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论述游戏与玩家想象之间的关系(3)

发布时间:2012-05-20 22:45:16 Tags:,,,,

作者:Richard Dare

引言

我在之前曾说过,游戏理念是一种想象空间,也是一个无缝隙的整体,在这里不同的角色,对象和游戏行为过程都象征着玩家内心的真正想法。为了更好地理解这种想象空间以及它与玩家之间的关系,我引入了荣格心理学和原型理念,以及能够构成认知和理解的基础心理模式——这些模式不仅能够作为幻想和神话的标志,同时也出现于许多游戏中,并深深融入于一些社会惯例或者游戏设计师的想象中。英雄模式便是一大最重要的原型过程,它不仅是世界上各种神话故事的唯一表现形式中,同时也在许多电子游戏的结构和情节中得到了普及。(请点击此处阅读本系列第124部分

Crowther和Wood的《Advent》,《塞尔达传说》,《最终幻想》,《古墓丽影》和《口袋妖怪》等电子游戏中都贯穿了英雄模式。有些游戏清晰地表露了这种模式,如大多数RPG游戏;也有些游戏含蓄地体现了这种模式,如《命令与征服者》中的主题意义;还有些游戏基于一些常见的挑战和目标去阐述个人或团体的表现。从这一主题在开发者和游戏玩家间的持续受欢迎程度来看,它已经不再是一种陈词滥调了。

为什么这会成为如此受欢迎的主题?作家Steven Poole曾经说过,英雄模式的行动属性适合于还未准备好应对其它主题中细微差别的电子游戏(2000)。这么说也是有道理的,但这却只是部分原因。作为一种主题选择,英雄模式已经超越了功利主义。根据调查,许多新手游戏设计师总是希望最先尝试RPG游戏,因为这是最常见的任务模式,或者这能够帮助他们在未来创造一款真正的游戏。对于许多设计师来说,英雄模式便是帮助他们实现努力的最佳渠道。既然存在那些致力于创造逻辑谜题或文学和电影故事游戏的设计师,肯定也存在侧重“探索模式”的设计师。

英雄模式之所以如此受到玩家和开发者欢迎的一大主要原因是这是一种原型主题,是人类的普遍特征。在荣格心理学中,英雄模式是人类心理成长与发展的重要组成部分。根据荣格心理学,英雄主题主要出现在那些需要体现强大的自我认知和意识的梦境与幻想中(Jung,1964)。英雄是指那些不会迷失于黑暗的迷宫也不会被巨龙所吞食的人们,他们不会轻易被恶势力所打倒,也不会轻易丢失自己的人格。这种原型对于儿童和青少年的心理发展过程尤为重要,因为那时候的人们的心理正在远离父母,并开始形成属于自己的强大认同感。但这也不只存在于童年时期;当我们在梦境和幻想中遇到一些潜意识力量时我们便需要使用“英雄力量”去对抗它,并最终带着满满的经历回到现实生活中。

boy(from independent.com)

hero quest(from independent.com)

英雄模式的结构

根据学者Joseph Campbell(游戏邦注:他在著作《千面英雄》中参考了荣格的心理学而阐述了自己对于英雄模式的看法),英雄模式是关于世界上各种文化的“成人仪式”的放大版。这种仪式共分为三个阶段,包括出发,启蒙和回归。第一个阶段,人们将被带离自己所熟悉的环境。在第二阶段他们将经历能够改变自己世界观的启蒙仪式。在最后一个阶段,受到启蒙的人将以一种全新的面貌重归故土。在某些文化中,孩童会被带离童年所成长的世界而被投放到一个艰苦的仪式中,在这里他们将最终挣脱与之前世界的心理维系并准备以成人的身份从新回到生活中去(Cambell,1949)。

基于荣格的角度,这种出发,启蒙和回归的循环也就是反应人们从遭遇潜意识到整合早前的未知心理内容再将其融入自身意识的整个过程。这一过程包含了抛弃之前的自我感觉(如儿童时期的想法或一系列不再对你有帮助的理念),遭遇到一些曾经骚动于自己的内心,梦境,幻想和预测中的内容并感到紧张,最终将这种种感觉整合到自己的意识中去,也就是带着一种全新的领悟而“回归”(Jung,1964)。

