Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
on the attributes of a different one. It is not a strict one-to-one relation-
ship—the point is that these character
types
tend to show up in almost all
stories.
We'll cover the archetypes in the general order they're often en-
countered in a typical story. And for each archetype, we'll relate it to the
video game context, as well as the most popular embodiment of the
Hero's Journey: the original
Star Wars
.
1. Hero
This is our protagonist, and the main character we're either watching or (in
a game) playing as. It is the only archetype that absolutely must appear in a
story. More than any other archetype, the Hero is usually embodied in a
single character consistently throughout the story.
The Hero's primary function is to resolve (or at least attempt to resolve)
the main conflict. Other functions and/or aspects often seen in a Hero are
audience identification, change and growth, action, risk, and sacrifice, all
of which will be covered in more detail in
chapter 4
.
In
Star Wars
, the Hero is Luke Skywalker.
In the vast majority of video games, the Hero is the player character.
2. Herald
The Herald announces the main conflict, or at least its potential, to the
Hero. Don't let the mythic, ancient-sounding title throw you—in modern
stories this isn't a feather-capped, tights-wearing trumpeter who walks
onstage bearing a scroll full of ill tidings. The means of communicating the
Herald's vital, story-kickstarting message can be as modern as a TV news
report, a phone call, a Web page, or a text message.
In
Star Wars
, R2-D2 is the Herald, carrying Princess Leia's urgent call for
help to our Hero, Luke.
In video games, the Herald role may be filled by an NPC (non-player
character) or by the UI (user interface) itself, or it may be absent entirely,
especially when the player character is almost immediately and directly
swept into the main conflict.
3. Mentor
As the name suggests, the Mentor is a teacher and an adviser. The classic
Mentor character is older than the Hero, wiser, and perhaps in an earlier
