The Hero's Journey
The Hero's journey is actually a writing process I've been looking into in my own time as I like to write/edit fiction as a hobby. The topic came up however when I was reading the journal "Interactive Storytelling for Video Games - Josiah Lebowitz, Chris Klug." as one of the ways used to write/create an interactive story.
I wanted to look into this to see if these narrative techniques could influence my character/world building.
Using "The Hero's Journey" as a guide.
(Taken from "Interactive Storytelling for Video Games - Josiah Lebowitz, Chris Klug.")
Stage 1: The Ordinary World
The so-called ordinary world is where we’re first introduced to the hero, who is living out his or her normal everyday life. Of course, depending on the setting and the hero him- or herself, this “ordinary world” could actually be quite extraordinary. For example, life in a magic academy or space marine outpost is anything but ordinary to us, but if you grew up in that type of environment, there really wouldn’t be anything special about it at all. This time in the ordinary world is a chance to introduce the hero and explain a little bit about who he or she is before the start of the adventure proper. In Harry Potter, Harry’s ordinary world is life with his unpleasant aunt and uncle; for Luke, it’s his uncle’s farm on Tatooine. You want to use this stage to show a bit about the hero’s background and his or her normal life, such as family, friends, and occupation. You shouldn’t give away everything, especially if your hero is really much more than he or she seems, but it’s important to convey a sense of who the hero is and what the hero does or doesn’t stand for. One important thing to remember is to not let the ordinary world stage run on for too long. Introducing your hero and setting the stage for things to come is all well and good, but if you spend too much time focusing on the hero’s boring everyday activities, players will start to lose interest. Learning that the hero is a farmer in a small town is all well and good, but describing his or her activities on the farm every day for an entire week is probably overkill. Sooner or later, something has to happen!
Stage 2: The Call to Adventure
Naturally, the hero can’t continue going about normal life forever. Sooner or later, something has to break the hero away from the ordinary world and set him or her on the path toward adventure. The call can come in many different forms. At times it’s an actual call, such as Harry’s letter from Hogwarts or Princess Leia’s famous “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi” message. At other times, it’s less direct. Hearing rumors of a long-lost treasure, spotting a suspicious figure in the woods, and dreaming of life in another place can all be calls to adventure. The call is anything that starts to take the hero away from normal life and causes him or her to wonder if he or she really belongs in the ordinary world after all. Depending on your story, the call could be a sudden and immediate event, such as an unexpected enemy attack, or a slow and gradual thing, such as the hero becoming discontented with his or her life. In video games, however, in which you generally want to get the player into the action as quickly as possible, a sudden call is often the best way to go. It’s also important to think about just what the call is going to be. Usually the call is something related to the main plot like rumors of a treasure or an attack by the main villain, though in some cases the call itself is relatively unimportant, serving only to lure the hero away from the ordinary world and into a position in which later encounters will involve him or her in the main conflict. Sometimes the call is even an attempt to lure the hero into a trap. What the call is and how the hero reacts to it will say quite a lot about the hero’s personality and motivation, so be sure not to gloss over it. A retired space marine may be eager to jump into battle during a surprise alien attack, but a young boy is likely to be scared and more interested in survival than anything else. Keeping your characters consistent and believable is a very important part of good storytelling and one we’ll be covering in depth in Chapters 4 and 5.
Stage 3: Refusing the Call
Stage 3 is an optional stage that reflects significantly upon the hero’s mindset. Although some heroes will accept the call to adventure immediately (removing the need for this stage entirely), others will resist. Maybe they’re scared, maybe they don’t want to leave their ordinary life behind, maybe someone talked them out of it, or maybe they just don’t care.Harry,for example, initially refused to believe that he could possibly be a wizard, as it all just seemed too crazy and impossible;Luke’s uncle urged him to forget about the mysterious message and focus on his normal work. Whatever the reason, if heroes refuse the call, something needs to happen in order to make them change their minds. Quite often, this something is a tragedy or disaster brought about by the hero’s initial refusal to take action, but at times it’s a more benign event, and on rare occasions it even turns out that refusing the initial call was in the hero’s best interests. Either way, by the end of this stage the hero must have answered the call and, willingly or unwillingly, taken his or her first steps toward starting the adventure.
