Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo: Combat Evolved

FPS

Bungie, 2001

Human forces are engaged in a bitter war against the mysterious alien ‘Covenant’. After being all but destroyed in a space battle, the sole remaining ship of a battle group, the Pillar of Autumn, jumps blindly into deep space to lead the alien aggressors away from Earth. The ship happens across a huge orbiting ring, the titular Halo, and is attacked by Covenant forces. Captain Keyes of the Pillar of Autumn initiates a crash-landing onto the Halo to prevent the Covenant from capturing information from his ship which would lead them to Earth.

A ‘SPARTAN II’ super-soldier, the Master Chief, meets Keyes as the ship heads for the ring’s surface, and ejects in a life pod with an AI construct named Cortana. The game follows the Master Chief (controlled by the player) as he explores the Halo and discovers its origin and purpose. The Covenant are keen to do the same, to harness its vast power to use against Earth.

The plot is thickened by the introduction of a second alien race, the ‘Flood’. This race is unintelligent, aggressive, and has an insatiable taste for blood. The halo turns out to be a defence against the flood, designed to kill all sentient life in the galaxy, thereby starving the unstoppable Flood. The race for control of the Halo becomes a race against time to destroy it, hampered by the Covenant forces, the Flood, and the AI controlled robot caretakers built by the creators of the Halo (the Forerunners).

Notable Archetypes

The Hero - Master Chief

The Master Chief is the embodiment of Earth’s struggle for survival: one super-soldier feared, and even labeled as a demon by the Covenant. When interacting with Cortana, the Master Chief takes on aspects from the Sidekick archetype - becoming the clumsy, reckless ape to the AI’s tactful, almost motherly wisdom.

The Father - Captain Keyes

Captain Keyes leads by example, sacrificing himself and the Pillar of Autumn to protect the location of Earth. The Master Chief and Keyes share certain personality traits: bravery, loyalty, sacrifice. They are both soldiers to the core. The Master Chief’s adventure of bravery and sacrifice is started by Keyes’, reinforcing is fatherly influence. Keyes gives the Chief his blessing before crashing his ship and sacrificing himself.

The Shadow - 343 Guilty Spark

343 attempts to achieve his goals differently to the Master Chief. In fact, the characters are polar opposites - the Chief putting himself on the line, pushing his endurance and abilities to the limits for the greater good, taking sacrifice and hardship on the chin, whereas 343 takes a passive, devious approach to problem solving. His preferred method was the manipulation of the Chief, but once that failed, he employed robotic killing machines to take care of the Chief while he observed from a safe distance, assimilating knowledge and human history from the Pillar of Autumn’s databanks with great satisfaction. The Master Chief is the proud, loyal heart. 343 is the cold, logical brain.

The Wise Old Man - Cortana

Cortana is the Master Chief’s counter-balance, installed in his high-tech armour suit on behalf of Keyes. She is a motherly figure, adding a little intelligence and delicacy to the testosterone.

The Dragon Forces - Covenant

The Covenant are a seemingly ubiquitous force, always ready to throw a spanner in the player’s works. As well being bitter enemies of all humans, they are in direct competition with the Master Chief, as they race to be in control of the Halo.

The Departure

The Call to Adventure - 8 (Implicit, out of sequence)

After the minor explicit call of meeting Keyes on the bridge, the Master Chief finds himself on the Halo’s surface, and the sole SPARTAN II, the task of solving the mystery of the Halo and defeating the Covenant is clearly his. After landing on the Halo, the Chief joins the rest of the surviving human forces in a Guerilla campaign against the vastly superior Covenant, learning more of the Halo and focusing the call until it becomes Explicit - destroy the Halo.

Refusal of the Call - N/A

Supernatural Aid - 6

The Master Chief meets Captain Keyes on the bridge of the Pillar of Autumn, and he installs Cortana, the AI construct, into his suit. Cortana, although not a typical protective amulet, provides the Chief with tactical and technical advice, and keeps him on the correct path.

The Crossing of the First Threshold - 9

The Master Chief stepping out of the crashed escape pod onto Halo’s surface.

The Belly of the Whale - 8 (Out of Sequence)

The player boards a Covenant ship rescue Captain Keyes. The Master Chief explores alien-looking, tight, claustrophobic environments unlike anything else he has experienced before. At the end of the level, the Master Chief has learned more about the Halo, and has atoned with Keyes.

Initiation

The Road of Trials - 6 (out of sequence)

Most of Halo’s gameplay forms the Road of Trials.

The Meeting with the Goddess - 4

Although not a classical Meeting with the Goddess, the Master Chief meets the (deceased) marine, Private Jenkins, after journeying deeper into the Halo. Jenkins is Master Chief’s connection to his past - the Pillar of Autumn, the military, Earth. Through the footage in Jenkin’s helmet, the Master Chief learns about the deadly ‘Flood’.

Woman as the Temptress - 2

343 Guilty Spark tempts the Chief into activating Halo. Since the Chief was unaware of 343’s dubious goals, his intentions were good.

Atonement with the Father - 7 (out of sequence)

There are two atoning events in Halo. The first is rescuing Captain Keyes from a Covenant ship where he is being held captive (see also: the Belly of the Whale). The second is using the codes posthumously retrieved from Keyes’ brain to initiate a meltdown in the crashed Pillar of Autumn’s reactor, destroying Halo. The boss sequence of overcoming the sustained 343 Guilty Spark attack, as well as Flood onslaught, to destroy the Pillar of Autumn and therefore the Halo, adds weight to the atonement; with great struggle and sacrifice comes great reward.

Apotheosis - N/A

The Ultimate Boon - N/A
Return

Refusal of the Return - N/A

The magic Flight - 10

To reach a spacecraft (specifically, a Longsword fighter) docked in the Pillar of Autumn in order to escape, the Chief must drive, at speed, through its long and winding corridors in a ‘Warthog’ (a jeep-like military vehicle). Flood and Covenant forces are scattered through the ship, and add a modicum of resistance (the Covenant are mainly concerned with escape, and the Flood are too slow to pose a serious threat) to the stringent time limitation of the Pillar’s reactor meltdown.

Rescue from Without - 7

The failed attempt of an air-rescue by the persistent assistant, Flight Officer Captain Carol ‘Foehammer’ Rawley is a play on the Rescue from Without. In the end, the Chief must rely on a ‘Rescue from Within’ (literally, since his internally-mounted AI helps him along the way). Foehammer is the dropship pilot responsible for inserting and extracting the Master Chief repeatedly in and out of danger in his guerilla actions against the Covenant throughout the game.

