Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
We will cover the Villain character in more detail in
chapter 4
, but for
now, sake of this initial overview, the most important thing to understand
about the Villain is that he's the generator/defender of the main conflict,
and that he exists to present the final challenge to the Hero. The conflict
can't be resolved until the Villain has been dealt with.
In
Star Wars
, the Villain is Grand Moff Tarkin.
The Villain fulfills the same role in games as in other storytelling media:
generate the main conflict and sub-conflicts, oversee and direct the ac-
tions of Henchmen, and (usually) confront the Hero directly to try to pre-
vent him from resolving the main conflict.
Story Structure
Now that you've become acquainted with the Monomyth's seven arche-
types, let's look at its story structure, which is more detailed than—but not
incompatible with—the Three-Act Structure.
The Monomyth identifies twelve specific story beats or phases that tend
to appear in most stories. Some exceptions aside, this is the order in which
they will usually occur. We will once again use
Star Wars
as our movie ex-
ample, and for games we will refer to the highly popular narrative-driven
title
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(with apologies for multiple spoilers).
1. The Ordinary World
In this introductory phase, we get acquainted with the Hero in the context
of her regular life, her Ordinary World. This is occasionally idyllic; however,
more often it's livable but unbalanced. The Hero is familiar with and com-
fortable in this place, but yearns for something more and thus feels unful-
filled, unchallenged, and possibly even trapped. Again, this setup is com-
mon because it leaves room for improvement—both in the Hero and in
the world from which she comes.
In
Star Wars
, we meet Luke on Tatooine, frustrated with his dead-end
situation and yearning to join the Academy and have some adventures. He
clearly feels trapped.
In
Uncharted 2
, this is the sequence following the opening tutorial mis-
sion in the snowy mountains—starting with the flashback cutscene on the
beach, through the next mission, and ending with Hero Nathan Drake be-
