Film Review: The Incredibles (2004) - The Hero's Journey Archetypes
Figure 1. 'The Incredibles Movie Poster' From the world famous Disney Pixar Studios comes an all time family classic about a super family forced to conceal their super identities to keep the world normal and safe. But when an unexpected force threatens the norm, it’s up to The Incredibles (2004) to save the day. Directed by Brad Bird, The Incredibles (2004) can be identified as a Hero’s Journey film, with examples of character archetypes that are associated with the Hero’s Journey concept. We begin our journey with Bob Parr, also known as Mr Incredible. He had a career as a superhero in his glory days, but then is reduced to the mundane life of a “normal” man after the Superhero race was cast out of society and forced into hiding. Bob is one of the main protagonists of the story, therefore he is also, ironically, the Hero . We journey with him to experience his ups and downs and his steps on becoming once again, Mr Incredible. He could also, in a way, be considere...
OGR 05/03/2015
ReplyDeleteMorning Chels,
Okay, yes - so I can see how creating a retro side-scroller will most definitely appeal, but I have a question for you; is there an argument for going the whole hog and actually thinking about cycle as an actual game - with actual game play? I'm not suggesting that you design a truly interactive experience, but rather you seek to simulate one. It seems to me that if you're going to give people the semblance of game, then why not think about creative ways in which you can 'gameify' the life-cycle; this would mean deciding who or what you are playing 'as' - are you the mosquito, are you the medicine, are you the blood cell? How, in the logic of the actual scientific facts, can you meet and beat challenges? How can you power-up? The problem with creating an animation that is 'only' the appearance of a game is that it might be considered a bit boring, because of the urge to get in there and interact. Perhaps you could think of each phase of the life-cycle being it's own 'level' which gets completed as the section completes - and each level having different kinds of challenge as aligned with the cycle? Like I said, you'd be 'faking' the experience of someone playing it - rather like someone's footage uploaded to youtube? Anyway, think about the potential of choosing 'game' as a visual concept - could and should it be more than just art direction? Something to think about...