The Crossing of the Return Threshold - 7

The Master Chief and Cortana flee the exploding Halo, back into space. This stage would have been stronger if they had traveled back to the Pillar of Autumn, but it was destroyed, making this impossible.

Master of the Two Worlds - 8 (Out of Sequence)

The Master Chief destroys the Pillar of Autumn, dominating 343 Guilty Spark and his cohorts, the Flood, and the Covenant, he becomes the master of both doomed ‘worlds’ the crashed Pillar of Autumn (a metaphorical microcosm of humanity), and the Halo.

Freedom to Live - 5

Both the Master Chief and Cortana escape the Halo and survive its explosion. However, 343 Guilty Spark is also shown to have survived, so the continuation of the Chief’s battle is implied.

Conclusion

Being an epic battle for the survival of the human race, Halo incorporates many of the elements of Campbell’s structure. However, their order is rather jumbled, and certain stages (for example, Meeting with the Goddess, Atonement with the Father) are unorthodox. The Freedom to Live section is purposefully vague, due to Halo being the first of three games in the series.

Super Mario World

Super Mario World

Platformer

Nintendo, 1991

After their heroic escapades in the Mushroom Kingdom in their previous games, Mario and Luigi take a holiday in 'Dinosaur Land'. While napping, Princess Toadstool went missing (typical...). While searching for her, they came across a giant egg in the forest. The egg hatched, with a strange dinosaur - Yoshi - emerging. He told the plumbers of the sad fate of all the other yoshis: sealed up in eggs across the land. The duo set off to rescue Princess Toadstool and the yoshis from incarceration at the hands of Bowser and his minions. Mario world was a launch game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1991, under the watchful eye of its creator - the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto.

Notable Archetypes

The Hero - Mario

Mario is a force for freedom in Dinosaur Land. He is the embodiment of its inhabitants' will, acting on their behalf.

The Herald - Yoshi

Yoshi is the first inhabitant of Dinosaur Land that Mario meets, and fills him in on the details of Bowser's evil.

The Shadow - Bowser

Bowser is a dictator-like figure, residing in a huge castle in his own dark, twisted area. The spiritual differences between him and Mario - good / evil, agility / brute strength, quick wit / cunning, are shown visually through character design and size, through narrative by Mario's long and exciting journey to reach the static and powerful tyrant king, and through ludological elements such as character speed and strength.

The Dragon Forces - The Koopa Family

Headed by Bowser, the suitably reptilian family are in control of Dinosaur Land (the game world), with each major area being controlled by a family member, secure in a perilous castle. Smaller ‘fortresses’ watch over smaller areas.

The Departure

The Call to Adventure - 10

"Monsterous turtles!," exclaimed Luigi. "Bowser and his bunch have returned!" Mario slowly nodded his head in agreement and, along with Luigi and Yoshi, set off across Dinosaur Land to find the Princess and to free Yoshi's friends. As they began their journey, Yoshi handed Mario a beautiful cape. "This may help you," Yoshi said. "Some say it has magical powers."

Excerpt from the Super Mario World manual.

Refusal of the Call - 0

Supernatural Aid - 0

The above excerpt reveals a narrative device not employed in the game - Yoshi as Supernatural Aid. For gameplay reasons, the cape was not given to Mario until much later in the game, to drip-feed more and more powerful items to the player as his journey's difficulty increased. If the game had followed this narrative device, it would have a very strong Supernatural Aid stage. Alas, gameplay was prioritised.

The Crossing of the First Threshold - 8

After defeating the boss of the relatively easy and small first ‘world’, and symbolically destroying his castle, Mario leaves for the large and dangerous ‘Donut Plains’. More important than moving away from the starting Island (which is dangerous in its own right) is the vanquishing of one of the Koopa family, a bastion of Bowser’s power. This defeat of one of Bowser’s tendrils of control frees the first game area from his tyranny.

The Belly of the Whale - 7

A secret area, the Star World, serves as a shortcut between areas. Once found, the Star Road's seven levels are beaten one by one until a complete star-shaped circuit is created. Each point of this star is a warp point to another area. Character growth is hard to display in a platformer, but once this simplistic Belly of the Whale is finished, Mario has access to more of the game world. The player gains from the character's journey through the belly.

Initiation

The Road of Trials - 8

The Star Road doubles as The Road of Trials, with each of the five levels acting as a trial, and the completion of each leading to a new 'Star Road', a portal to one of the game areas, saving the player lots of walking.

The Meeting with the Goddess - 0

Woman as the Temptress - 0

Atonement with the Father - 3

Although not a father figure, Mario atones when his duties are completed, and the weight of Bowser is lifted from Dinosaur Land, and he is reunited with the princess.

Apotheosis (Out of sequence) - 5

The transformation of the game world's colour palette and enemy sprites indicates, to the player, Mario's Apotheosis in the simplest terms possible. Showing the game in a less serious light (some enemies wearing Mario masks, for example) accentuates Mario's mastery of Dinosaur Land.

The Ultimate Boon - N/A

Return

Refusal of the Return N/A

The magic Flight - 3

Upon defeating Bowser, Mario and the yoshis are shown walking across (small parts of) previously completed levels on their way back to Yoshi's house. The weakness of this section is due to the total lack of danger, since Bowser and his Koopa cohorts have already been defeated.

Rescue from Without - N/A

The Crossing of the Return Threshold

Mario and the rescued yoshis return to the game's starting location upon completion of the game. This is a very typical and strong implementation of the Hero's Journey.

Master of the Two Worlds

With Dinosaur Land safe, and its enemies vanquished, their castles ruined, Mario is free to wander the world; a hero to the yoshis, and master of his enemies. The game shows this to the player by its modified colour palette and enemy sprites after completion of the Star World. The player is rewarded for his skill, shown the game as it's not seen to lesser players. The new, modified world becomes the 'second' world, after the first is mastered.

Freedom to Live

Or in this case, the Freedom to Find All 96 Exits. After the game is won in a narrative sense, the player (as master of the world) has to find and complete all of the game's levels to truly beat it.

Conclusion

A platform game is harder to design as a Hero's Journey than a more character-based game, such as an RPG or adventure. However, the journey stages still exist, represented in pragmatic rather than purely narrative terms. The Hero's spiritual growth from the Belly of the Whale becomes the Hero's increased ease of travel. The Freedom to Live simply gives the player the freedom to explore at his leisure.

