Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
But as they meet the Pirate King, Archie reveals himself to be a trickster. He has been serving
his own agenda all along, and though he sounds like he is sorry about the deception, it is likely
that he would do it again to save his own hide.
Sidekick
The parrot has another important role here worth mentioning. He is the Hero's sidekick, his
companion and the one who asks all the silly questions. Sidekicks are brilliant tools. They give us
an opportunity to use dialog to carry the story along. If the hero is alone, how will we know what
he is thinking?
Imagine if Sherlock Holmes was always solving crimes alone. The spectators would never
know what he was up to, unless he always spoke his thoughts aloud to himself. But because he
has to explain everything to Dr. Watson, the audience is informed too.
Sidekicks can also bring humor to any story. We don't usually want the hero to be laughable;
remember, we want the players to identify with the hero and if he is a laughing stock, they might
not do so.
But the sidekick can be a clown or a bit stupid, and get into all sorts of scrapes.
The Pirate King
The Pirate King is the main bad guy and is actually not human at all. He possesses magical
abilities and uses them all for purely selfish reasons. He is a necromancer. He has a crowd of
human pirates at his beck and call, and anyone who disobeys will be killed and raised as a
skeleton. He is like a gangster boss that you really don't want to cross, and of course, Mary did.
He thinks himself wholly justified in spreading his poisonous fog across the sea and torturing
Mary to get his treasure back. No matter that he actually stole it all himself. He follows his own
code of honor and is disappointed that one of his most promising students would turn against
him like this.
Archetype: Shadow
The Pirate King (Figure 9-5) is not just a shadow; he is THE shadow; often referred to as the arch-
nemesis . A good hero has a mighty enemy to conquer, one who is often just as strong as, or maybe
stronger than, the hero, which is why defeating him is such a major achievement. The hero wins
against all odds. It is therefore important to make the arch-nemesis formidable. They are also
great fun to create, and to be honest usually much more interesting than the hero. Pure evil is
FUN, isn't it? The bad guy can do whatever he wants; the hero usually has to be law-abiding or at
least honorable.
 
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