I have often taken the stance that videogames are the next
step forward in the continuing evolution of how humanity shares narratives and
ideas. As with all forms of evolution it is possible to traces the roots of
present day videogames back thousands of years into the early age of humanity.
Ω
It is the 5th century B.C.E. Several hundred
Greeks have gathered in the local amphitheater. There is a murmur of excitement
sweeping through the crowd. A special guest has arrived in town for this
performance. A man takes the stage accompanied by three actors and a chorus of
ten to fifteen people. This man causes a silence to fall upon the audience as
he opens his mouth to sing. The man is Socrates, great playwright and purveyor
of the fantastical. From his lips spin a tale of tragedy and woe: the story of
Oedipus.
The Greek tragedy is the basis for all other forms of
tragedy that evolve throughout time. Socrates, Aristotle and Euripides laid the
ground work of tragedy forever affecting the history of human narratives. A
classic Greek tragedy is defined by three main aspects; the tragic hero, fate,
and excessive punishment/torment. The excessive punishment/torment often takes
the form of death, surrounding the tragic hero following him wherever he goes. Fate
in Grecian time was often the intervention of the Gods in some way or another.
Sometimes they were helpful and other times they were not. It is the tragic
hero’s struggle with fate that makes tragedy so compelling. The audience is
left to wonder: is it fate or free will left to blame for the hero’s suffering?
Was he cursed or was this of his own doing?
By classical definitions the tragic hero has three definite
personality traits and then several others that are variable. First and most
important of the necessary traits is hamartia, the tragic flaw. This is what
ultimately makes or breaks the tragedy as a whole; the hero’s tragic flaw is
the corner stone of the narrative. In an otherwise good or decent hero the
tragic flaw is the one major personality trait that is their undoing. The
second necessary trait is peripeteia, the reversal of fortune brought about by
the hero’s tragic flaw. It is the ‘fall from grace’. Peripeteia serves to
intensify the hero’s suffering, but also to make him pitiable to the audience. In
a tragedy it is required that at some level the audience pities the hero. The
final imperative trait to making a classic Grecian tragic hero is that the hero
in question must be male. I said by classical standards, I never said it would
be accepting. The variable traits of the tragic hero come and go to fit the
story being told, but the most common are hubris, intense pride, a resolution
in which the hero accepts and understands their own downfall through the tragic
flaw, and death of the hero.
Socrates’ Oedipus the King is one of the first ever
recorded tragedies. Most of the above definitions of tragedy come from his
works. Beginning in media res, Latin for in the middle of things, Oedipus’
story is that of a man of nobility who ultimately suffers a downfall into the
depths of insanity and suffering. His hamartia, tragic flaw, is his proclivity
to doing things in excess. Oedipus is not a temperate man nor is he able to act
rationally. Every action he makes is excessive and over done. He kills three
men because of a traffic jam. He blinds himself because he can no longer stand
to see the suffering of his life. Because of this the peripeteia that Oedipus
goes through is the loss of his position as king, the death of his wife/mother
and his ultimate decline into unending torment. Fate is invoked via the Gods
twice in Oedipus’ story. Once in the form of prophecy and another in a deathly
plague descended upon the city of Thebes by Apollo. Being so early in the
history of tragedy the secondary traits common to tragic heroes are lacking in
Oedipus. There is no moment of resolution nor does the play end with Oedipus’
death. Within the evolution of the
narrative however, Oedipus stands as the leader in a great line of tragic
heroes throughout the centuries.
Ω
The year is 1602. There is a new play to be performed
tonight at the Globe Theatre. People have gathered from all over the English
countryside to see tonight’s performance. Over time the reputation of the
theatre and its playwright have grown to attract even the highest reaches of
aristocracy. There is a jovial excitement in the theatre, even the actors are
affected by it. Then the actors step on stage and the play begins. Tonight the
new play by William Shakespeare, great playwright and purveyor of the tragic,
is a story of revenge and madness; the tale of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
In the time between Socrates and Shakespeare tragedy has
evolved. Tragedy is now its own recognized sub-genre of fiction. Most commonly
found in drama, tragedy has become so wide spread and accepted as a form of
story that men like Shakespeare are identified as tragedy writers. No longer is
tragedy, or any dramatic play for that matter, a sung performance. Musicals
beyond opera did not really exist. The Greek chorus is no longer an important
part of the performance. The number of actors has increased from the three that
Socrates instilled. However, all actors in Shakespeare’s time were still
required to be male just as they were in ancient Greece.