An interesting example of the game's narrative taking a backseat to ludology is Bowser's demise. Or total lack of it. After the evil king is defeated and the credits have rolled, returning to his castle will reveal that he is still there, no explanation provided. Allowing the player to repeatedly beat Bowser, for the purposes of pure fun, would be much rarer in a modern game, with the emphasis ever-shifting from ludology to narrative.

Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime

First Person Adventure

Retro Studios, 2002

Critically acclaimed on release, Metroid Prime was Samus’ first outing on the Gamecube after her notable absence from the N64. The game’s viewpoint from behind the bounty hunter’s mask, combined with exploration and adventure elements, it in the unusual genre of ‘First Person Adventure’. Metroid Prime has the player, in control of Samus, explore numerous regions Tallon IV, a planet contaminated by a mysterious and powerful substance known as Phazon.

Notable Archetypes

The Hero / Anima - Samus Aran

Samus shares a lot with the hero of the Tomb Raider series, Lara Croft. Both are classic representations of the Anima [xxx ask John].

The Devil Figure - Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime lies at the Phazon source, the ‘Impact Crater’. He is the font of Phazon corruption, residing in a decaying and rotten subterranean fissure, beneath a Chozo Temple built solely to keep him locked there. He is the personification of Phazon, weaker forms of which are found all over Tallon IV (but mostly underground, such as in the Phazon Mines). The Space Pirates are keen to harvest the powers of Phazon, especially that of Metroid Prime, and exploit its corrupting power.

The Shadow - Meta-Ridley (Space Pirate)

Meta-Ridley’s role as Space Pirate lieutenant is far removed from Samus’ role as bounty hunter. She is in command of nobody but herself, and she answers to nobody but herself. Meta-Ridley is the conniving, corrupt, evil embodiment of Space Pirate power, the very force that Samus is determined to destroy. Meta-Ridley’s attack on Samus, removing her of her suit’s powers (emasculating her, ironically), is noteworthy. The emasculation of the Self by the Shadow, and the subsequent Apotheosis and integration of the Shadow by the Self (Samus slaying Meta-Ridley) is spread over the course of the entire game, accentuating its significance.

The Departure

The Call to Adventure - 6

Before the game begins proper, Samus has responded to a distress signal from an (apparently) abandoned space station, which she (as the player) explores and examines. After learning of the nature of its research, and the involvement of her persistent enemy, the Space Pirates, Samus slays a huge parasitic monstrosity in the reactor, causing the station’s destruction. As she makes a swift exit to escape the blast, Samus is attacked by the resurrected Space Pirate Ridley (renamed Meta-Ridley). Having lost most of her suit’s abilities in the attack, Samus makes it to her ship and follows Meta-Ridley to the surface of the nearby Planet, Tallon IV. The Call to Adventure is the implication that Meta-Ridley and the Space Pirates have a base on Tallon IV.

Refusal of the Call - N/A

Samus pursues Meta-Ridley to Tallon IV with no second thoughts.

Supernatural Aid - 4 (Out of sequence)

The first of Samus’ suit abilities to be regained is the missile launcher. She finds it in an eerily empty chamber, but fills with toxic liquid when the missile launcher is approached, and she is attacked by a mechanical wasp hive. Upon defeating the machine, the missile launcher is available. The classical Supernatural Aid centers on a character who generously gives the hero a protective amulet. Samus must fight, tooth and nail, for her protective amulet. Another difference is that the amulet (missile launcher) was Samus’ beforehand. This is more important than it might first seem; Samus shouldn’t have to rely on generosity, she had her suit damaged by a Space Pirate, and now she’s going to repair it.

The Crossing of the First Threshold - 9

After defeating the Parasite Queen and being attacked by Meta-Ridley, Samus boards her ship and lands on the planet of Tallon IV to investigate. Upon arrival, she leaves the safe confines of her gunship to explore the dangerous alien world on foot and alone.

The Belly of the Whale - N/A

Initiation

The Road of Trials - 8 (Out of sequence)

Metroid Prime’s Trials are based on collection. There are a large number of suit upgrades which are necessary to collect in order to progress. As well as this, there are twelve ‘Chozo Artifacts’ which allow access to the final boss once completed. As with many videogames, MP’s Road of Trials is not a single stage, but actually encompasses the majority of the gameplay.

The Meeting with the Goddess - 6 (Out of sequence)

Samus finds various pieces of ‘Chozo Lore’ inscribed on the surface of Tallon IV, most notably in their former city (Chozo Ruins). The Chozo Lore documents the demise of the Chozo civilisation and the spread of Phazon across the planet. The wise, mysterious and almost supernatural Chozo are Samus’ ancestors, infused as she is with Chozo blood, and their solemn messages of danger, decline and doom are therefore even more poignant. As the Chozo were wiped out, Samus never actually meets any of them. Another contender for Meeting with the Goddess is at the end of the game, just before the final boss battle. Upon the wounding of Meta-Ridley, some Chozo Ghosts appear and finish him off with a laser attack. After this, they create a portal for Samus to travel inside the Phazon meteorite Impact Crater to fight Metroid Prime.

Woman as the Temptress - N/A

Atonement with the Father - 6

The only thing remotely resembling a father to Samus is the long-dead Chozo race, so atoning with them would be rather difficult. Instead, Samus’ atonement comes from slaying the beast which caused her troubles in the first place - Meta-Ridley. Meta-Ridley makes the penultimate boss battle, once Samus has all of her scattered gear recollected. Killing this monster proves that Samus is not to be trifled with, and can not be kept down.

Apotheosis - 7 (Out of sequence)

As is rather common in videogames, Samus’ Apotheosis is expressed through practical actions rather than character interaction or verbal descriptions. As Samus explores the gameworld, she collects the various suit augmentations which were scattered over the area as Meta-Ridley landed (presumably). Full combat strength represents self actualization.

The Ultimate Boon - 5

Samus collects twelve vital artefacts in order to open a portal to the Impact Crater. The artefacts were built and hidden by the Chozo, and the Space Pirates are also very interested in getting their hands on them, to gain access to the vast wealth of Phazon resources hidden below the surface. If the artefacts were for Samu’s benefit, then they would be a very weak boon (if one at all), but they are the key to meeting and destroying the hideously Phazon-mutated Metroid Prime, and ending the source of corruption which wiped out the Chozo.

