A nice piece at Game Career Guide by Robin Koman of Full Sail on the role of mythology in game design called Epic Vision: Mythology and Game Design
I’ve been thinking about writing an article on mythology in game design for a few months now, and with the recent burst of renewed interest in Joseph Campbell’s Hero Cycle it seems like the perfect time to share my thoughts on teaching mythology to game designers. In a compliment to Jordie Fine’s Game Career Guide article on the Gamer’s Journey, and Gamasutra’s podcast on using the Hero Cycle for narrative structure, this article will serve as a pedagogy paper, and as an expansion on Campbell’s ideas, with a little Mythology 101 thrown in.
In terms of teaching theory it’s my belief that while anyone can learn about mythology at any time in their life, in order to bring fresh mythological and archetypal concepts into the forefront of game design it’s vital to teach the subject to students who will be going out into the industry. It’s been my pleasure to teach mythology for three years now at Full Sail Real World Education in the Game Development and Computer Animation programs. Why Computer Animation? We’ve found the archetypal characters and multicultural color symbolism make great tools for artists, and knowledge of different mythologies can help keep them from designing stale characters. That being noted, let’s get back to the game designers.
I have a few issues with the depth of coverage Koman mentions. He writes that students are exposed to a number of historical areas, such as Hindu and Shinto, but also sells the topic’s accelerated nature. Would deeper coverage of mythology and study of the source texts generate more weighted emotive content? Deep study of Sir Gawain’s journey illustrates, after all, deep human conflict. The roots of this study can be felt in Sokal’s Syberia.
Koman goes on
The most effective way to communicate these concepts to students is to expose them to the different heroic myths they were derived from. Teaching the students about various heroic myths, as well as giving them information about the cultures they arose from, allows them to see how the elements of the hero cycle work in a variety of settings. It also allows them to examine the storytelling power of this narrative structure. When the hero cycle is utilized skillfully the hero isn’t just transformed physically. For each physical change there is a psychological transformation.
In the creative writing world we call this character development. And let’s face it, as the technology behind video games becomes increasingly sophisticated, people expect more sophisticated stories. The structure of the overall narrative to the game-play is incredibly important, and many games have solid plots that players connect with, making them eager to see the resolution of the game. But it’s the development of the characters, their change and growth, which creates a classic. April Ryan from The Longest Journey and Dreamfall is a great example, as is James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2, or Kratos from God of War. Adding rich, purposeful character development to a well-realized narrative can transform a successful title into a work of art.
Mary Flanagan’s post on a talk at the recent Emerging Terrain in Games and Simulations at Grand Text Auto is a nice companion to Koman, but on a more conceptual level:
In our panel, “Heading in Different Directions,” at the Emerging Terrain in Games and Simulation Symposium, participants focused on questions such as, what is innovation, and how can innovation in gaming emerge from smaller or independent producers? Panelists Tim Sweeney, Lead Game Designer for PeaceMakers, Ananda Gupta, from Breakaway Games (the makers of A Force More Powerful), Katie Salen as moderator, and
myself, representing Tiltfactor at Hunter College, participated. Key common questions for the panelists included, How do “serious” game developers expand the market? What are the small changes that lead to huge shifts in innovation?I discussed Tiltfactor research. Our work includes THE ADVENTURES OF JOSIE TRUE (a game to teach middle school girls science & math); the RAPUNSEL / PEEPS games project, (a game to teach middle school girls computer programming); and VALUES AT PLAY, a new research initiative to incorporate human values into a game development methodology. We were particularly involved with implementing Schank and Cleary’s (1995) teaching architectures, which combines learning models. To attract minority girls to math & science by enabling them to experience authentic problems in an engaging environment. Specifically, Peeps employs elements of simulation-based learning-by-doing & case-based learning. Our theoretical approach in the design process followed Spivak’s (1987) notion to build upon existing research methodologies to render visible ‘unheard voices; Haraway’s (1991) concept of partial or ‘situated’ knowledges questions “objective” questions surrounding science research; philosophers Irigaray + Grosz, who are interested in power relations, space, & self; and the work of Paolo Friere & Agusto Boal and their research with the oppressed