这便是英雄模式的整个过程,Cambell总结道:“在平常的一天英雄开始走出自己的世界向外进行探险,然后他将进入一个充满各种不可思议的国度:在这里他将遭遇极其强大的力量并最终会获得决定性的胜利:带着探险中所获得的强大力量英雄将再次回到自己的世界并以此造福周边的群众”(Campbell,1949)。如此看来,英雄故事便是一种想象空间,英雄代表着个人的自我(很多情况下自我的力量将要求个人走上一定的旅程),英雄所前往的不同地方以及他所遭遇的不同人代表着他的潜意识的不同方面,而故事本身则代表着自我与这种潜意识间的交融。回归后的英雄所带来的恩惠便标志着他从潜意识所获得的宝贵的内心财富,并能够被整合进英雄资深的意识中去。

某些神话故事中只存在单一的循环,也就是它们只能处理一些“内在问题”。还有一些神话包含了多个循环,并且这些循环也总是交织在一起,能够同时处理一次史诗般旅程中的多个不同心理元素——总的来说旅程也就是代表整个个性化的过程。这种循环不需要遵循线性顺序,在大多数故事和游戏中它们将会以一种复杂的形式相互重叠并紧密联系在一起。以下我们将深入分析每一个循环阶段,并研究与之相关的各种主题。

出发

让我们开始这段旅程。英雄模式的开场经常发生在一个相对世俗且安全的环境下,如他的家乡或家里。有时候这种开场会充满休闲感,但是也有时候,就像在许多现代故事如《黑客帝国》中那样,一开场便会直接切入不愉快的氛围。但是不管开场是基于怎样的情境,英雄的身份都是从家庭或社会的集体无意识状态中浮现出来。有时候这种情境也标志着英雄不再能够忍受这种乏味无趣的生活。在荣格的观点中,英雄模式的开场也就代表着英雄的最初心理状态。如果英雄最初生活在一个和睦的家庭中,这便代表着他在被迫离开父母之前的心理状态是祥和的,而如果英雄最初生活在大都市环境下,他便有可能会对自己的生活感到各种不满。作为一种想象空间,英雄模式下的所有最初场景,风景以及角色都将反应着英雄特殊的内心状态。

但是不管是安详还是世俗的场景终将被打破。这时将出现一名“送信者”——也许是一个怪人,一只动物,或者是一个重大的事件,并因此推动着英雄来到另外一个世界。这便是英雄冒险的开始。这种重大的事件可能是故事中仁慈的国王生病了需要一种神奇的草药当药引,可能是英雄瞥见一个貌美的女子或注意到一个引人注目的陌生人;可能是出现了一个威胁其家庭危险的敌人;也有可能是有人绑架了他的亲人或朋友,等等。不管是怎样的情况,神话世界中总有可能将角色引向他应该接受的命运中。

从消极角度来看,这些奇怪的送信人或事件便是阴影的象征;而从积极角度来看,它们便标志着灵魂之意,意图,或者早期的自我。但是不管是消极还是积极,这些内容都将引导着英雄远离最初那个不安的环境,并告知他只有成长才能够解决那些让自己不安的生活境况。

对我来说,《塞尔达传说:时之笛》便成功创造了合理的游戏开场。一开始展现在我们眼前的是一个祥和的村庄,英雄的童年便在这个与世隔绝的天堂度过,而其周边所设置的一些险恶的高墙和黑暗隧道出口更是添加了一种刺激感,让玩家能够预见危险的逼近——即意识到内部安全外部危险的局面。而这种安全与危险间的反差便是将英雄引向冒险的真正体验。

但是有时候英雄却会忽视送信者而拒绝踏上旅程。因为他们害怕改变,恐惧将他们引入了歧途。这时候他的世界便会演变成一个不毛之地。即使他注意到了外部世界,但是他却不愿意接受改变与成长,从而牺牲了自己的家乡。最终,英雄将变成了一个等待保护的受害者。在故事《睡美人》中,年轻的公主应验了女巫对她的诅咒从而陷进了漫长的睡眠中并等待着王子的拯救。《最终幻想VII》中也出现了类似的主题,英雄Cloud掉进了痛苦的绝望中,并要求女英雄Tifa能够进到他的梦境中拯救他。