Return

Refusal of the Return - N/A

The magic Flight - 6

The Impact Crater becomes unstable due to the destruction of Meta-Ridley, and Samus runs for her life towards the surface.

Rescue from Without - 10

After sprinting through the Impact Crater back to the surface, Samus’ ship arrives via remote control to collect her. She jumps from the Chozo Temple and is caught mid-air, escaping with seconds to spare.

The Crossing of the Return Threshold - 10

Samus flies into space, away from Tallon IV, her mission completed.

Master of the Two Worlds - 9

Samus has dominated the Space Pirates on Tallon IV, and leaves to return to the outside world (i.e. the galaxy in general), where she dominates every problem that arises.

Freedom to Live - 10

Samus is free to explore the galaxy and fight the good fight.

Conclusion

Metroid Prime has a distinct lack of characters. This is mostly due to the game’s taking place after the important events (Phazon meteorite strike, demise of the Chozo, occupation by the Space Pirates, mining of Phazon) have occurred. The game therefore plays out rather like an epic, violent episode of Time Team, minus Tony Robinson; Samus explores the gameworld, uncovering the truth of what happened on Tallon IV and why the Space Pirates are here. The lack of characters has a huge effect on the Hero’s Journey, as stages like Atonement with the Father and Meeting with the Goddess rely heavily on character interaction. Because of this, most of the Hero’s Journey is very inwardly-focused, dealing with Samus, and occasionally her Chozo ancestors or Space Pirate enemies. Samus as the strong, independent, unaided female character is reminiscent of Lara Croft (although Samus has been around for longer, it should be noted). This is a common use of the Anima archetype in videogames.

Uplink: Hacker Elite

Uplink

Hacker Sim

Introversion Software, 2001

The player assumes in the role of a hacker, working for an international hacking organisation known as the Uplink Corporation. The game’s storyline revolves around the battle between two companies: ARC and Arunmor. ARC is controlled by fanatical individuals, preaching the destruction of the internet. Arunmor are attempting to create a counter-virus (‘Faith’) to ARC’s destructive ‘Revelation’ virus. The player can assist either faction with their work, or ignore the plot altogether and simply carry out irrelevant (to the plot) missions.

Notable Archetypes

The Hero - The Player (potentially)

The player starts the game with no clear objective. As a hacker connected to the Uplink corporation (with the login name and password created at the beginning of the game), the player decides what role to play: a destructive and vandalistic hacker, wantonly destroying lives for dirty money; a straight-shooting activist trying to save the internet, or anything in between.

The Father / Herald - MattBlack

At a certain date and time, the player is destined to receive mail from the number one ranking Uplink agent, ‘MattBlack’. Shown in the Uplink news channel a few weeks prior, was the dubious suicide of MattBlack, and his ties to ARC. The email was automated and set to be sent upon his death. He tried to steal the Revelation code, and was dealt with by the company. His honourable death, trying to steal code from ARC, made him somewhat of a martyr, a shining example. His herald is the implicit call: ARC are bad.

The Shadow - ARC / Arunmor

Uplink creates a rare situation of the shadow not being that of the player, but instead, two external entities which are the shadows of each other. ARC’s, fanatical and pseudo-religiously fueled aggression is matched by Arunmor’s underhand, devious, and level-headed attempt at defending the existence of the internet.

The Dragon Forces - ARC

ARC is the force for destruction and decline of the gameworld. Its projection of power is the almost-impenetrable ARC Mainframe/LAN. This system is unbreakable throughout most of the game, due to its fileserver being physically disconnected from the internet. Towards the end of the game, a mole in ARC provides the player with the means to enter and defeat this fortress.

The Departure

The Call to Adventure - 7 (Implicit)

Roughly half-way through the game, the player receives an email from the recently-deceased number one Uplink agent, MattBlack. According to the news channel, the mysterious ARC (Andromeda Research Corporation) was implicated in his apparent suicide. A week (game time) later, the email is received by the player (typical “If you read this, I am dead” style communication), confirming the rumours surrounding of his suicide. The message does not contain a specific objective, but (with subsequent messages from ARC and Andromeda) set the scene for a showdown.

Refusal of the Call - 3

Not a specific stage of the game, but the player can choose to ignore the storyline (or even actively vandalise it by attacking the system of ARC and Arunmor, muddying the waters of the game world’s structure).

Supernatural Aid - 4 (Out of sequence)

Players have access to the ‘Uplink Internal Services’, which combines mission list, news channel, information of different sorts, and more importantly - software / hardware upgrades. The player must visit this server before completing any missions, as their starting gateway setup does not include vital hacking software such as a password breaker. This internal services system, although unconventional in its lack of characters, provides the player with the tools needed to crack their first server and begin their journey. A literal protective amulet available from the server is the ‘trace tracker’, which informs players of the progress of their hunters.

The Crossing of the First Threshold - 6 (Out of sequence)

Connecting to their ‘Gateway’ (remotely accessed computer), leaving the real world and diving into the online world of hacking, deception, and intrigue, represents the player’s crossing. Their crossing from the natural to the supernatural. From the safe to the dangerous.

The Belly of the Whale - 7

The player must complete a test before taking on any real missions, breaking into a server owned by Uplink and retrieving some data. This is the first time that the player is involved in hacking, and must find his way through the server’s defences and file structure.

Initiation

The Road of Trials - 8

After the storyline begins proper, the player is offered five ‘special’ missions by the faction he chooses to represent (with occasional counter-offers from the other) which form The Road of Trials.

The Meeting with the Goddess / Woman as the Temptress - 7

ARC and Arunmor depending on the player’s standpoint. If the player follows the ‘typical’ plot developments, then he will assist Arunmor in their efforts to save the internet, resisting the offers of cash from ARC. If the player chooses to help ARC, then their communications and assistance (money, software) and guidance are the ‘Goddess’ elements, and Arunmor’s offers of defection are the temptations. The names of the viruses developed (ARC’s ‘Revelation’ versus Arunmor’s ‘Faith’ counter-virus) reflect the biblical nature of the story, and reinforce the Goddess / Temptation elements.

Atonement with the Father - 9

Defeating ARC and avenging the fallen MattBlack is the strongest atonement for the player, with the corporation’s CEO and executives taken away in cuffs and their plot foiled. If the player chooses to destroy the internet for the fanatics, then the atonement is bittersweet, with the game ending suddenly, the internet crashing and burning in front of the player’s eyes. This atonement is short-lived, almost a punishment for choosing the ‘evil’ path.

