Despite nurturing a myriad of iconic
symbols, Egyptian mythology has enjoyed little celebration in the gaming world.
Mario stomped on a Sphinx's head or two in the Game Boy's bizarre rendition of
the Mario universe, and Lara Croft
has excavated Egyptian ruins a few times over. Capcom's overhead shooter Legendary Wings allowed players to
transform into a flaming Phoenix,
and mummies are an old stand-in in horror-themed game camp. Still, the impact
of Egyptian lore on video games seems miniscule whenc ompared to the widespread
influences of its Norse and Greek counterparts. But is it?
The dismemberment of Osiris, though not an
event from Assassin's Creed's compelling plot line, is nonetheless essential to
it. This is due to the influence of an Egyptian myth on the video game medium.
This myth has become a gaming archetype, and its implementation can be traced
across all genres and generations of interactive entertainment.
The importance of acknowledging this
archetype is that it often benefits the design and storytelling of the games it
is implemented in. These benefits include a more directed player experience, a
better cohesion of gameplay and narrative, and a heightened possibility of establishing
a game's own mythology, i.e., a world the player identifies with and cares
about.
The
Benefits of Myth Writing
Video games and collecting things go hand
in hand, and the Isis and Osiris archetype is an archetype about collecting. In
the myth, Osiris, the supreme, benevolent Egyptian god and also the king of Egypt,
is murdered by his brother Set -- who also just happens to the Egyptian god of
supreme evil -- and Set usurps the throne.
Dismayed by Osiris's necrophilic ability to
produce an heir after his death, Set cuts Osiris's corpse into many pieces and scatters
them across Egypt.
Isis, Osiris's loving wife (and also a fertility goddess) then begins her quest
to retrieve these pieces. Upon her quest's completion, Osiris is resurrected,
as he is also a god of resurrection and the afterlife. Osiris returns to aid in
vanquishing Set and evil from the kingdom. Echoes of this myth can be heard not
just in today's religions, but also in video games, where it could be argued
that their influence resounds even more strongly.
The idea of gathering scattered pieces in
order to rectify or avert some malevolence has permeated video game lore. A rudimentary
example can be found in the "Rivet" board of Nintendo's arcade
classic Donkey Kong. Here, we find Jumpman (or Mario, if you like) playing the
archetypal role of Isis
as he traverses the board, collecting the eight rivets which connect the
girders.

Donkey Kong's
"Rivet" board demonstrates a precocious knowledge of the Isis and
Osiris archetype.
These rivets are the metaphorical pieces of
Osiris's body, and upon their removal, the girders collapse, toppling Donkey
Kong, who has taken on the role of Set in the scenario, and restoring
tranquility to the construction site. This is comparable to Set's downfall, and
the return of the rightful heir to Egypt
after the pieces of Osiris's body had been reunited.
The benefits of the incorporated archetype
are manifold. One, a more directed player experience is offered. On previous
boards, players can choose less risky routes, but the necessity of collecting
rivets directs the player through difficult paths while still allowing for
freedom in how the player chooses to navigate the board. In this instance, the
archetype assists in fundamental game design, enabling a balance to be struck
between what a game requires of a player and how a player chooses to accomplish
the requirement.
Two, there is a strong sense of cohesion
between narrative and gameplay in Donkey
Kong. The story is a direct consequence ofthe player's actions. Simply, the
player collects the pieces, and Jumpman removes the rivets to defeat Donkey
Kong. In broader words, as the player fulfills elements of the archetype, the archetype
naturally imparts the narrative of the myth. An archetype can function as the
intersection point of story and gameplay, a common ground which both sides are
built upon. This concept can be expressed simply in a hypothetical syllogism:
Gameplay = Archetype.
Narrative = Archetype.
Therefore, Gameplay = Narrative.
The benefit of having unified gameplay and
narrative is that the player becomes an active participant in the game's world
rather than a passive observer of it, which leads to a more satisfactory experience.
Three, there is a heightened possibility of
establishing a game's own mythology and creating a world that the player cares about.
Archetypes have an underlying connection to the architecture of consciousness, and
tend to strike a chord with people on a fundamental level. They convey unspoken
and sometimes ineffable ideas. Requiring a player to complete an archetype can
help the game connect with the player at the same fundamental level.
This connection gives players satisfaction beyond
that of narrative simply overlaying gameplay. Donkey Kong's success ultimately lies not only in its fun gameplay
nor in its pioneering narrative, but in how it melds these components into a game
that is more than the sum of its parts.