Archetypes at a Glance

Leo Hartas' book The Art of Game Characters may be a little dated (2005), but I believe a number of the principles can still apply to today's games. It showcases a number of popular characters and examines their appeal and the techniques involved in their creation. What stands out the most to me, however, is the format of the chapters which have been titled after a combination of character archetypes and art styles. Archetypes represent strong traits that are found in characters, which allows us to categorise them. They have become an interest of mine in how they help to reveal the base identity of characters in games, where their design might give me certain expectations for their personality. This is an area I'd like to explore in depth, because while individual characters can be categorised, how can this be applied to pairings? Can they still have that strong sense of being a unit if their individual archetypes are dramatically different? The following is how Hartas has described each chapter type with a few examples of each.

Game Cuties
Cute cartoon characters. e.g. Pac-Man, Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda's Link, Rayman, etc...

Big Biceps
Tough guys with muscles. e.g. Superman, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Duke Nukem, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, etc...

Sexy and Sassy
Attractive and alluring characters. Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, Beyond Good and Evil's Jade, Kya: Dark Lineage, World of Warcraft, Dead Or Alive, etc... 

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous To Know
Bryronic heroes. Hitman, Max Payne, Metal Gear Solid's Snake, Gabriel Knight, Darkwatch: Curse of the West's Jericho, etc...

Femme Fatale
Sirens. Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, Blood Rayne, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within's Shahdee, Final Fantasy x-2's Paine, Darkwatch: Curse of the West's Tala, etc...

The Reluctant Hero
Victims of circumstance. Beyond Good and Evil's Jade, Devil May Cry's Dante, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, Final Fantasy XII's Ashe, Ico, Driv3r's Tanner, etc...

Fascinating Flaws
Anti-heroes and villains. Grand Theft Auto. Driv3r's Tanner, Soul Calibur 2's Nightmare, Killer 7's Harman Smith, etc...

Mainly By Cunning
Tricksters. Thief's Garret, Splinter Cell, Deus Ex, Commandos, Silent Storm, Galleon, etc...

It Could Be You
The everyman. The Sims, Space Colony, Animal Crossing, Beyond Good and Evil's Jade, etc...

Baby Face
Manga. Fightin' Jam's Ingrid, Animal Crossing, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, Skies of Arcadia, Dragonball, etc...

Behind the Mask
First-person characters. Halo's Master Chief, Half Life's Gordon Freeman, Red Faction 2, Timesplitters, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Doom 3, etc...

Do You Speak Elvish?
Fantasy creatures. World of Warcraft, Everquest, Lineage 2: The Chaotic Chronicle, Chaos League, Kohan II: Kings of War, etc...

Monster Mash
Robots, dinosaurs, and aliens. Fable, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Ico, Blood Rayne, The Lord of the Creatures, etc...

Oddballs
Wacky characters. Ratchet & Clank, Psychonauts, Rayman, Voodoo Vince, Armed and Dangerous, etc...

Bosses From Hell
The big baddy. Final Fantasy X-2, Sudeki, The Legend of Kay, Kameo: Elements of Power, etc...

While reading this book, I've recognised the archetypes quite clearly, and have also thought of more modern characters that would fit in the categories. In certain cases, the sections in the book are more art style based, such as the manga and cute chapters, but overall - is there certain art style associations with archetypes too? Would an archetype suit some visuals better than others, and how much does the story and gameplay impact this?

After a quick preview of Bryan Tillman's Creative Character Design, he dedicates a chapter to archetypes and their importance. A major point Tillman tries to get across is that "The character is always in service to the story", so that it is the story that will dictate if you need a hero, not the other way around. The selection he studies are based from today's most prevalent archetypes set by the psychologist Carl Jung, as follows;

The Hero: brave, selfless, willing to help others no matter the cost.
The Shadow: strong connection to instinctual animal past, ruthless, mysterious, disagreeable, evil.
The Fool: goes through the story in a confused state, gets others into undesirable situations, tests the main character's reactions.
The Anima/Animus: (Female/Male) embodies human urges, sexual desires, love interest.
The Mentor: has profound knowledge, helps protagonist realise full potential, often associated with age and wisdom, like a parent.
The Trickster: constantly pushing for change, good or evil, moves story for their own benefit, puppet masters, influences character's decisions.

From these two books, the are some commonly agreed archetypes. Once I get a copy of Tillman's book, I'll study his interpretation more, and for now I'll look into Carl Jung's extended list that was mentioned. Once I have a better understanding of archetypes, I'll examine how this has been applied in existing games with pairs. Do the individual characters fit a certain type? Can both be the same type, or is it best if they're similar or contrasting? How does archetype effect the pair's hierarchy?

What might be interesting to do is define the terms of my own archetypes, but keeping them recognisable, as cross referencing may not be an exact fit in some cases. As this will be a design project, with the final outcome most likely being a non-interactive visual, how much should I let archetypes affect my characters? They are there as building blocks, to aid in conveying role and hint at personality, so they can't stay too basic or go too far from the base concept least my designs lack that spark of familiarity. Perhaps I should also go back to Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, as this might help define structure as well.