Apotheosis - N/A

The Ultimate Boon - 7

Once the battle between ARC and Arunmor unfolds, the player is given access to an early version of the Faith virus, later incarnations of which will defeat the Revelation virus and save the internet (the ’world’).

Return

Refusal of the Return - 7 (Out of sequence)

The Return refers to the player’s return to his normal life. His life outside of the game. The refusal is directly linked to the Freedom to Live; with the malevolent ARC corporation defeated, the player can still receive missions from Uplink, and postpone leaving the game world for as long as possible.

The magic Flight - 5

After its release, the player must defeat the Revelation virus by rushing around servers from all over the world, disinfecting them one by one before the virus multiplies beyond control.

Rescue from Without - N/A

The Crossing of the Return Threshold - 3

Revelation and ARC defeated, the internet returns to its normal state and the player can continue to complete missions (if he so wishes).

Master of the Two Worlds - 8

Following on from the player’s victory over ARC, he can log in and out of his gateway at will, playing the game however he wishes.

Freedom to Live - 8

With the virus defeated, the player’s gateway (as well as the internet) is safe to continue hacking (and being hacked).

Conclusion

The beginning of the game’s storyline coming roughly halfway through the game has a significant effect on the Hero’s Journey. Since the player is hacking and playing the game from the very start, elements such as the Supernatural Aid and the Crossing of the First Threshold occur before the Hero’s Journey begins. Once the story kicks in, the rest of the elements slot in place more or less in order. Another factor affecting Uplink’s Hero’s Journey is the almost total lack of characters. Other than MattBlack, the player has contact solely with mysterious or simply anonymous figures. Personality of institutions is anchored not only to their actions (ARC’s aggression, Uplink’s caution, Arunmor’s defiance), but by their names. To improve the autonomy of the Revelation virus is achieved through ARC stealing and implementing code from ‘Darwinia Research’. The purpose of the code is obvious even without explanation - to allow the virus to evolve and spread across the internet. The biblical naming of the conflicting viruses (Revelation and Faith) underpins the religious overtones. Stories with religious under/over-tones lead more to epic scale.

Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2

First Person Shooter

Valve Software, 2004

After being placed in stasis (somewhat involuntarily) at the end of Half-Life, Gordon Freeman is awakened by the mysterious G-Man, on a train bound for ‘City 17’ and told that his ‘services’ are required once more.

Almost two decades after the events of the first game transpired, the human race is on the brink of survival, with the sole remaining peoples living in prison-like cities under the watchful, alien eye of the mysterious ‘Combine’. Gordon, the hero of the Half-Life universe, must battle against the powerful Combine forces to free the human race.

The reason that the human race is under the boot of this alien empire is that Breen, the former administrator of the Black Mesa science facility, negotiated a peace agreement with the Combine at the end of the 7 Hour War between human and alien forces. The reward was that he was installed as leader of earth, as a Combine puppet.

Notable Literary Parallels

Jack the Giant Killer

The last chapter of Half-Life 2 consists of Gordon climbing the colossal Combine citadel in order to face the Combine’s personification: Dr. Breen. Breen in this case represents the Combine, who in turn represent a seemingly unconquerable enemy. The similarity to Jack climbing the beanstalk into the clouds and killing a giant is strong. When in the citadel, the illusion of great height is emphasised by allowing the player to look out of the many windows, seeing City 17 from a great vertical distance.

David vs. Goliath

From the start of the game, Gordon is in the shadow (often quite literally) of the giant Combine citadel at the heart of City 17. This giant symbol of alien power is in stark contrast to the spontaneous and rather unorganised citizen rebels below, using improvised tactics and stolen or otherwise commandeered weapons. Gordon and Breen parallel this conflict on a personal rather than global scale. This conflict between Combine and Human; Breen and Gordon, is the embodiment of the conflict between submission and defiance, military might and strength of will; Gordon characterises the human yearning of freedom, facing Breen’s surrender to power (and the surrender of human freedom by proxy). Aristotle said that the object imitated in drama is ‘men in action’, with action meaning the ‘movement of spirit’, directed by thought (Tomaszewski and Binsted, 2006). The events in Half-Life 2 are the physical manifestations of the battle between freedom and bondage.

Notable Archetypes

The Hero - Gordon Freeman

Gordon appears as the projection of the citizens’ will to be free of their Combine occupation. Although at first having no grounding in City 17, as Gordon fights the Combine dragon forces he attains almost messianic appreciation and vehement support from the inhabitants of City 17, at numerous points in the game being referred to as the ‘One Free Man’.

The Father - G-Man

Unlike most father figures, Gordon’s is sly, cold and manipulative. He never explicitly tells Gordon what to do, he just places him in situations in which the G-Man knows how Gordon will react.

The Shadow - Breen

“The thing which a person has no wish to be” - Jung, 1945. This clear-cut definition of the Jungian Shadow fits Breen like a glove. Everything that Breen is, Gordon wouldn’t want to be: conniving, manipulative, power-hungry, amoral. “The ego stands to the Shadow like light stands to shade” - Jung, 1945. In other words, Gordon and Breen (analogously) can not exist without each other. Breen is the darkness that Gordon’s flashlight searches for.

Breen sporadically interrupts the player via ‘Breencasts’, using huge television monitors situated around City 17. This is the subconscious Shadow trying to engulf the self (Hero) and subvert it (him) to its own agenda.

The Herald and Trickster - G-Man

The first character seen in the game is the G-Man, who has pulled Gordon out of stasis, and placed him on a train bound for City 17. He informs Gordon that the Earth lost a war (the ‘7 Hour War’) and what remains of the human race has been enslaved by the alien Combine forces. He informs Gordon that his ‘services’ are required again. Although not explicitly ordered to assist the human race in overthrowing their oppressors, Gordon’s duty to do so is apparent to the player. He displays elements of the Trickster archetype, inserting and removing Gordon from dangerous situations on a whim.

The Wise Old Man - Dr. Kleiner

Dr. Kleiner’s old age is apparent visually, whereas the ‘wise’ aspect of his character is shown through his genius creations, including the teleportation device in his lab. Jung describes the ‘Wise Old Man’ as a ‘mana personality’. Mana is an ancient Melanesian term, whose closest modern translation is ‘charisma’ (Dr. Terry Brown, 1949). A ‘mana personality’ is someone who has achieved a higher state of consciousness, and in whose presence, one can make the same transition (Jung, 1991). In the case of Half-Life 2, Gordon’s wearing of the HEV suit facilitates this transition.