Stage 4: The Mentor
Though some heroes begin their adventure knowing everything they need to know, or at least thinking that they do, others need a bit of information and/or training to help them get started. This is where the mentor comes in. At times the mentor actually provides the call to adventure and/or forces the hero’s hand if the call is refused. At other times, the hero and mentor don’t meet until the adventure is already underway. The cliche ´ mentor is a wise old person – often a wizard or such – who has come to aid the young hero in his or her task. Following the cliche,´ the mentor’s job is to teach the hero just enough to get by and then die (often in a heroic self-sacrificing way) before having a chance to relay the most important bits of information. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a perfect example of this type of mentor. He teaches Luke the basics of fighting and using the force, but sacrifices himself in the battle against Darth Vader when the adventure has only barely gotten underway. However, just because it’s a common cliche ´ doesn’t mean that you have to stick to it. Mentors can come in any shape or form, and there’s no law stating that they have to die in the second act. Because the old man mentor is so overused, it often pays to do things a bit differently in order to keep player interest high. In some stories, the mentor is young and only slightly more experienced or knowledgeable than the hero himself like Etna in Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness. In others, such as Higurashi: When They Cry, the mentor may, either knowingly or unknowingly, end up giving the hero false information, causing more harm than good. At times, the mentor may even betray the hero entirely. And, of course, there are games like FINAL FANTASY VII that don’t have a mentor of any kind. I’ll be discussing all those games in the coming chapters, so keep the hero/mentor relationship in mind when you read their case studies.
Stage 5: The First Threshold
So the hero has answered the call and met the mentor. Now what? To close out the first act, the hero needs to cross the “first threshold” and begin the adventure in earnest. This stage often serves as both the hero’s first big challenge and the point of no return, from which there’s no more avoiding the call or returning to the ordinary life. Battles and long journeys are common types of first thresholds, as are CHAPTER THREE • THE HERO’S JOURNEY AND THE STRUCTURE OF GAME STORIES 50 people who are determined, for one reason or another, not to let the hero leave (parents, commanding officers, or similar), but there are many variations. Luke’s first threshold was escaping from Tatooine on the Millennium Falcon, which involved skill and a certain level of danger; Harry’s occurred when he stepped through the barrier on Platform 93/4 and began his journey to Hogwarts, which required nothing more than an act of willpower on his part. The threshold can also be an event triggered by the hero refusing the call (as previously mentioned). Often the hero will have the mentor to help with this stage of the journey, and it’s also one of the more common times for the mentor to sacrifice him- or herself to save the hero, but at other times the hero will need to take this first step into the great unknown alone and unaided. This is a time for heroes to strengthen or affirm their resolve and show what they’re really made of. It’s also a good time to give the player the first real challenge in the game itself, perhaps in the form of a tricky puzzle or boss battle. With the first threshold crossed, it’s time to move on to the second act, which constitutes the majority of the story.
Stage 6: The Journey
Despite the fact that there were five stages leading up to this point and five more still to come, this stage actually takes up the vast majority of the story, spanning from immediately after the crossing of the first threshold until the point when the hero has nearly completed his goals. In game speak, that means that this stage goes until the player reaches the final level, dungeon, or quest. The first thing that should be focused on is showing just how different this new world and life are from the ordinary world where the hero began. In Star Wars, Luke found himself drawn into the battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire almost immediately after leaving Tatooine, when his ship was captured by the Death Star. Harry’s train ride to Hogwarts was similarly filled with strange sights and magical happenings, showing him and us that he had truly left the ordinary world behind. Once the world itself has been established, there’s still plenty of ground to cover. As this stage makes up the bulk of the hero’s journey, it’s full of encoun- ters and adventures. This is when the hero travels about, exploring the world and gaining friends, enemies, and rivals. The hero may fall in love, face loss and betrayal, and be forced to deal with all manner of monsters and obstacles. If the cliche ´ old man mentor is still alive when this stage begins, he’ll be sure to heroically sacrifice himself at some point (occasionally returning later on in a more powerful form). Throughout their travels and trials, the heroes will learn more about the new world and themselves; grow more comfortable, skilled, and confident; and have numerous encounters (some good, some bad) with other people and creatures. They’ll also learn, if they haven’t already, THE HERO’S JOURNEY 51 what their eventual goals will be and the things they’ll need to do in order to accomplish them. Although the Star Wars movies and Harry Potter books can actually be broken down into a series of small hero’s journeys, each occupying a single entry in the series, when we take them as a whole, the journey stage in Star Wars starts when Luke leaves Tatooine and doesn’t end until he and the rebels begin plotting the destruction of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi (the third movie in the first trilogy). Harry’s journey is long as well, beginning when he boards the train for Hogwarts in the first book and continuing up until the start of the seventh and final book when he begins his search for the horcruxes. This is your chance to fully take the reins of the story, develop your places and characters, and explore the events that lead up to the final confrontation. Just about anything can happen in this stage, with the only limit being your imagina- tion (and possibly your budget). By the time this stage is complete, the main characters (both heroes and villains) should be known, most mysteries and secrets should have been revealed, and the hero should be almost ready to push forward toward the final battle or challenge and bring the adventure to a close.
