The Hero's Journey - Week 3

The Hero's Journey

Week 3 in Great Literature Great Games is focused on an intense study of Narrative Paradigm and Archetypes.  While planning for this class, a college professor friend and I had many discussions about games and their ability to tell stories.  Through our conversations, we found ourselves referencing Walter Fisher's work with narrative paradigm; we ultimately decided that games, just like literature, are mediums through which people tell their stories.  The problem, from a teacher's perspective at least, is does the game story have as much "merit" as traditional literature and, furthermore, who determines its merit? 

By examining Joseph Cambell's Hero Journey archetype, students were able to put a framework on the games that they were playing in class.  While it was easy to assume that game designers, because of their excellent creativity, develop stories out of thin air, it was even easier for my students to see how game designers start with archetypes such as the Hero's Journey and populate their games with archetypal characters.  Going even deeper, my students discussed how games, because of their interactivity, have the ability to go beyond the archetype's structure and add layers that traditional literature just cannot. 

Classroom Practice: Consider the PSN downloadable game Journey or the PS3 game Resistance 3 as prime examples of games that follow the archetypal situation of the long journey home.  With this game in mind, students could examine how closely the game follows that structure and how the characters reflect the story.  (Resistance 3 is an "M" rated game.)

Stay tuned for more literature and game discussion!