The Dragon Forces - Combine

Typically, the malevolent Chinese dragon forces are buried beneath the (often metaphorical) surface, with a symbolic projection. In this case, the Combine’s projection into the world of HL2 is the Citadel, a huge tower in the centre of ‘City 17’, the game’s setting, while their real power lies ‘buried’ on another planet or in another dimension.

The Trickster - Lamarr

Named after the 1930s actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, Dr. Kleiner’s pet headcrab scurries around the lab, antagonising Barney and generally acting like a nuisance. Ultimately, Lamarr damages sensitive equipment causing the teleportation of Gordon to fail, and forcing him to proceed on foot to Black Mesa East. Lamarr is a harmless ‘de-beaked’ (effectively neutered) headcrab, appearing as the classical Jungian Trickster: half animal, indicating a feral, dangerous nature (Xen origins), but with a light, harmless side (shown through her playfulness and lack of a ‘beak’).

The Departure

The Call to Adventure - 5

After Gordon gets off the train, he is stopped at a Combine security checkpoint in the train station. It seems that the Combine have the upper hand as Gordon is ushered into a blood splattered interrogation room by a Civil Protection (CP) officer. However, the CP officer takes off his mask and is revealed to be Barney Calhoun, a security guard from Black Mesa and friend of Gordon. He explains the situation in City 17 and that he has infiltrated the CP before sending Gordon to Dr. Kleiner’s lab via a back window. Due to Barney’s surprising entrance (from under a Combine mask) and providing much needed assistance, he has undertones of the Supernatural Aid role.

Refusal of the Call - 2 (Out of sequence)

Although Gordon himself doesn’t refuse the call, the player himself may feel reluctant to continue after Dr. Kleiner’s teleportation device malfunctions. This reluctance would be from the magnitude of Gordon’s travel to Black Mesa East being increased exponentially, along with its danger.

Supernatural Aid - 10

Dr. Kleiner appears as the classic ‘spider-woman’, in a subterranean chamber (secret underground science lab), providing the player with a protective amulet (the HEV armoured suit) and providing direction for the hero (via his teleportation device). This teleportation device emphasises Dr. Kleiner’s intelligence, which reinforces the ‘wise old man’ Jungian archetype.

Dr. Kleiner takes the role of the ‘Spider-Woman’ Supernatural Aid, residing in a subterranean chamber (underground science lab). The Navaho American Indians tell of twin Navaho war gods, who happen across a Spider-Woman in a subterranean chamber as they are traveling to their father’s house. On hearing that they are searching for their father’s house, the spider-woman warns them of the dangers (Road of Trials), and provides them with a charm: “naye'atsos” or ‘feather of the alien gods’ before sending them on their way (Matthews, 2002). Correspondingly, Dr. Kleiner bestows Gordon with a HEV suit before teleporting (or attempting to teleport) him on his way.

The Crossing of the First Threshold - 9

After Kleiner’s teleporter mishap, Gordon travels on foot through City 17’s old canal system to reach Eli and Alyx Vance’s Lab at Black Mesa East. He uses an air-boat to navigate large bodies of shallow water, before killing a Combine hunter-chopper (Threshold Guardian) to arrive at the lab. This Combine helicopter gunship poses a serious threat to Gordon, who has to use the improvised boat-mounted machine gun to defeat it.

The Belly of the Whale - 8

Due to a surprise Combine assault on Black Mesa East, Gordon must travel through the adjacent old mining town called Ravenholme. Alyx previously spoke of this place with Gordon, saying that “we don’t go to Ravenholme anymore…”. This part of the game makes the gameplay slower, darker and altogether scarier; more akin to that of survival horror than FPS. The only human inhabitant of this town is the local pastor, Father Grigori. He informs Gordon that everyone else has fallen victim to the heavy Combine headcrab shelling, and roam the town as zombies. The pervading darkness (both physical and symbolic) engulfs Gordon and the player. Gordon is ‘born again’ at the end of this chapter, climbing out of Ravenholme into the light above.

Initiation

The Road of Trials - 9 (Out of sequence)

Rather than the Road of Trials being a single element of a structure, almost the entire game could be considered a Road of Trials, with the other Hero’s Journey elements existing within this road. However, some levels of the game conform to the Campbellian Road of Trials: Route Kanal, Water Hazard, and Sandtraps, for example, all lend themselves to the Road of Trials episode. Of particular note is the level ‘Highway 17’, which simply consists of a coastal road, along which Gordon comes across many difficulties (Combine road blocks, antlion attacks etc). Quite simply, a collection of trials set on a road.

The Meeting with the Goddess - 7

Gordon meets up with some figures from his past (as well as new characters) in ‘Black Mesa East’, a makeshift facility created by Black Mesa personnel (Dr. Eli Vance and Dr. Kleiner), and manned by members of the human resistance. These characters propel the narrative forwards by filling in details for Gordon, highlighting events in the past years which lead to the Combine’s occupation of Earth. A literal ‘goddess’ character is Alyx Vance, Eli’s daughter. Halfway between the scientific, civilised generation of the previous game, and the freedom-fighting, resourceful citizens of Earth in its current state; she is the embodiment of the first generation of post-Combine Earth, the future of mankind.

Woman as the Temptress - N/A

Atonement with the Father - 8

Although Gordon destroys the dark matter reactor for altruistic reasons (to release the Combine’s grip on humanity), it clearly fits with the G-Man’s plans. The G-Man releases Gordon into City 17 and presumably tracks his progress (he knows as soon as Gordon has destroyed the reactor, and he can be seen in the background at various points in the game), so he could stop Gordon’s progress at any time. Since he doesn’t, it shows that it was the G-Man’s intentions all along for Gordon to take down the Combine.

Apotheosis - 1 (Out of sequence)

It is hard to identify Apotheosis in Gordon, since he never speaks or is seen by the player. Apotheosis in the player could be due to them learning their (and Gordon’s) place in the Half-Life universe after being placed back in stasis. If so, then this section is weak, and out of sequence.

The Ultimate Boon - 3

The lack of a clear Call to Adventure is the reason why there is no clear boon. At a push, the emasculation of the citadel could be said to be the boon; representing a human victory against the Combine, and against the odds. Against the odds is the important aspect of this ‘Boon’, fitting the hero status of Gordon. As in many games, the hero is not a ‘born king’, so his trials and tribulations are harsh and sacrifice is rife.