而那些接受了这种引导的英雄们身边一般都有一位导师,或和蔼的指导者。这些导师通常都会被描绘成一个睿智的老人(女人)形象,有时候也会是动物,而他(它)们将为英雄在今后的旅程中指明方向或赠与有利的道具。举些例子来说吧,《星球大战》中的Luke的导师Obi-Wan Kenobi;《口袋妖怪》中的Professor Oak;《塞尔达传说:时之笛》中那只总是会适时出现帮助Link指引方向并给以建议的猫头鹰,以及不断引导着Link前进的仙女伙伴。这些角色便是英雄早期自我的标志,体现出了其完整的心理状态,能够保证英雄幸存于陌生领域并获得心智上的成长。

在离开家乡并遇到导师后,英雄将面对来自通关门卫(看守着已知与未知世界交汇之门)的挑战。每个区域都拥有属于自己的故事,在城门外可能潜伏着各种妖怪,食人魔,在桥下隐藏着巨魔,而所有的这些都是对于那位敢于打破常规(包括文化和个人)的英雄的“惩罚”。这是一个只能进不能退的入口,既是已知和未知世界的边界,也是意识和潜意识的界限。当英雄踏入了这个入口,也就意味着他将展开一段危险的旅程,或者进入了一段难以揣摩的未知迷宫中。

启蒙

踏进了入口,英雄便进入了一个完全陌生的世界,并开始迎接各种困难的挑战,而这一切都反应着引导英雄离开家园的心理想法。有些故事中只存在一种挑战,但是大多数故事都是包含多个挑战,并在同一快领域反复循环,而英雄必须在此过程整合并理解自己所表现出的不同心理内容,从而才能真正迎接最终的挑战。

在启蒙阶段英雄最常会遇到的考验或事件便是对抗敌人,遇到或拯救心爱之人,盗走或取回一件神奇或重要的物品。与敌人战斗也就标志着英雄在与一种有害或不当的态度相抗衡,如儿童过分依赖于父母。而这时候英雄就必须努力战胜并杀死敌人才能获得自身的进步。有时候,英雄遭遇敌人也预示着自己在与阴暗面做斗争,与那些不被世人接受却能够整合到自己意识中的潜意识相抗衡。不管怎样,英雄最终都将战胜敌人。

有时候英雄需要去拯救爱人。在很多故事和游戏中,英雄的爱人大多是女性,也就标志着灵魂之意,而拯救爱人所挑起的战斗则代表着解放她或帮助她逃离某种消极的态度,如之前说到的过度依赖于父母。这种消极的态度有时候也代表着英雄的心爱之人处于一种“美女与野兽”的恐惧感中。在《亚瑟王》中,圆桌骑士Sir Gawain便很好地展现了这一点。亚瑟王曾经遭到一个强大的巨人的威胁,巨人问了他一个问题:“女人最想要的东西是什么?”随后亚瑟王便走遍各地去询问各种女性这一问题,但是他却不清楚自己收集到的各种问题是否符合巨人心中的答案。

在森林中,他遇到了一个外表极其丑陋的女巫。但是他最终还是鼓起了勇气问了她这个问题。这位女巫在说出答案(即“女人想要的是能够自由地传达出自己想法”)之前,要求亚瑟王必须给予她任何自己想要的东西。亚瑟王将这个答案带给了巨人,并得到了他的认同。最后亚瑟王回到了森林中,感谢了女巫并询问了她的要求。女巫回答道:“我希望嫁给圆桌骑士”,但是这着实让亚瑟王感到非常沮丧。

亚瑟王回到了卡米洛特并告诉了骑士自己的遭遇。Sir Gawain没有丝毫犹豫便答应了这一请求。婚礼后,当Gawain和新娘躺在婚床上时,他开始害怕这个新娘了。不过让他感到惊讶的是,转身看到的却不是一个老巫婆,而是一个他所见过的最美的女人。原来是咒语将她变成了巫婆,并且只有大不列颠最勇敢的骑士真心愿意娶她才能够解开这一咒语。但是在完全解开咒语前,女巫还需要询问Gawain一个问题,即让他选择谁愿意看到自己白天变丑晚上变美,还是白天变美晚上变丑。Gawain思考了一会后让女巫自己做出选择。女巫最终笑了,而咒语也完全被揭开了,她完全恢复了自己貌美的容貌。而此时的Gawain也真正领悟到巨人提出的那个问题的真谛。

很多情况下,英雄的目标可能是一件神奇或重要的物品。这件物品将包含一些未知的重要特性。荣格举了一个例子,是关于一名女病人梦见自己找到了一把剑。当询问她关于这把剑的问题时她回答到正是因为梦到了这把剑她才想起父亲所拥有的一把短剑。她的父亲是一个很有见解的男人,拥有非常强大的主观意识,而这也是她自己所不具备的。不过正因为发现了这把剑,她才开始察觉到自己身上的这些特性。

