them in your story. The Herald, the Threshold Guardian, the Trickster, the Shape Shifter, etc. Just create the characters you need to tell your story and you'll be fine."
What To Do:
- Pick your premise: theme, myth. Must decide what is important and make your game about that. "Myth and stories consciously or subconsciously influence behaviour" How you want people to behave after playing your game.
Create your hero: Create a hero capable of embodying that premise. "A hero is the myth in action Frey (The Key) - qualities a hero will always have: Courage (or finds it), clever and resourceful, "special" talent, outlaw (living by their own rules), good at what they do for a living, Protagonist (takes the lead in action at some point) and sexually potent.
- Create a great villain: "The Strength of your villain is the strength of your story" Great villains are memorable, great example Jack Nicholson as The Joker in the original Batman film.
Traits similar to hero:
Full of hubris
Outlaw (Maybe)
Clever and resourceful
Wounded
Have a special talent
Sex appeal
Traits dissimilar to the hero:
"Motivated by greed, avarice, lust for power, variety, narcissism, and so on"
"Never acts out of idealism", except for his own cause and belief.
Often Cruel
Wins by luck, hero never wins by luck
Not forgiving
Might quit at very end
Whines and grovels, hero can't do that (shows weakness)
Not social
Not logical
Not physically superior, un-like side kick
No special destiny or birth but may claim one
- Show the hero's regular world:
- Disrupt the Hero's world:
Force hero into action (Campbell's call to adventure)
When disruption is a person its the Herald, in Campbell's terms.
Hero may refuse call to help, but not in games.
- Enter the Mythological woods:
Level progression normally best in games
Show character growth
Should end in a different place than be started on each level.
Physical or psychological "woods" - must endure inner/outer struggle
Outer struggle = achieve victory
Inner struggle = discover himself and transform his character
See character progression as levels progress
- Confront The Evil One:
Confronts and defeats evil is key
ideally confront and beat inner struggle before outer struggle
- Acquire the Prize:
- Hero's Return:
At the end you will have moved the character "from pole to pole" - Egri
Through identification, the hero's transformation has a greater impact on the audience
Three act structure:
"First Act, you get the hero up a tree
In the Second Act, you throw stones at him (in other words, you make things harder for him)
In the Third Act, you get him down out of the tree."
Can use Hero's Journey to fix/solve some game problems.
Hero doesn't always need to return but needs to have changed from the start of the game and the prize needs to survive.
Does the game have a flat ending? - take a look at hero's prize
Do the players not seem to be identifying with your hero? - Have you taken hero from pole to pole? Have you shown his change from start to finish? If not go back and do it!
Does working through levels become tedious? Is the villain strong enough?
Have you looked at your levels? - Each level should be a mini story
Hero's journey can't solve every problem though.
"As a game writer, the myths you create have the power to change lives. You have to take the hero's journey."
"Before you can acquire something really worthwhile to give to the rest of us, you're going to have to go through your own personal hell"
"Own personal myth: Do the work, and everything will be ok. Do the work, make it as good as you can, and eventually you will be awarded. You can always hope for the best, but not unless you first, do the work."
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