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[PATV] Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - Extra Credits Season 4, Ep. 21: The Hero’s Journey (Part
Dog
Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
This week, we conclude our two-part series on the Hero's Journey as applied to games (like Journey).<br /> Check out Gab's artwork <a href=" http://www.gabrielarts.de/" target="_blank">here</a>! Seriously, do it. She's pretty darned good.<br /> Come discuss this topic in the <a href="http://extra-credits.net/episodes/the-heros-journey-part-2/#discuss" target="_blank">forums</a>!
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....wow. that sounded a great deal more thought provoking and intelligent in my mind. Oh well.
Aaach just kidding. I know it would be impossible to do these videos without spoilers. I thought it was an amusingly irritating coincidence though and thus, worth sharing. Thanks guys!
I also think Woman as Temptress is covered as well. If we accept the premise that the game conveys these steps through play rather than narrative, then this step is handled quite well. Near the end of the march up the mountain, I was trudging forward in the snow, with nothing but the light to keep me oriented. As it became more difficult to move forward, I was reminded of my experience of being blown backward when I went off course near the start of the game. I slowly lost sight of any points of reference, and I could barely move at all. I was going to die, and video games have taught me to avoid that outcome. I seriously began to consider heading back the way I came, if only to regroup for another attempt. This is the temptation--to despair of reaching the goal at all, to consider abandoning that quest to preserve one's own life, to turn off the game without ever beating it. Obviously since it's a game, it didn't take long for me to realize that going back down the mountain would be as useless as dying in the snow, but I'm impressed that the game managed to tempt me for even a few seconds.
1.) Call to Adventure: Minato (the fan name for the protagonist) enters the Dark Hour for the first time while in a subway car, but has no idea what it is.
2.) Refusal of the Call: He leads a normal life for the first few days, and doesn't seem particularly interested in the odd event on the subway. (The only one that, I think, stretches it a bit). Alternatively, if you want to look at it from a gameplay perspective, the player doesn't really get to do much until he gets to the next stage...but that's also kind of a stretch.
3.) Supernatural Aid: When Minato awakens his Persona (his inner self that gives him superpowers) for the first time. Personas aren't just neat magical things--they have a serious effect on the story, thus fitting very well into the ACTUAL Hero's Journey structure.
4.) The Threshold: When Minato enters the massive tower of Tartarus for the first time, he first encounters many gameplay mechanics and combat. There's even a massive stairway, and you have to open a door to first enter the place. Pretty obvious stuff.
5.) Belly of the Whale (?) If it's present, it's probably the search for the missing high school girl, Fuuka. Here we begin to discover that people are going missing in Tartarus, and start glimpsing the true danger of the quest.
6.) The Road of Trials. Minato and friends have to take down enormous Shadows every month, and they're told this will help them save the world.
7 & 8.) Meeting with Goddess and Temptation. Both are present in a single character, interestingly enough. Yukari, one of Minato's teammates, is an obvious love interest for him...but there's also a scene where one of the massive Shadows nearly forces them to give into carnal desire, which would quite literally cause them to die as the Shadow fed on their souls.
9.) Atonement with the Father: Eventually, our heroes discover that their actions have unleashed the Spirit of Death on the world, Nyx. (Long story). It just so happens that they get a new classmate then, whose name...escapes me for some reason. Anyway, the new guy becomes fast friends with our heroes, until he comes into his true memories: he is the Spirit of Death, come to kill them all...and he hates it. The fact that the main character has befriended Death itself, and they forgive one another for their upcoming roles, would apply.
10.) Apotheosis. This couldn't be any more obvious--Nyx descends on the earth and starts killing almost everyone. But the main character is empowered by his links to his friends, and all of humanity. Minato ends up basically gaining enlightenment, flies up to Nyx and sacrifices his life energy to conquer death.
11.) The Return: Minato returns to the ordinary world after that...to say goodbye to his friends. Finally, his physical body dies, and his soul continues to seal Nyx away so it can't destroy all life.
Team Fortress 2 Backpack: Someone you love
Your 'scarf' is your experience, your growth. But HEY these guys are 'in the industry' the 'know' the 'truth'. *Sigh*
They're using the game as a means of explaining an archetypal story-telling strategy. They're not trying to say what the game is "ABOUT". They're not interpreting meaning or applying allegory. They're providing a lense through which to view/create stories.
Furthermore, if you think that there is a single "right" answer for how to interpret art you're doing it wrong.