回归

在经历了启蒙阶段后,英雄将带着满满的阅历凯旋而归。通常情况下,英雄将会被加冕为王或得到一个重要的职位。他的胜利扫除了黑暗势力,还原了现实世界的安宁。因为开场内容象征着最初的心理情境,所以结尾的场景便是代表英雄那得到治愈或发生转变的内心状态;英雄家乡的新变化也就意味着其心智的新变化。

个性化和隐藏过程

尽管英雄模式大多出现在一些RPG和行动类游戏中,但是我们却经常能够在其它游戏的基础层面中察觉到它的个性化过程。在我之前的一篇文章《The Yin and Yang of Games: Code and Content》中我便描写了许多游戏中的“隐藏过程”:

“基于最基本的层面我们可以将游戏描写为一个总体的系统;这是一个具有各种变量的系统,设计师(能够通过逻辑预测到每个变量的结果)设定了其中的范围和功能。[注:我这里所说的变量并不是指编程语言中的结构元素,如DWORD或CHAR等,而是指基于不同玩家所理解到的不同游戏元素;游戏的对象,选择和游戏组件等]在这里,设计师能够透视全局。从这点看,这里便不存在任何冲突与刺激,有的只是一个运转良好的系统罢了(有可能还存在一些小漏洞)。”

“为了创造一款具有冲突且难以预测的游戏,我们必须真正走进游戏世界中并真正思考是何种元素阻碍了我们对于整体系统的看法。也就是说我们必须从玩家的视角去看待游戏,并基于他们的理解和控制去设置这些变量。而那些玩家难以理解或不能控制的变量则是其对立方,也就是敌人。一般情况下设计师在设计变量时都需要玩家的参与,以此才能确保游戏真正体现出他们的视角。”

“基本上来看,游戏是玩家随意操纵变量以完成某些任务,或者因为控制或删除了所有的相对变量而造成系统停滞的过程。这时候如果未出现其它相对变量,玩家便能够完全理解整个系统。与此同时他们也没有理由再继续玩游戏了”(Dare,2001)。

有趣的是,整合游戏元素的这一过程其实与个性化过程相类似,并能够将潜意识内容逐渐融合进意识形态中。换句话说,个性化过程也就是基本层面中的内容;抽象地来讲,也就等同于系统术语中的情节或形象。有人甚至会说这一过程至关游戏的成败,而不只是用于讲故事或模拟其它内容的过程,游戏将成为玩家传达心理意识和想象力的主要平台。

结论

很多开发者总是会出于本能或未经过慎重考虑就使用了英雄模式。如果能够深刻理解英雄模式的心理学以及它是如何与电子游戏的基本形式紧密联系在一起,开发者不仅能够创造出更多具有创造性的游戏,同时也能够为玩家提供更多有意义的游戏体验。

游戏邦注:原文发表于2004年10月25日,所涉事件和数据均以当时为准。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Games and the Imagination Part III

By Richard Dare

Introduction

In the previous part of Games and the Imagination I introduced the concept of the game as imagination space, a seamless whole where the different characters, objects and processes of a game act as symbolic representations of a players inner concerns. To understand the imagination space and its relationship to the player I introduced Jungian psychology and the concept of archetypes, low level psychological patterns that shape perception and understanding, patterns that not only appear as symbols in dreams, fantasies and myths, but also in many games, either through social convention or through the imagination of the designer. One of the most important archetypal processes is the heroic quest, which not only forms the structure of countless myths and fairy tales from across the globe, but also appears in the structures, processes and plots of many video games.

From Crowther and Wood’s Advent, through Zelda and Final Fantasy, to Tomb Raider, Pokemon and beyond, the heroic quest has been at the core of video games. It appears both explicitly, as in most of the RPG genre, and in a lighter, thematic sense as in Command and Conquer, or in any game that depicts an individual or a group under a common banner, a challenge and a goal. Its continuing popularity amongst developers and gamers suggests that this theme goes beyond the mere cliché.