The greatest evolution in tragedy can be found in the
character of Hamlet in comparison to that of Oedipus. Hamlet is fully aware of
his hamartia; in oppositions to Oedipus’ tendency to over react, Hamlet’s
tragic flaw is his inability to act. Fate bestows upon Hamlet the order to kill
Claudius via his father’s ghost at the beginning of the play. The rest of the
play is Hamlet attempting to delay and rationalize this cold blooded murder.
Whereas Oedipus has no qualms with murder, Hamlet hesitates leading to his own
peripeteia. Hamlet’s decent into madness can be directly attributed to the
inner conflict between accepting his fate or fighting with his free will to
defy it. It is in this way that Hamlet is a much more relatable character then
Oedipus could ever be. Socrates had Oedipus gain our pity; Shakespeare has
Hamlet gain our sympathy. Both stories are still tragic, but the evolution is apparent.
Hamlet is a more impactful story. There is another important difference between
Hamlet and Oedipus. By the end of the play Hamlet is dead intensifying the tragic
nature of the narrative.
Ω
The year is 1953. Tickets have been sold in advance for a
new play to be performed at the Martin Beck Theater on Broadway. As the patrons
file in there is some talk, but nothing all that joyous. Whispers of suspicion
and paranoia fill the air. The play is something they all want to see, but none
of them want it known that they have seen it. The playwright is has a
reputation for gaining the ire of the government. The man they are referring to
is Arthur Miller, great playwright and purveyor of opposition. The play they
have come to see is one of passion and pride; the tale of the Salem Witch
Trials as told through the eyes of John Proctor in The Crucible.
Arthur Miller’s play can be seen as the first modern tragedy
as it takes another major evolutionary step forward in the narrative. John
Procter is just an average man; a farmer who has never known nobility. This is
a step away from the previous understanding of tragic heroes presented by
Socrates and Shakespeare. Proctor’s downfall is just as much if not more so one
of mental torment because he has less to lose in terms of standing than either
Oedipus or Hamlet. Along with truly making the tragic hero a layperson, Miller
advances the tragedy to give it a greater social impact. The Crucible is
a social commentary on McCarthyism in the United States of America, a
condemnation of the invasive and oppressive governmental practices. The final
way in which Miller evolves the tragedy is by almost entirely removing the
aspect of fate. A strong puritanical Christian presence is felt through the
play, yet there is never any intervention in the form of Gods, prophecy or ghosts.
Conflict in the play is entirely inter-human.
No matter how far advanced or different Miller’s evolved
tragedy is, John Proctor, its tragic hero fits the definitions of a classic
tragic hero greater than that of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Proctor’s hamartia is
moral weakness. Believing himself an upright and just man Proctor’s tragic flaw
cripples him as he attempts to accept the fact the cheated on his wife. The
town must never know of his adultery for it would ruin his standing within
Salem. Here Proctor shows himself to posses’ hubris, intense pride. Although
not his tragic flaw it conflicts with his desires creating an internal struggle
similar to that of Hamlet. Almost all of his suffering is of his own doing as
Proctor’s pride will not accept the fact that he is morally weak. The peripeteia
comes in the form of Proctor’s jailing for witchcraft. The mental torment that
he subjects himself to is intensified as he faces his imminent doom. Although
the play does end with John Proctor’s death there is another aspect of
classical tragedy that Miller imbues into his work. That is of the resolution.
In the final moments before his death Proctor comes to terms with his own moral
culpability and pride. Finding peace within himself, Proctor’s death is not as
tragic as those that came before.
Ω
The year is 2005. All across the world people have been
waiting. Preorders were made and lines were formed. There is an impatient tone
to the murmurs. Everyone wants their copy now. In Santa-Monica California, a
development team sits patiently waiting for release day. Preliminary reviews
have already come back strong, but the public is the real judge on whether or
not the game survives. The game’s lead designer addresses the team and tells
them they have nothing to worry about. The lead designer is David Jaffe, great
game designer and purveyor of the twisted, and the he unleashed upon the world
a story of vengeance and rage; the tale of Kratos.