Stage 7: The Final Dungeon
My videogame–inspired name aside,this stage of the journey doesn’t necessarily have to contain a dungeon or anything of the sort. (However, when you’re writing for video games, there’s a good chance it will.) With the bulk of the quest complete and the goal clearly in sight, this is the stage where the hero makes any final plans and preparations and then goes off to storm the villain’s castle, blow up the alien mothership, challenge his or her greatest rival to a last duel, prove who the murderer is, or the like. Luke’s “final dungeon” stage involves the planning for the assault on the second Death Star, the mission to shut down its shield generator, and then the assault itself. Harry’s was his quest to find and destroy the remaining horcruxes in order to strip Voldemort of his near immortality. The final confrontation itself isn’t part of this stage, but everything leading up to it is. In this stage, you should focus on wrapping up loose plot threads (remaining mysteries, character relationships, and the like) and giving the heroes and the player a chance to show off how much they’ve grown and improved over the course of the adventure. Some of the toughest puzzles, battles, and challenges are usually found in this portion of the story – all leading up to the final confrontation. That said, it should be noted that you can also create a fake version of this stage at some point during the journey in order to play some mind games and set things up for a big plot twist. In Square Enix’s The World Ends with You, for example, the story centers around a deadly game that lasts for seven days. Against all odds, the heroes, Neku and Shiki, manage to survive until the last day, clear the final challenge, and defeat the ominous figure running the game. But just when it seems that their adventure is at an end, a new villain shows himself and reveals that the game is far from over. These fake or mini final dungeons and challenges, if done CHAPTER THREE • THE HERO’S JOURNEY AND THE STRUCTURE OF GAME STORIES 52 correctly, can throw players off balance and/or serve as good transition points between different sections of the story. Just as Luke had a different challenge to deal with at the end of every movie, and Harry a new villain to face and mystery to unravel at the end of every book, game stories can similarly be broken down into volumes or episodes of sorts. In some games, these points merely serve to break up a long story into easily identifiable sections; in others they actually do mark the end of a volume or episode and try to leave the players with a partial sense of closure and a lot of anticipation for the sequel.
Stage 8: The Great Ordeal
This is it: the big moment, the event that the entire journey has been building toward, and the last stage of the second act. At long last, the hero has made it through the final dungeon, and only a single challenge remains. In most video games, and many books and movies for that matter, the great ordeal will take the form of a final boss battle, with the hero facing off against the ultimate enemy. Sometimes it’s a physical battle fought with swords, guns, or magic, like Luke’s battle with the Emperor or Harry’s battle with Voldemort. But in some games, such as Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, it can take the form of a battle of wits that plays out more like a puzzle than an actual fight. Then there are games such as Braid in which there’s no boss at all and the great ordeal is a final test of the hero and player’s skills. During the ordeal, the hero often has to face not only the physical villain or challenge but his or her own inner demons as well, and can be victorious only in the physical ordeal by completing the inner ordeal, almost as if the hero is dying and being reborn, a metaphor that in some cases is handled in a very literal fashion. The completion of this ordeal serves as the culmination to much of what the hero has worked for throughout the story and often (though not always) serves as the hero’s last great trial. But the story isn’t over quite yet – there’s still the third act.