Why is it such a common theme? The writer Steven Poole suggests that the action based nature of the heroic quest lends itself to video games which are not yet equipped to handle the nuance of other themes (Poole, 2000). This may be true, but it only tells part of the story. As a choice of theme the heroic quest goes beyond the utilitarian. For example, there is the interesting observation that a great number of beginning game designers attempt an RPG, the most common representation of the quest, as their first effort, or at least express the desire to work towards creating one in the future. For many designers the perfectly realised heroic quest represents the summit of their efforts. It seems reasonable to suppose that there is a whole class of “questing” designers, as opposed to those who might see their work chiefly in terms of logical puzzles or literary and cinematic storytelling etc.

One of main reasons why the heroic quest is such a popular theme for both gamers and developers is that it is an archetypal theme, a universal human symbol. To Jungian psychology the heroic quest is a symbolic reflection of an important part of the inner journey of psychological growth and development. According to Jungian psychology, the motif of the hero arises in dreams and fantasies whenever strong self identity and consciousness are needed (Jung, 1964). The hero is the person who can encounter the forces of the unconscious mind with its dark labyrinths and devouring dragons without being lost or devoured, without being overwhelmed by the unconscious and losing his individual identity. This archetype is especially important in the psychological development of children and young people who are faced with the task of separating psychologically from their parents and developing a strong sense of identity. But it isn’t exclusive to childhood alone; it can appear in dreams and fantasies whenever strength is needed to encounter the forces of unconsciousness and return safely with its treasures.

The Structure of the Heroic Quest

According to the scholar Joseph Campbell, who studied the heroic quest from a moderately Jungian perspective in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces, the heroic quest is an amplification of the initiation rituals found in many cultures across the globe. These rituals generally have three stages, departure, initiation and return. In the first stage, the person undergoing the initiation either leaves or is taken from his familiar surroundings. In the second stage, the person undergoes an initiation ritual which has the effect of significantly changing his view of the world. In the third stage, the individual who has been initiated returns home, but with a new role. Some cultures, for example initiate boys into manhood by taking them away from the childhood world of their families and subjecting them to painful or strenuous rituals that have the effect of breaking the psychological tie with the old world and preparing them for their new roles as men (Campbell, 1949).

From the Jungian perspective, this cycle of departure, initiation and return reflects the inner process of encountering the unconscious mind, integrating previously unknown psychological contents, and making them a part of the conscious personality. This process mirrors the initiation ritual in that it involves a departure from one’s old sense of self (childhood for example, or a set of views that no longer serve a person), a sometimes strenuous encounter with the contents of the unconscious in the form of inner turmoil, dreams, fantasies and projections, resulting in their integration into the conscious personality, which “returns” as it were, transformed, with a new sense of self (Jung, 1964).

This process is symbolised by the heroic quest, which Campbell summarised as, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man”(Campbell, 1949). So, heroic tales act as imagination spaces, with the hero representing the ego of the individual (or in many cases, the strength of ego required by an individual undergoing such a journey), the different places he visits and the beings he encounters representing different aspects of his unconscious mind, and the narrative itself representing the ways in which the ego deals with these unconscious contents. The boon of the returning hero is a symbol of the inner treasure that has been wrested from unconsciousness and successfully integrated into the conscious personality.

Some myths and fairy tales symbolise a single cycle, that is, they deal with only a few “inner issues”. Others are comprised of many such cycles, often nested within each other, dealing with different aspects of the psyche within a single epic journey, a journey that taken as a whole represents the entire process of individuation.

These cycles are not necessarily in a linear order, in most stories and games they overlap and interrelate in complex ways. Lets look at each stage of the cycle in turn and explore a few of the many motifs associated with them. As with the Jungian psychology described in part two, it is not possible in this short article to detail every permutation of the heroic quest. Readers wanting a deeper understanding are referred to the books in the bibliography; particularly Jung’s Man and His Symbols, Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces and Marie-Louise Von Franz’s The Interpretation of Fairy Tales and Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales.

Departure

Here begins the journey. The opening scene of the heroic quest and the introduction of the hero often takes place in relatively mundane, safe and unthreatening surroundings, such as the hero’s native town or family home. Sometimes, this place may be idyllic, sometimes, as in many modern stories such as The Matrix, the opening situation is less pleasant. It is an undifferentiated state, where the hero’s identity has yet to emerge from the unconscious collectivity of the family home or society. Sometimes it symbolises a way of life gone stale, a state of being that no longer suits an individual. In Jungian terms, the opening scene of the quest is a symbol of an initial psychological situation. This could be a safe childhood home reflecting the world of a child before he separates psychologically from his parents, or a scene of a man dissatisfied with his life as it is, living below his potential in some anonymous metropolis. As an imagination space, the totality of the initial scene, its landscapes and characters, mirror a particular inner state.