Return

Refusal of the Return - 1 (Out of sequence)

Half-Life 2’s extremely weak Return Refusal comes from the players’ response to the G-Man after the dark matter reactor begins to explode. The purpose of the G-Man’s interjection is two-fold. While providing relief (Gordon now has a chance of survival), the player instinctively distrusts the G-Man, and is wary of his removing Gordon from danger: even though the alternative to Gordon’s incarceration is death, the player still doesn’t want the G-Man to take Gordon’s freedom again.

The magic Flight - N/A

Rescue from Without - 10

Milliseconds before Gordon and Alyx’s certain demise, the G-Man shifts into their plane of existence (from another time or dimension) and slows time to a crawl. He casually walks around the two characters, unconcerned about the huge fireball just metres from them all. According to the G-Man, Gordon was removed from the explosion and placed into the safety until he receives further “employment offers”.

The Crossing of the Return Threshold - 10

This stasis that Gordon is placed into is (presumably) the same as he inhabited for the years between Half-Life 1 and 2, so Gordon’s being sent back there is a very literal crossing of the Return Threshold.

Master of the Two Worlds - 6

At the end of the game, Gordon has dominated the Combine forces (both in and out of the citadel), and as he is put back in his stasis box, he is as much a master of his ‘original’ (pre-Combine) world as he was at the conclusion of Half-Life.

Freedom to Live - 7

At the end of Half-Life 2, Gordon is rewarded for his hard work by being trapped in stasis, turning the Freedom to Live stage on its head. This upturned narrative stage achieves two things:

1. It paints the G-Man as an even more untrustworthy, controlling character.

2. It creates a cyclical journey. Both Half-Life games begin on a train and end in Gordon’s imprisonment at the hands of the G-Man.

Conclusion

Half-Life 2 follows the Campbellian Hero’s Journey fairly closely, more-so than most videogames. This is likely due to its being in development for so long, and for having a rather intricate narrative. The Aristotelian notion of ‘Men in Action’ fits very closely with the character archetypes of Gordon and Breen, as well as with the human/Combine conflict. The transformation of the G-Man from Shadow to Father between Half-Life and Half-Life 2 is notable, indicative of their ‘Mystical Marriage’.

References

Tomaszewski, Z, and Binsted, K, 2006, “A Reconstructed Theory of Interactive Narrative”, Unpublished.

Matthews, 2002 ‘Navaho Legends’, University of Utah Press; Utah.

Dr. Terry Brown, 1949, ‘Religion and Customs in Melanesia, The Solomon Islands and The New Hebrides’

available at: http://anglicanhistory.org/oceania/sx_booklet2.html. Accessed 18/10/07

StoneE Producktions. 1997, `The Twin Brothers: Native American Indian Lore’ Available at: http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/lore119.html. Accessed 18/10/07

‘English Fairy Tales: Jack the Giant Killer’.

Available at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/eft/eft20.htm

Accessed 17/11/07

Fallout

Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game

RPG

Black Isle Studio, 1997

Set in 2161, after the apocalyptic nuclear ‘Great War’ of 2077, Fallout sees a survivor of the war emerge from one of the Vaults (giant underground shelters) in search of a ‘water chip’ to save the rest of the vault inhabitants, on the behest of the Vault Overseer. Without the Water Chip, the vault’s water supply will soon disappear. What sets Fallout apart from the majority of RPGs (and videogames in general) is the ending; on return to the vault from whence the hero (Vault Dweller) began his journey, he is cast out, rejected, by the Overseer.

Another unusual feature employed by Fallout’s narrative is the use of two major story arcs. Upon acquiring the Water Chip, the Vault Dweller learns of a ‘Super Mutant Army’, created using pre-war technology (a ‘Forced Evolutionary Virus’), and must eliminate the threat from these Super Mutants. The player can destroy the Super Mutant army first, but this is not the typical path through the story. The Super Mutant army was created by ‘The Master’, who is also in control of a cult, known as the ‘Children of the Cathedral’.

Although the story of Fallout may appear to be open-ended, it is in fact rather linear. The player can visit the game’s locations in practically any order he chooses, but the storyline is progressed only through the visitation of towns in the order desired by the game designers (through use of a complex finite state machine).

Notable Literary Parallels

Mad Max

The setting of Fallout is similar in many ways to the setting of the 1979 post apocalyptic film Mad Max, and a leather jacket with the name ‘Max’ written on the label is a clear reference.

Notable Character Archetypes

The Hero / Outcast - Vault Dweller

There is no apparent difference between the Vault Dweller and any of the other Vault 13 inhabitants. Indeed, everyone in the vault drew straws to determine who would leave (“I always thought of Fallout's story of drawing straws was something the Overseer thought of. ‘Look, someone has to go outside, and they may die out there, so let's draw straws’. Someone, probably not the Overseer since he wouldn't have gone outside no matter what, demanded that EVERYONE draw a straw in order to be truly fair. But to be honest, the vault dwellers were simply terrified of going outside, and terrified people do not always make the wisest decisions.” - Tim Cain (Lead Programmer) speaking on the DAC forum. The Vault Dweller was chosen by chance, which is why his ordeals in the wastes are arduous; only born kings have an easy task of finding the Ultimate Boon (see The Ultimate Boon). At the end of the game, the Vault Dweller metamorphoses into the Outcast archetype, being banished to the wastes by the Overseer.

The Shadow / Devil Figure - The Master

The Master built up an army of Super-Mutants using the pre-war FEV virus to mutate human subjects. He craves power over all others. At one point in the game he offers the Vault Dweller the chance to join him, ending the game with a cut-scene showing Super Mutants overrunning Vault 13. The Vault Dweller refusing this offer is a way of integrating the Shadow into the Self.

The Father / Herald - Vault 13 Overseer

The most apparent fatherly aspect of the Overseer is that he has the power to both reward and punish the Vault Dweller. This is expanded on later in the study (see Atonement With the Father). He delivers the portent of the vault’s fate; informing the Vault Dweller about the broken water chip.

The Ego / Id - Killian Darkwater / Gizmo

Not far into the game, the Vault Dweller reaches Junktown, surrounded by a protective wall of scrapped cars, piled up high, with one well guarded entrance. The high security and efficient running of the town is due to the vigilance and competence of its mayor, Killian Darkwater. Another notable member of Junktown is Gizmo, the local gangster and general villain. The Vault Dweller becomes embroiled in a power struggle between these two characters (and psyche aspects), and the player chooses which to help, resulting in one of the character’s downfalls.

