The Hero's Journey: Mind of the Hero (not an hero you idiots)
What defines a hero?
No, no that hero. The Hero, the Archetypical hero ( more on that on the next post).
Do heroes always have to follow a term what Joseph Campbell calls Monomyth, or as it is more often known, the Hero’s Journey?
In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a book he wrote in 1949, the introduction states:
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man
Most games, especially Role-playing games (RPGs) follow this format:
Departure: the Hero leaves the familiar world behind
Initiation: the Hero learns to navigate the unfamiliar world of adventure
Return: the Hero returns to the familiar world
As the writer of my studio team, I have used elements of the hero's journey to construct the game's plot.
Miraculous or unusual circumstances around the Hero's birth Silico and Alumina are animated clay golems created by the Clay Master, a hermit living in a beautiful forest isolated from the rest of Humanity.
Begins in the ordinary world of the Hero's hometown Silico and Alumina live together with other golems and their master in a little cottage in the forest.
The Herald brings a Call To Adventure Alas, old age has caught up with their master, who realises he’s dying. Silico and Alumina’s Master’s dying wish is to see a statue of himself so that people would remember his legacy of THE Clay Master. Therefore he selected Silico and Alumina, two of his best creations to construct this statue.
The Hero must then decide on how to answer the call, which in my case instead of a refusal of the call, Silico and Alumina jumped at the call since they loved their Master with all their being.
Crossing the First Threshold The Hero must make a conscious, willing decision to embark on the adventure and leave the known world behind.
However, the Master lost his sculpting tools a long time ago, and the amount of clay needed to construct such a statue was immensely high. Now, Silico and Alumina have to set off to find the various mold casts required to remake the sculpting tools (which they absorb as blueprints) while increasing their clay resources, venturing under the land where they lie buried and forgotten.
On their way down however, the Crow spots them and swoops after them into the nest of the nasty Clay Eater Ants instead of Clay Cave, their original destination.
Road of Trials The meat of the story, where the hero overcomes obstacles, form allies and confront enemies.
They then met Jimmy the hungry Earthworm, becoming fast friends. They also have to deal with countless ants wanting nothing else but their demise. Worthy adversaries (bosses) like Big Sarge, the Captain of the soldier ants also stand in their way.
The Belly Of The Whale Represents a symbolic death for the Hero: the Hero is defeated and killed, his flesh scattered, ready to be reborn and emerge as a new person.
As Silico and Alumina venture deeper into the Ants’ nest, Alumina gets kidnapped by the Aphid Assassin Brothers. Devastated at his helplessness to prevent the kidnap, his ally Jimmy the Earthworm manages to get him back on his feet, ‘reborn’ and determined to rescue Alumina, descending deeper into the nest
Night Sea Voyage The Hero must sneak into the Big Bad's Elaborate Underground Base and retrieve something or someone.
After fighting off the Aphid Assassin Brothers guarding the Royal Chamber, Silico confronts the Queen Ant and tries to let her see reason and release Alumina.
Fight against the Big Bad / Ultimate Boon
Fight against the Big Bad: The Hero confronts the Big Bad in a typical David Versus Goliath fashion: He is usually called upon to sacrifice himself or something/someone important to him. Note that asked is the key word here—it's usually enough that the Hero be willing to sacrifice something without actually having to do it. Someone else will sacrifice himself in the Hero's stead, or the Hero will prove to have outwitted the Big Bad somehow (through heroic willpower!)
Ultimate Boon: getting the reward the hero's been chasing all this time
Forced to defeat the Ant Queen to save Alumina, Silico uses all the tools he had gathered so far to fight the Queen with all his might. Not willing to sacrifice either Alumina or the master’s tools, Silico’s will overpowers the Queen’s, defeating her.
The epic battle has weakened the nest’s foundations as it threatens to collapse upon itself.
Refusal of the Return
Are you crazy? The whole place is collapsing and you think the hero is going to stay around and admire the furnishings?
The Return The Hero now has the boon and high-tails it away, with the villain or his forces in hot pursuit; while they engage in a battle of wits and magic
Jimmy shows up in time to rescue them as he digs with them up towards the surface as they race against time, reaching it safely.
Crossing the Return Threshold Their joy is short-lived however as the crow that attacked them earlier at the start of the game has now targeted them again. Running away from the crow, they manage to defeat it with the help of Jimmy the Earthworm by shooting it down on its back with clay pellets.
Freedom to Live
Remember what I said about someone else will sacrifice himself in the Hero's stead earlier? I chose to put it here where the player discovers Jimmy’s fate for added impact when they finally realise his heroic sacrifice.
Carrying the broken body of Jimmy who sacrificed his life protecting them, Silico and Alumina reaches the house of their master. Upon seeing them the Master’s eyes lit up with life again, but quickly filled with remorse and regret as they lay Idot’s body on the cold floor. Standing up for the first time since his illness, the Clay Master makes a decision. Gathering up the casts and tools, he performs his final masterpiece. As the casts spin around him, they draw power from the Clay Master as he starts molding Jimmy with clay.
Kneeling down on his knees, the Clay Master holds the revived Jimmy (in clay form!) in his hands. The Clay Master smiles gently as he says: “For all of you, my children, are the living legacies of me myself.” As he passes away a falling star streaks across the sky, marking the passing of a great man, the Clay Master. Silico and Alumina cry gently, understanding the message their dear Master left behind, resolving to live out the rest of their lives happily with the other M.A.Gs, carrying on the legacy of the Clay Master.
Conclusion: Other than being a good setup for constructing a protagonist in a game itself, I would also like to say that it doesn't always work for all kinds of heroes. Let me clarify that in detail for my next post: Deconstructing & Reconstructing the Hero Archetype. And a little confession, I wasn't sure how to begin with ths particular post. Do I just regurgitate what I have learned and just write about the heroe's journey and mindnumbingly recite from the book and sources. I then remembered this and was convinced I am writing the right thing.
yours sincerely,
popiah
12:54 AM
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