But the normality and mundanity of this scene is interrupted. A messenger arrives, in the form of a strange person, an animal or a fateful event that gives the hero-to-be a glimpse of another world. This is the hero’s call to adventure. Perhaps the benevolent king falls ill and needs the cure of a magical herb; perhaps the hero catches a glimpse of a beautiful woman or a compelling stranger; an enemy may arise, threatening the home of the hero; or kidnapping him or his relatives or friends The mythical world has many ways of luring people to their destiny.

This strange messenger or event in its negative form is a symbol of the shadow; in its positive form it may symbolise the anima, animus, or perhaps an early appearance of the self. It has appeared to lure the hero away from his initial, unsatisfying situation, to show him aspects of himself or of his life that he must deal with if he is to grow.

For me, Zelda, Ocarina of Time is the game that is most successful in creating this initial situation. The village in which the adventure starts is a warm, enclosed childhood paradise, the enjoyment of which is enhanced by the ominous high walls and dark exit tunnels surrounding it, giving the player a foreknowing of the dangers to come; an awareness of both the safety of home, and the shadowy world outside. This contrast between safety and fear is precisely the experience of the call to adventure.

Sometimes the messenger is ignored, the call refused. The hero becomes trapped in his fear of change, his own misguided apprehensions. His world becomes a sterile wasteland. After glimpsing the world beyond, yet refusing it in favour of the safe, limiting village, he essentially refuses to grow. The hero becomes a victim to be saved. The story of sleeping beauty has this motif, with the young Briar Rose’s refusal symbolised by her being put to sleep by a hag. This motif appears in Final Fantasy VII, when the hero Cloud falls into a paralysing despair, requiring the heroine Tifa to enter his dream world to rescue him.

The first encounter for those who have not refused the call is generally with a mentor, a kindly teacher or guide. Often depicted as a wise old man or woman, sometimes as an animal, who gives the hero advice or magical items needed on the journey. Examples include Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke’s mentor in Star Wars; Professor Oak in Pokemon, and in Zelda, Ocarina of Time, a wise owl who appears at appropriate times to give direction and advice, as well as Link’s fairy companion, who gives constant guidance throughout the game. These characters are early symbols of the self, the totality of the psyche, giving the hero the assurance that the strange realms about to be entered can be survived and understood.

After leaving home and meeting with a mentor, the hero faces the challenge of the threshold guardian, a being who protects the gateway between the known and the unknown. Every region has its tales of the bogeymen, ogres and monsters that lurk outside the city gate, the trolls under the bridge, the wild punishment for those who dare to venture beyond conventional boundaries, both cultural and personal. This threshold represents the point of no return, the boundary between the known and the unknown, the conscious and the unconscious. Sometimes the crossing of the threshold is symbolised by a hazardous journey or by the entrance to a cave or labyrinth.

Initiation

Having crossed the threshold, the hero enters a world of strange powers and difficult challenges, all reflecting the psychological concerns that lead the hero away from home. Some tales may tell of only one challenge but most contain several, repeating the cycle again and again within this realm, reflecting the different psychological contents that must be integrated and understood in order to face a greater final challenge.

Three common trials or events that take place in the realm of initiation are the confrontation with an enemy, a meeting with, or rescue of a beloved person, and the theft or retrieval of a magical or important object. The battle with an enemy may symbolise the struggle with a harmful or inappropriate attitude, such as a child’s overdependance on his parents. In this case the symbolic enemy must be battled with and slain so that the individual can progress. Sometimes the encounter with an enemy may symbolise the struggle with the shadow, with unconscious contents that one does not accept but could be integrated into the conscious personality like the businessman example in part two. In this case, the enemy is confronted and battled, but is eventually redeemed.

Sometimes a beloved person is rescued. In many stories and games this person is a woman, symbolising the anima, the battle for her rescue symbolising the struggle to free her and her related qualities from the clutches of a negative attitude such as a harmful dependence on one’s parents. The negative attitude can sometimes be symbolised by the beloved being in a frightening form as in beauty and the beast. One story, an Arthurian tale of Sir Gawain, a knight of the round table illustrates this beautifully. King Arthur was once challenged by a powerful giant with the riddle, “What, above all else does a woman desire?” He travelled across the land asking women this question, but he was unsure as to whether the diverse answers he received would satisfy the giant. In a forest he came across a hag who’s appearance nearly caused him to faint. He plucked up courage and asked her the question. The woman made Arthur promise to give her anything she wanted in return, before giving the answer, “A woman wants more than anything else, to exercise her free will.” Arthur returned to the giant, who confirmed that this was correct. After going back to the forest, Arthur thanked her and asked her what she wanted in return. “To marry a knight of the round table,” was her reply, much to Arthur’s dismay.

