Mythic Dark Souls (pt 1) : What is the Heroes' Journey?

Dec. 10, 2013

Mythic Dark Souls (pt 1) : What is the Heroes’ Journey?

Mythic Dark Souls (pt 1) : What is the Heroes’ Journey?

In 1949, a psychologist named Joseph Campbell published a book entitledThe Hero with a Thousand Faces. In this work, he examined stories and legends from around the world, filtering away the specifics of culture, region, and circumstance to expose universal psychological truths buried beneath the surface of these disparate stories. These commonalities have been with us since ancient times, subtly present in tales as far-ranging asJourney to the West, the legend of King Arthur, and even the stories of multiple notable figures in the Bible. George Lucas cites the concept as a key factor in his design of theStar Warssaga, Katniss Everdeen follows it to a tee inThe Hunger Games, and it frequently appears in video games such asMass Effect,Final Fantasy, and theLegend of Zelda. Perhaps the most exceptional translation of the concept into gaming isJourney, which not only allows the player to observe the steps – it allows the player toexperiencethem.

Games, as an interactive experience, sometimes face a disconnect between gameplay and delivering a consistent narrative. This causes them to be less effective vehicles for certain aspects of the heroes’ journey, but more capable of portraying other aspects. The best games to make use of the concept, however, overcome these problems – and Dark Souls is an example of this. However, Dark Souls affords its players a great degree of freedom with their play – Players who return to the game or follow guides know how to tackle the Catacombs first, or skip to the end of Blighttown using the Master Key. Such sequence breaking from the preplanned, intended sequence of play will be addressed, but it will be attended to later, after we account for the narrative path presented to the first-time player. A similar approach will be taken to handling the games’ divergent paths – particularly the Kaathe or Frampt decision. If a player follows one route, they don’t become aware of the events and information they would be presented by following the other course.

This article doesn’t expect you to go and ready a 60-year-old book to understand what we’re talking about. As we move forward, we’ll discuss what each phase of the journey traditionally represents as we look into what approach Dark Souls takes to handling it. But to begin, we must fully grasp what, precisely, we’re talking about. The journey of the hero is typically segmented into three distinct arcs, each focused on a different aspect of the quest. The first arc, known to Campbell as the departure, is the section that establishes the initial setting – who is our hero, where are they from, and what is their life like? What forces compel their circumstances to force them beyond their ordinary life and into the unknown? How do they handle leaving behind what they know? Beyond these questions lies the second arc, the initiation. The hero has left behind the life they once knew, and commits to the quest, facing greater trials and tests of worth as they seek whatever prize they quest for. Upon attaining it, the adventure cycles to the third arc, the return. The greatest of boons are worth nothing if the hero doesn’t return to civilization, to society, and use what he’s acquired to enrich the community in some way. It might seem to some that some of this, particularly the concept of the return, isn’t present in Dark Souls, but you may find yourself surprised when you see how FromSoftware has managed to incorporate concepts of the heroes return, regardless of your choice of ending or your approach to gameplay. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

That said, there will be spoilers ahead; for anyone unwilling to face them – this is your warning.

Storyboard image via finegamedesigns.com