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Monomyth Analysis

The Hero's Journey

I am of the opinion that the fixation of storytellers on the Hero's Journey narrative framework is directly tied to the theory of the collective unconscious. The belief that cautionary tales are inherited from our genetics that allows us to attach and relate to certain aspects (the stages of the hero's journey for instance) of a narrative. I find it fascinating that the same essential story has been told in every culture since we as a species first began communicating (see The Hero with a Thousand Faces). Another reason I feel it is used often is that it complies with the age-old adage, "if it isn't broke, don't fix it."

For example, the main quest in Fallout 3 follows the Hero's Journey quite effectively. (I prefer David Adams interpretation of the monomyth and use it in the following analysis.)

  • Miraculous conception and birth: Player is born outside of the Vault to exceptional parents.
  • Initiation of the hero-child: Player decides where his strengths are in various scenarios during maturation.
  • Withdrawal from family or community for meditation and preparation: Escape from Vault 101.
  • Trial and Quest: The search for James and the exploration of the wasteland.
  • Death: Player is captured by the Enclave in Vault 87
  • Descent into the underworld: Player traverses Raven Rock, the enclave base.
  • Resurrection and rebirth: Player emerges from Raven Rock wiser and more capable of dealing with the situation in the wasteland.
  • Ascension, apotheosis, and atonement: Player sacrifices self for the betterment of the wasteland.
Of course, many of these are subject to change depending on player input, like being a renegade evil-doer, but the framework is still there and effectively creates a powerful narrative experience.

I think it is genuinely impossible for a video game to be centered around a character who is not a "hero" because I think the definition of a hero changes through interactivity. For example, the game Overlord allows the player to take control of a Sauron-esque villain, and rampage through a fantasy world causing mayhem and destruction, but I would argue that he is very much a hero. According to dictionary.com a hero can be defined as both "a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities" and "the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc." If going by the first definition, the Overlord is most definitely not a hero, an anti-hero perhaps, but not a hero. However, the second definition, being that the character is the central point which the game revolves around, brings him into heroic contention.

If, according to Shakespeare, "All the world's a stage" and, according to Captain Hammer/Nathan Fillion, "Everyone's a hero in their own way" wouldn't this be true in life as well as video games? I am the main character of my own story, and though I am not heroic I am still my own hero. Just as Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron Corporation, is a hero in his own life-story, but most definitely a villain in mine, so too is the Overlord. In summary, merely controlling a character in a game, in my opinion, makes them a main character, and thus a hero as a result, despite their motivations, mannerisms, or characteristics.

Monomyth analysis, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth
Fallout Wiki, http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Vault_87
Hero definition, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero