Hero’s and Stories

Stories are something that we’ve learnt about in college from day one. Because of our course content, it is our job to tell a story through several means, graphic design, film, photography and especially games.

The readings this week helped to refresh our knowledge on classic story structure, as well as the hero’s journey, why they are predictable and why we still use them.

In John Sutherlands article about stories in games, he takes us back through the classical story structure. It is made up of three acts.
In the beginning our hero has a normal life. This is then disrupted by the inciting insistent which throws their life out of the norm. Following this the hero is faced with their first obstacle which they must overcome, followed by a second which is slightly more difficult and then by a third which is the toughest of them all, which then will usually bring back their normal life. Most games are a comic structure, meaning that the player can complete the game and have a ‘happier ending’ although their are stories, take Shakespeares King Lear, where the ordinary life is not obtainable at the end and the story ultimately has a sad ending, these are known as tragedies. Most games will follow this three act structure, but you can build more obstacles into the game to make it longer.

The second article by Bob Bates, talks about the hero’s journey and how it is used in most stories and particularly those in games. This stems from the use of parable and stories passed down from clans and tribes. These stories usually have some sort of message that teaches the listener or reader a life lesson, Bates uses The Good Samaritan as an example ‘love they neighbour’ and all that jazz. Bates talks about how, yes their is evolution in terms of survival of the the fittest but there is also survival of the smartest. This is due to ancestors passing down stories and knowledge about how the hunt, where to hunt and where not to hunt. This meant that these tribes and clans lived longer then those who didn’t share these stories and kept the information to themselves.
The hero’s journey follows a very similar path to that in the three act structure
We establish the hero’s world, there is a call to adventure, be that of curiosity or due to bad circumstances, entering the world, the trials they must face, meeting ‘the Evil One’, gaining the prize and then returning to their people.

Signing off
-AK