Scott Miller posted this one a while ago: an article by Bob Bates regarding using the classic Hero’s Journey theorums about storytelling first articulated by Joseph Campbell. I saw Bob give this speech at a game conference recently, and the article, if anything, is better than the presentation.

The responses are good as well, although most center along the lines that the Hero’s Journey is responsible for most of the formulaic crap you see nowadays. I actually disagree. The Hero’s Journey is not about exact plot elements, or exact characters to include, as much as it’s aboutresonance, i.e. how to make the central premise of your story be echoed by the key elements in the game. His example about how to transform characters based on the premise was, to me, the most original and intriguing concept in the Bates article.

But the real reason I wrote this post was that I was amused by this line, which was included in the description of how to build a villain.

[The Villain] May win by luck, which the hero never does

This amuses me, since it helps articulates one of my key hatreds of boss monster encounters in many games – encounters that seem like, even if you know exactly what you’re doing, you need Lady Luck on your side. FPS boss monsters are the ones most guilty of this crime. Few things feel less heroic than doing the same things 10 times in a row, and only winning the 10th time because the boss didn’t fire off his special attack. Your game should make the player feel skilled and resourceful, as the Hero that Bates described is. Requiring a touch of luck is okay. Mandating the alignment of the stars is bad game design.

Original comment thread is here.