The Sidekick – Dogmeat / Ian

In Junktown, the Vault Dweller can meet a dog, named Dogmeat. By either befriending the dog (feeding it), or wearing a leather jacket which reminded the dog of its previous owner (a reference to the film Mad Max), Dogmeat would join the player’s party. He follows the typical Sidekick archetype, much like Star Wars’ Chewbacca, or Robin Hood’s Little John - Powerful, trustworthy, but uncivilised. Ian is met before Dogmeat, in Shady Sands. He is infamous for shooting the Vault Dweller and other NPCs in firefights accidentally.

The Departure

The Call to Adventure- 10

The Overseer sends the Vault Dweller on a quest to retrieve the Water Chip. This is rather typical in videogame narrative: the player is asked, ordered, or otherwise inclined to embark on a journey to retrieve artefact X for reason Y. Clear cut Call to Adventure.

Refusal of the Call - 1

Although the Vault Dweller never refuses the call, the player himself is likely to feel reluctance to continue; the Overseer advises the Vault Dweller that he can acquire a water chip from the neighbouring Vault 15, but on arrival, he finds it destroyed, with no water chips. The player now has the impression that he must scour the entire world map in search of one of these tiny computer chips.

Supernatural Aid - N/A

The Crossing of the First Threshold - 8 (Out of sequence)

Occurs immediately after the call to adventure, as the player exits Vault 13 and enters the post-apocalyptic world. No guardian present, but the shift between safety and danger is apparent almost immediately.

The Belly of the Whale - 7

The first town that the player (probably) encounters is Shady Sands, in which the town leader Aradesh implores the Vault Dweller to rescue his daughter Tandi, who is being held in a bandit camp near Shady Sands. The Vault Dweller, upon entering the bandit camp and attacking the bandits therein, plunges into the dog-eat-dog Fallout universe.

Initiation

The Road of Trials - 6

Like many videogame narratives, the Road of Trials in Fallout spans almost the entire game. Difficulty spikes, side quests, and environmental dangers (such as attacks from bandits and animals) persistently harass the Vault Dweller.

The Meeting with the Goddess - N/A

Woman as the Temptress - N/A

Atonement with the Father - 10

Returning the water chip to the Overseer and saving the population of Vault 13 from death is the Vault Dweller’s atonement. He gains respect and adoration from the Father figure. However, upon completion of the Super Mutant army story arc, the Overseer casts out the Vault Dweller, symbolising the oft dual nature of the Father. Gods such as Zeus, or the Hebrew god-pair Yahweh (a storm-god) and El (a solar) can use the same power for creation or destruction - “the grace that pours into the universe through the sun door is the same as the energy of the bolt that annihilates” - Campbell, 1949. The Vault Dweller is rewarded for one epic deed, yet castrated for another. The real reason for the Overseer’s decision to reject the Vault Dweller is that he believed the other vault inhabitants would want to follow in his heroic footsteps and leave the vault, and all along he had been under instructions to keep them sealed in the vault for two hundred years as part of an elaborate plan. Vault 13’s population, however, learn of this conspiracy and execute the Overseer and follow the Vault Dweller into the wastes (this is not known until the release of Fallout 2).

Apotheosis - 7

After returning the water chip and atoning with the Overseer, the player himself has a feeling of wholeness and divinity: he has clashed with the many terrors and dangers of the world and triumphed. The Vault Dweller’s Apotheosis can be seen as a physical manifestation after the second story arc. In Fallout canon, the Vault Dweller and his followers leave Vault 13 and create a new village called Arroyo. This symbolises the Vault Dweller’s spiritual detachment from the Overseer.

The Ultimate Boon - 10 (Out of sequence)

The water chip represents Fallout’s ultimate boon: the Vault Dweller’s retrieving it saving the vault inhabitants from impending doom. The difficulty in obtaining the boon is for two reasons. One is a practical issue: an easily obtainable water chip would make for an unchallenging and boring game. On a deeper level, the difficulty in reaching the boon is due to the Hero being an ordinary man, not a born king. In the west of Ireland, there is a story of the Prince of Lonesome Island. He was sent to retrieve three bottles of water from Tubber Tintye, the flaming fairy well. He met a Supernatural Aid (an aunt) who provided him with a horse, which he rode to the castle of Tubber Tintye. He came to the room of the Queen of Tubber, and took thee bottles of water from the well in her chamber before sleeping for six days, eating, and returning on the same horse. This is typical of a born king finding his boon. The Vault Dweller is no born king, and had to strive for his boon; scouring the radiated wastelands.

Return

Refusal of the Return - N/A

The Magic Flight - 1

The Vault Dweller must navigate back across the wastes with the water chip upon retrieving it. Once both the Super Mutants and The Master have been defeated, the player is automatically returned to Vault 13 for a cut-scene (more of a time-saving rather than narrative device).

Rescue from Without - N/A

The Crossing of the Return Threshold - 8

The Vault Dweller returning to Vault 13 with the water chip. Also, the Vault Dweller returning to Vault 13 in a cut-scene at the end of the game.

Master of the Two Worlds - 8

After returning the water chip to the Overseer, the Vault-Dweller is looked upon as a hero by the other vault inhabitants. The player can return to, and leave, vault 13 at will. However, at the end of the ‘Super Mutant Army’ story arc, the Vault Dweller is shunned by the Vault Overseer, being told that he has “changed too much” and that he would be a bad example to the others.

Freedom to Live - 8

In a play on the Freedom to Live stage, the Vault Dweller, shunned by the Overseer, is condemned to roam the apocalyptic wastes. This is where Fallout’s narrative deviates from the more traditional videogame ending, which almost always centre on the main (player) character’s hero status. This narrative device, though a divergence from the traditional videogame structure, is in no way a deviation from the Campbellian Hero’s Journey. Indeed, Campbell illustrates two possible endings to a myth.

Conclusion

Fallout would follow the Campbellian Hero’s Journey very closely if the second story arc of the Super Mutant army was not present. Although creating the intriguing and unusual dichotomised Father figure, it dislodges other Campbellian elements (such as two crossings of the Return Threshold). The reversal of the Freedom to Live stage is a bold move on the part of Black Isle. The game’s ending fits in perfectly with Campbellian design, but strays far from videogame convention.