God of War and its main character fit all the
requirements of a tragedy. Interestingly however, the game presents and
evolution and a recession of the classical tragedy concepts. This time there
are no actors, male or female. The three main aspects of a tragedy are all
present; Kratos is the tragic hero, fate is present in the form of the many
Greek gods who help or hinder him along his quest, excessive punishment/torment
is what Kratos endures daily as the guilt for killing his own wife and child
eat him alive. Analysis of Kratos’ character shows all the familiar signs of a
tragic hero. Finding classical comparison in Oedipus, Kratos’ hamartia is his
excessive and extreme nature. Everything Kratos does he does with such
intensity and single minded dedication that blinds him from the ramifications
of his actions. Kratos never accepts the consequences of his actions because he
has moved on to the next challenge already. The death of his family by his own
hands can be seen as the beginning of Kratos’ peripeteia, a decent that would eventually
land Kratos in a torment caused by his own madness. Lastly, but important for the classical
definition Kratos is male.
The particulars of the gameplay presented in God of War
continue the dichotomy of evolution and recession. By allowing the player to
engage as Kratos within the world presented, a dark brutal take on classic Greek
mythology, the player connects to Kratos in a way never before possible. The
strength of that bond between character and player far succeeds and bond formed
with Oedipus, Hamlet or Proctor. Yet, through that bond the player can experience
Kratos as the tragic hero he is. The game is designed so that the main
interaction the player has with the world is through violence. A combo based combat
system mixed with brutally violent quick-time events insure that excess is the
only action the player can make. God of War capitalizes on Kratos’
hamartia to create its central gameplay mechanic. However, there is no portion
of the game that allows the player to experience Kratos’ peripeteia. The player
is told that Kratos suffers from nightmares, tormenting his soul. That never
makes itself apparent in the gameplay though. From beginning to end Kratos is a
hamartia driven badass. It is hard to develop pity, a necessary emotion for
tragedy, when the only interaction the player has with/through Kratos is one of
visceral enjoyment. It is this that is a
recession of tragedy concepts in that God of War almost fails in delivering
a peripeteia.
The narrative presented in the game is tragic, the gameplay
is not. There is one moment however that ultimately saves God of War, raising
it above standard tragedy and insuring it a spot on the evolutionary list. In
the final battle Kratos must defeat Ares, his former master. The fight is split
into three distinct pieces. The first is a standard fight using the same
controls and combos used throughout the entire game. It is a hamartia fight. For
the second, Ares pulls Kratos inside a twisted recreation of his nightmares in
which he must defend his family from an army of doppelgangers. To protect his
wife and child, Kratos must hug them so they regain health. The hug key to
Kratos as a tragic character, when the player hugs their family they cause
Kratos’ health to recede while theirs increases. It is a peripeteia fight. They
player is experiencing Kratos’ suffering. Finally, the third part involves
Kratos once again facing Ares. Yet, this time Kratos uses a different weapon
that controls differently. By confronting his own guilt in the deaths of his
loved ones and accepting the consequence of what his blind rage has caused Kratos
is able to find the inner strength to defeat Ares. Kratos undergoes a
resolution. It controls differently than a hamartia fight because the game
allows for the player to experience that resolution as well. It is a resolution
fight. God of War’s final battle allows the player to interact and fully
experience a tragedy.
Ω
Just as Socrates, Shakespeare, and Arthur Miller evolved tragedy
through their tragic hero and his relation to not only the work of the play,
but to the world around him David Jaffe so too does with Kratos. Oedipus laid
the groundwork that all others would follow. Hamlet was relatable, humanizing
the otherwise over dramatic character of a tragic hero. Proctor was a common
man who stood for greater purpose, modernizing the tragic hero. Kratos allows
for interaction, creating a new form of relationship with audience. Tragedy has
evolved over time. Yet, tragedy is just one form of narrative. One vessel for
the sharing of ideas and knowledge. There are countless others all undergoing similar
evolutions. Videogames are the next step in that evolutionary process.
