Story creation ideas and sharing of prototypes

The prototype story

The basis of all mythology is the “hero's journey” archetype proposed by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In fact, the theory of the “hero's journey” does not explain much at the micro level. My visual novels are informed by Eastern mythology, so I've found that some cultural differences don't explain the “hero's journey” theory.

Here's a comparison of some of the differences：

The opposite is true of Eastern folktales. The most striking characters in the stories are gentle female figures; they seek integrity and try to avoid conflict and sacrifice; such women are often demons or fairies in their true form.

“The hero's journey” centers on the ‘hero,’ and in order to prove that the ‘hero’ self does exist, the ‘hero’ must achieve some kind of ”result “must achieve some kind of “result.”

The idea of creation in the East is similar and opposite to the “Hero's Journey”. The “Heavenly Maiden” is born in the “extraordinary world”, and inherently possesses “extraordinary features” - such as a special ability, a special treasure, a special identity, etc.; a certain “mission” makes the “Heavenly Maiden” have “extraordinary features”. The “Heavenly Maiden” comes from the “extraordinary world” and inherently possesses “extraordinary things” - such as a special ability, a special treasure, a special identity, and so on; a certain “mission” makes the “Heavenly Maiden” fall into the “ordinary world” - she may know that this “mission” is a “mission”. -She may know about this “mission” but she has not yet deeply understood the inner meaning of the “mission”. The “heavenly maiden” must fulfill the “mission” and must give up everything she has gained in the “ordinary world” after the “mission” is fulfilled. “and return to the “extraordinary world” in disgrace.

The process of the “celestial maiden's” attempts to integrate into the “ordinary world” corresponds to the emergence of the individual's consciousness and attempts to become independent from the unconscious; the “celestial maiden's” final abandonment of her “goal” corresponds to the reintegration of the consciousness into the unconscious (being swallowed up by the unconscious). The final abandonment of her “goal” and her disappearance corresponds to the reintegration of the consciousness into the unconscious (being swallowed by the unconscious).

The Divine Feminine itself generates a series of “desires”, such as wanting this to continue, wanting the children to grow up well, and wanting the family to have a richer life, etc. The “desire” begins with external change and is a feeling of resistance to change. “Desire begins with external change and is a feeling of resistance to change. When desire is balanced with acceptance, it is healthy love. When “desire” is balanced with “acceptance”, it is healthy “love” and creates an invisible but tacit “bond” between people - harmony and difference, which is the most ideal state of interpersonal relationship in the Eastern mind.

However, change in the world is absolute, and resistance to change implies change in oneself, and “obsession” is a word with a negative connotation, just as the Western worldview visualizes “evil (structural flaws)” in terms of “demons”, and “obsession (overall imbalance)” in terms of “demons and monsters”. Just as the Western worldview visualizes “evil (structural flaws)” with “demons”, the Eastern worldview tends to visualize “obsession (overall imbalance)” with “demons and monsters”.

Eastern myths usually involve a young boy having a chance encounter with a celestial maiden and then they go on an adventure. As the “celestial maiden” departs, the “boy” is realizing the “way of heaven”. He realizes that the “nothingness” at the end of the “heavenly way” is not “nothingness,” but that this “nothingness” actually contains the “nothingness” that is the same as the “nothingness. This “nothing” actually contains an infinite existence opposite to “nothingness”, and it would be more appropriate to call it a dynamic “emptiness”, in which the world is not really solid and unchanging, and the same development is never repeated. Nor are the same developments ever repeated. The “boy” is no longer obsessed with “meanings” that are based on eternity (once and for all), which makes him re-examine “feelings” and learn to accept their fickleness, as well as to accept that “feelings” are not always the same as “feelings”, and that “feelings” are not always the same as “feelings”. “He learns to accept the fragility of his feelings, and through these unique feelings, he finds the experience of being lucky to be alive in this moment, and the meaning of existence that belongs to him alone “The meaning of existence is found only in oneself.

The “Hero's Journey” reflects a Western worldview. Stories based on the “Hero's Journey” emphasize the creation of intense emotional experiences, through which consciousness is guided to reach “meaning” and shape “a more perfect self”, which can drive human beings to actively transform the real world. “Through this experience, the consciousness is guided to arrive at “meaning”, which is used to shape a “more perfect self”, a “more perfect self” that can drive human beings to actively transform the real world.

The Eastern worldview sees the individual as part of the world, and also believes that the world itself possesses consciousness (“heavenly way”), which means that what the West sees as “self” does not exist, and the individual's experience of “self” is only an “illusion”; therefore, Easterners advocate “no-self” and emphasize “letting nature take its course”; Easterners do not see life as a “self”, but rather as an “illusion”. This means that what is regarded as “self” in the West does not exist, and the experience of one's “self” is only an “illusion”; therefore, Orientalists advocate “no-self” and emphasize “letting nature take its course”. Oriental people do not regard the original state of life as “sinful (defective)”, but rather believe that it is “wrong (out of bounds)” to try to make changes. This kind of thinking may seem negative and vain, but the “nothingness” of the result creates the “nothing” of the process, which puts the “feelings” above the individual and makes the “feelings” become the “nothing of the person. Instead, “feelings” are prioritized over the individual, making “feelings” real, immortal, unique, and meaningful to all people, and through experiencing “feelings” people experience the necessity and significance of their own existence.

How to use this prototype

In this story, the beginning is the encounter between Qing E and the player. I only found the article in question after creating this visual novel. I was surprised to find out that my visual novel basically matches this story archetype.

I love the story archetype and the worldview behind it. The Eastern worldview is about “nothing”, the full understanding of “nothing” makes the Eastern people good at discovering the universality of things, and after discovering the universality, the Eastern people can explore the world of things in their imagination. After discovering universality, they can explore the limits of things in the world of imagination.

If this worldview explains my story, I hope that by the time the player reaches the ending, they realizes that “women's subjective feelings have been ignored for a long time”.SoSo ISo mySo my visionSo my visual novelThat's why my visual novel is alsoSo my visual novel is kind ofSo my visual novel is kind of mySo my visual novel is kind of my take onSo my visual novel is also a way for me to talk about women.So my visual novel is kind of my take on feminism.So my visual novel is kind of my take on feminism.So my visual novel is kind of my exploration of feminism!So my visual novel is kind of my exploration of feminism.

In the final tragic ending, Qing'e no longer possesses anything, only her intense emotions remain in nothingness. How is this intense emotion not the necessity and meaning of Qing E's own existence?

In the end, I hope the player remembers this ending after playing the game, and that the player is a “teenager” in Eastern mythology. Just as the young man realizes the “Way of Heaven” at the end of the story and understands the laws of the world, he continues to actively participate in real life with this realization. Correspondingly, I also hope that I can continue to live my life with feminist thinking.

reference：https://weibo.com/ttarticle/x/m/show/id/2309404910240767279250?_wb_client_=1