The Monomyth - Video Game: Storytelling - page 34

ing arrested after being double-crossed by Chloe and Flynn. Nate's life just
isn't so hot right now, and he's literally trapped inside a seedy jail cell.
2. The Call to Adventure
This is identical to the Inciting Incident as described in chapter 1 : the mo-
ment at which the Herald (if there is one) communicates the existence of
the main conflict to the Hero. Even if the message is not overly specific, it's
usually enough to get the Hero interested, intrigued, and/or concerned.
And for the audience, it's generally clear from this point forward that the
Hero will not be able to stay in the comfort of the Ordinary World for
much longer. Trouble is brewing.
In Star Wars , Luke stumbling upon Princess Leia's recorded plea for help
on R2-D2 is the Call to Adventure.
In Uncharted 2 , Sully and Chloe present Nate with the Call in his jail cell,
offering to bail him out in order to help them get the Cintamani Stone be-
fore Flynn and warlord Zoran Lazarevic do.
3. Refusal of the Call
Once the full scope of the main conflict is known, the Hero sometimes
backs off, essentially refusing to take on the quest. This can happen for a
number of reasons, but they tend to fall along the lines of “not my prob-
lem” or “can't be done.” This is where a Mentor (or even the Herald) may
need to press the Hero to convince her to commit to resolving the con-
flict. Or, circumstances may change in such a way that the Hero changes
her mind and takes on the quest.
In Star Wars , this step occurs after the Meeting with the Mentor, when
Ben Kenobi asks Luke to come with him to Alderaan. Luke, citing his family
responsibilities, initially declines.
In Uncharted 2 , Nate at first refuses to have anything to do with Chloe
ever again, due to her previous, apparently traitorous turn, which helped
land him in prison for three months.
4. Meeting with the Mentor
Sometimes in this early part of the story, the Hero will meet with a Mentor
character, who—in typical Mentor fashion—will encourage the Hero to
take on the quest, and may also bestow gifts on the Hero to help him
along. These gifts may be physical items, training, teachings, or all of the