- The Three-Act Structure is said to appear in almost all successful story-based media. Think about a story-based game you’ve played; how does it make use of the Three-Act Structure in regards to the Acts, the Inciting Incident, and the Plot Points? Here are their descriptions from “The Structure Applied” section of chapter 2:
- Act I: We meet our hero, eking out a livable but humdrum existence
- Inciting Incident: Hero becomes aware of the main conflict, or its implied existence
- Plot Point 1: Hero commits to resolving the main conflict
- Act II: Hero overcomes increasingly challenging obstacles in his quest to resolve the conflict
- Plot Point 2: Hero has epiphany, sees the path to success
- Act III: Hero resolves the conflict; rewards and punishments are doled out
- How are you currently using the Three-Act Structure in your project, or what can you do to help align your project with the Three-Act Structure?
- The Monomyth is composed of archetypes and story structure. Think about a story-based game you’ve played; what archetypes and story structures does the player encounter in that story? For reference:
- Archetypes
- Hero: The protagonist
- Herald: Announces the main conflict to the Hero
- Mentor: A teacher and adviser
- Threshold Guardian/Henchman: Blocks the Hero’s progress
- Trickster: Provides comic relief
- Shapeshifter: Brings doubt and suspicion
- Villain: The instigator behind the main conflict
- Story Structure
- The Ordinary World: The Hero’s original environment
- The Call to Adventure: The Herald announces the main conflict to the Hero
- Refusal of the Call: The Hero initially refuses to take on the quest
- Meeting with the Mentor: The Hero meets the Mentor and receives encouragement and sometimes gifts
- Crossing the First Threshold: The Hero commits to take on the quest and enters the Special World
- Tests, Allies, Enemies: The Hero encounters increasingly challenging tests and makes new friends and enemies
- Approach to the Inmost Cave: The Hero reaches the site where a major or main conflict will be resolved
- The Supreme Ordeal: The Hero does everything to directly resolve the conflict
- Reward: The Hero acquires what she set out to do
- The Road Back: The Hero must escape the enemy and return to the Normal World with his Reward
- Resurrection: The Hero or her quest is seemingly dead, but somehow gets one final chance to resolve the conflict
- Return with the Elixir: The Hero returns to the Ordinary World and rewards and punishments are doled out to the appropriate characters
- How are you currently using the Monomyth elements in your project, or what can you do to help incorporate elements from the Monomyth?