Arthur returned to Camelot to tell his knights of the adventure, and with a saddened heart, of the old hags request. Without hesitation, Sir Gawain stood up and offered himself as husband. After the wedding, Gawain and his bride retired to the marital bed, and he turned with some fear to his new wife. To his amazement, he saw not an old hag, but the most beautiful woman he had ever known. A spell had turned her into a hag, and could only be broken if the greatest knight in Britain married her of his own free will. But one more task was to be done before the spell would be completely broken. She asked Gawain to decide if she was to be ugly by day and beautiful by night or beautiful by day and ugly by night. He thought for a while before saying that the choice was hers to make. She smiled, the spell had been completely broken and she would be her beautiful self again. Gawain had truly understood the giant’s riddle.

In many cases the object of the hero’s struggle is a magical or important item. This item is a symbol of some important quality that has remained unconscious. Jung gave an example of a woman patient who dreamed of discovering a sword. When asked about this sword the woman replied that it reminded her of a dagger belonging to her father. Her father was a wilful man with a powerful personality, possessed of qualities that the woman felt she lacked. By discovering this sword, she was beginning to uncover these qualities in herself (Hyde, 2000).

Return

After the struggle of initiation the hero returns triumphantly to his home, transformed by his experiences. Often, the hero is crowned king or given an important position. His victory may have revitalised the world, having vanquished the forces that threatened it. Just as the opening scene of the quest symbolises an initial psychological situation, the end scene represents the new healed or transformed inner situation; the new order in the hero’s land symbolising the new order in the psyche.

Individuation and the Hidden Process

Although the heroic quest appears most explicitly in RPG and action games, the process that it symbolises, the individuation process, seems to exist at a low level in many other games. In my previous article, The Yin and Yang of Games: Code and Content, I described a “hidden” process found in many games:

“A game can be described at its most fundamental level as a total system; a system of changing variables, the limits and functions of which are set by the designer who can by the nature of logic, predict every outcome of every change in any variable. [Note: By variable, I do not mean the constructional elements of a programming language i.e. DWORD's, CHAR's etc., but the discrete, changing elements of a game as they are perceived by the player; the game's objects, options and playing pieces]

Here, the designer has the total perspective of a god. At this perspective, there is no conflict, no excitement, just a system running perfectly. (Well, maybe with a few little bugs..)

“To create the conflict and relative unpredictability of a game we need to step inside it and take up a perspective that limits our view of the total system. This perspective is the player, or more fundamentally, the set of variables over which the user has knowledge and control. The variables over which the user has no knowledge or control are the opposition, the enemy. Often, the set of variables that comprise the player must be maintained in a certain way to retain coherence of the player perspective.

“At its most basic, the game is the process by which the player manipulates the variables at his or her disposal to create a state of completion, or of stasis in the system, by either taking control of all the opposing variables, or by eliminating them. At this point, if no further opposition is forthcoming, the player has total knowledge of the system. Now equal with the designer there is no further reason to play”(Dare, 2001).

Interestingly, this process of gradually coming to knowledge of game elements1 is very similar to the individuation process, of gradually integrating unconscious contents into the conscious mind. In other words, the individuation process is, or can be represented in a game at a very low level; in abstract, systematic terms as well as in terms of plot or imagery. One could even say that representing this process is what games do best, and that rather than being simply a platform for storytelling or simulation, games are primarily platforms for psychological and imaginative expression.

Conclusion

The heroic quest is used almost instinctively and often unreflectively, by many developers. But by understanding its psychological interpretation and how it relates so closely to the underlying form of most video games, developers can not only make more creatively varied games, they can also create more meaningful experiences for their players.

In part four of Games and the Imagination, Integrating the Imagination, I will explore some of the ways that the Jungian perspective given here can be used in the creation of games. Amongst other things, I will explore the way that we can use the ideas of this series to widen the language of genre to a great degree, and offer a new perspective on that thorny issue of violence in games.(source:gamedev.net)


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