Stage 9: The Prize
With a few exceptions, heroes don’t hunt down evil villains or complete difficult and dangerous challenges for fun (or at least not only for fun), they’re doing it to rescue the princess, claim the treasure, save the world, or fulfill some other personal goal or desire. Sometimes they legitimately claim their prize and other times they steal it or just get lucky, but either way it represents the reward for all their hard work and effort up to this point. Depending on the hero and story, the prize and how the hero reacts after acquiring it will vary greatly. Many heroes celebrate after obtaining the prize or pause to think back on all the things they’ve been through to reach this point, perhaps achieving some form of understanding or enlightenment. But in some stories it turns out that the prize isn’t what they expected at all, which can lead to anger, grief, or disappointment. THE HERO’S JOURNEY 53 However you choose to present it, this stage should be fairly short, and regard- less of whether everything turns out the way the hero had hoped, it should provide the player with at least some measure of success and accomplishment.
Stage 10: The Road Home
With the prize in hand (whether literally or metaphorically, depending on what the prize actually is), it’s time for the hero to return home, either to the ordinary world where he or she started out or to a new home discovered during the journey. Some heroes choose to never return home, but the majority do, for one reason or another. Luke and Harry, for example, just wanted to live out peaceful lives free from the threats posed by their enemies. In other stories, the hero’s home may be in desperate need of the prize. Then there are some heroes like Zack, in CRISIS CORE – FINAL FANTASY VII, who merely want to see their friends and loved ones again. In many stories, especially in video games, this stage is often quickly glossed over or even skipped entirely. Dragging it out too long can create an anticlimax, causing the story to end with a drawn-out whimper rather than a big bang. However, you can make good use of this stage as well. With the villain defeated and the prize in hand, returning home might seem to be an easy task, but that’s not always the case. In CRISIS CORE – FINAL FANTASY VII, Zack finds himself hunted by his former allies, leading to a very epic and emotional ending (which we’ll discuss in depth in Chapter 5). In this stage, it’s fairly common to see a new villain (who was, of course, secretly manipulating everything behind the scenes) emerge or a previously defeated foe make an unexpected return to cause one last bit of trouble for the hero. This can also be the place to work in a final plot twist or surprise, as in Shadow of the Colossus (which we’ll talk about in Chapter 4). Or, if you prefer a more cliched ´ event, the fortress, cave, space station, or other structure that the hero is in could start to collapse, because everyone knows that all evil lair's self-destruct shortly after their owner is defeated. There really are a lot of things you can do with this stage; it all depends on what direction you want the story to go. It’s an opportunity to throw a final challenge in the hero’s path, give the hero one last chance to correct a mistake or realize an important truth, wrap up any remaining loose plot threads, or provide a shocking revelation that makes the hero and the player reexamine the events of the journey in a new light. These things don’t always have to happen on the road, though – they can also take place in the hero’s home itself as a final obstacle preventing him or her from returning to ordinary life.
Stage 11: The Return
At last the final stage of the story has been reached. The hero has returned, any last threats have been dealt with (unless you decided to save them as a sequel), and it’s time to bring the story to a close. For many, endings are the hardest part of any story to write. A good ending needs to tie up at least most of the major issues present in the story (with the exception of a cliff-hanger ending, which can best be thought of CHAPTER THREE • THE HERO’S JOURNEY AND THE STRUCTURE OF GAME STORIES 54 as a break in the middle of the journey rather than a true ending), show the hero’s ultimate fate, and provide a certain degree of closure and satisfaction to the player. There’s a fine degree of balance needed here. You want to tie up loose ends to avoid annoying the player with dropped plot threads and unanswered questions, but if you wrap everything up too neatly, the ending may seem cheesy or contrived. You also don’t want an ending that’s too short or abrupt, in which case players may feel cheated or disappointed because they weren’t able to really see things through to their full conclusion. Yet if you make an ending too long, it’ll drag and players will lose interest. Some endings also contain an epilogue, giving the players a glimpse at what happens to the world and characters long after the ending proper. If done right, an epilogue can satisfy the player’s curiosity about the hero’s life after the adventure, help with the all-important sense of completion and closure, and/or help set things up for an eventual sequel. But if done poorly, an epilogue can drag or feel tacked on and unimportant. Writing a good ending is something that can’t really be taught and is a challenge that even many of the most experienced writers struggle with. Ultimately, it’s less a skill to be acquired than it is an art form, something beautiful and complex that in the end you’ll have to discover for yourself. We’ll be talking about endings quite a lot over the course of this book and will examine the endings of many different games as well, so pay close attention to how those games handle their ending scenes and what did and didn’t work for them. If you can avoid the more common mistakes, you’ll at least be off to a good start.
Other sources that talk about this storytelling method:
