Issue 3.6: Archetypal, My Dear Watson
A Primer on Jungian Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious in Video Games
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Game & Word Volume 3, Issue 6: Sunday, Jun. 19, 2022

Publisher: Jay Rooney
Author, Graphics, Research: Jay Rooney
Logo: Jarnest Media
Founding Members:
Le_Takas, from Luzern, Switzerland (Member since April 14, 2022)
Ela F., from San Diego, CA (Member since April 24, 2022)
Alexi F., from Chicago, IL (Member since May 13, 2022)
Elvira O., from Mexico City, Mexico (Member since May 18, 2022)
Special Thanks:
YOU, for reading this issue.
Table of Contents
Summary & Housekeeping
Feature: āArchetypal, My Dear Watsonā (~20 minute read)
Food for Talk: Discussion Prompts
Further Reading
Game & Word-of-Mouth
Footnotes
Summary:
Today, weāll dip our toes into the collective unconscious by taking a look at archetypes, what they represent, and why theyāve been such a fixture of humanity since we practically gained sentience. With this, weāll be setting the ground for a deep dive into some of gamingās best depictions of the collective unconscious.
Housekeeping:
Weāve heard from one of our giveaway winners, Nattend0, who just received her signed copy of The Psychology of Zeldaāwhich, you might remember if you were around, she won in Game & Wordās first-ever book giveaway! This is one happy customer:



Once again: congratulations on winning the giveaway, Nattend0! And thank you for your ongoing readership and support of Game & Word. Everyone else: you can catch Nattend0 on Twitch, Twitter, and pretty much all the socials.
Also, sorry this issue isnāt as image-heavyāor as longāas previous issues. I just didnāt have enough time this week. š Next issue, on the other hand, will be much more⦠dynamic. I promise! š
Previous Issues:
Volume 1 (The Name of the Game): Issue 1 ā Issue 2 ā Issue 3 ā Issue 4
Volume 2 (Yo Ho Ho, Itās a Gamerās Life for Me): Issue 1 ā Issue 2 ā Issue 3 ā Bonus 1 ā Issue 4 ā Issue 5 ā Issue 6 ā Issue 7 ā Bonus 2 ā Issue 8 ā Bonus 3
Volume 3 (Game Over Matter): Intro ā Issue 1 ā Issue 2 ā Issue 3 ā Podcast 1 ā Issue 4 ā Video Podcast 1 ā Bonus 1 ā Issue 5 ā Podcast 2
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Feature: Archetypal, My Dear Watson
ā³šāļø Updates & Errata: āļøšā³
UPDATE (6/21/22): Added images, including an archetype infographic, to provide some more visual flair to the piece.
CONTINUED FROM ISSUE 3.5
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I aM eVerYwHerE aNd NoWHerE. .eReHWoN dNA eRehWyREve Ma I
The Collective Unconscious
ā¦Ok, maybe itās time we get our bearings. What, exactly, is the collective unconscious, anyway?

As far as the mind is concerned, you canāt get much deeper than this. Weāre way past the realm of dreams and imagination, and in the plane of archetypes and quantum bonds. This is the fount from which all human experience originates, and the endpoint of every human journey. To use a computer analogy, this is the kernel through which God (or the cosmos, or evolution, or whatever) interfaces with the operating system of the psyche.
The popular conception of the collective unconscious is that itās a kind of spiritual internet, through which every human mind is psychically linked to each other. Thatās not quite what Carl Jung had in mind when he coined the term (though it was close). Hereās how he described it:
The collective unconscious comprises in itself the psychic life of our ancestors right back to the earliest beginnings. It is the matrix of all conscious psychic occurrences...
And later (emphasis mine):
There exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals. This collective unconscious does not develop individually, but is inherited. It consists of pre-existent forms, the archetypes, which can only become conscious secondarily and which give definite form to certain psychic contents.
The differences between Jungās understanding and the popular understanding of the collective unconscious are subtle but significant. Jung was highly analytical and scientific, and the notion of a transcendental psychic internet strikes me as a bit too⦠woo-woo for his tastes.
That said, he was also clearly fascinated with the spiritual, mythological, and mystical aspects of life and experience. So perhaps itās not that far off, after all.
Either way, what Jung seems to mean by ācollective unconsciousā is more akin to what we popularly know as āthe lizard brainā: the most primal and purely instinctual parts of our braināthe parts that control those behaviors that operate entirely on autopilot with no input from our conscious selves. These include our breathing,1 food drive, sexual preferences, and fight/flight/fright responses.
Basically, this is where our minds access the thought and behavior patterns that allowed our distant ancestors to survive and avoid getting eaten by saber-tooth tigers long enough to pass on their genes.
But Jung didnāt stop at the purely base desires that our limbic system (the fancier science-y term for ālizard brainā) regulatesāeating, sleeping, drinking, fu.. flirting, etc.
He posited that we inherit similarly primal systems of thought, dating from all the way back when our minds were first attaining sentience and consciousness, and that these āsystemsā inform human experience on a fundamental level.
As such, while everyoneās personal unconscious is unique to them, the collective unconscious is universal to everyone. Or, to continue to computer analogy, we all boot up from the same operating system.
Now, ever since humans became self-aware, weāve been trying to make sense of this. But how do you even begin to wrap your mind around such an abstract concept?
As part of his own attempts to answer this question, Jung started studying stories, mythologies, and religions from around the world and across the ages.
And he noticed certain⦠similarities between them. The imagery, themes, and motifs between such disparate cultures as Ancient China and Medieval Europe contained similarities of too high a degreeāand which re-occurred far too frequentlyāto write off as mere coincidence.
So, he dug deeper. And thatās how he discovered archetypes.
āEh, Youāre Just Not My Archetypeā¦ā
Weāve mentioned archetypes frequently throughout this volume. But we havenāt provided a formal, written definition yet. And even though archetypes are hard to concisely define without severely oversimplifying them (to the point that we risk creating misunderstandings and misconceptions of the concept), letās give it our best shot:
ARCHETYPE (n.)
1: the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies : PROTOTYPE //
āThe House of Commons, the archetype of all the representative assemblies which now meet ā¦ā ~ Thomas Babington Macaulayalso : a perfect example // āHe is the archetype of a successful businessman.ā
3 psychology : an inherited idea or mode of thought in the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung that is derived from the experience of the race2 and is present in the unconscious of the individual.
Basically, archetypes are universal forms, concepts, or ideals which inform the way our psyches process, interpret, and respond to the world around us. And while the details may differ from person to person, or from culture to culture, the fundamental idea remains constant, transcending cultural and temporal boundaries.

Hmmm⦠maybe itās easier to point to some recognizable examples from popular culture and video games. Shall we do that?
Archetypal Portrayals
Jung had the right idea when he decided to immerse himself in mythology to understand the collective unconsciousāstudying media and stories is probably the best and easiest way to understand archetypes.
Longtime readers might remember The Heroās Journey, first identified, studied, and popularized by Joseph Campbell. We covered it way back in Volume 2. This in and of itself is archetypalāand so are the characters within it, which often draw from āThe Big 12,ā or the 12 most fundamental archetypal characters:
Hero
Lover
Trickster
Everyman
Caregiver
Ruler
Creator
Innocent
Sage
Explorer
Outlaw
Wizard
Hey, we havenāt done a wide-ranging survey like this for a while. So why donāt we put these archetypes through the oleā magnifying lens, eh?
The Hero
The Hero Archetype represents strength and competence, channeled in a way that helps others or improves the world. The Heroās main desire is to prove their worth and attain masteryāof a skill, of their circumstances, or of themselves.
Note that āHeroā in an archetypal sense isnāt necessarily āHeroā as commonly understood in fiction (ie, as the protagonist), though the two nearly always overlap. Countless protagonistsā āHeroās Journeysā involve them growing from another archetype or stock character into the Heroāfor instance, Nessā growth from the Everman into the Hero, as discussed in our recent video essay.3
General Examples:
Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)
Harry Potter (Harry Potter)
Superman (DC Comics)
Video Game Examples:
Mario (Super Mario Bros.)
Link (The Legend of Zelda)
Samus (Metroid)
It may well be quicker to list protagonists that arenāt the Hero (or become the Hero), but the overlap is so ubiquitous that Iām having trouble thinking of any. If one comes to mind, please drop a comment and let me know.
The Lover
The Lover Archetype represents intimacy and connection. This obviously includes intimacy with the person (or people) they love, but it doesnāt have to stop there. The Lover Archetype can also feel a deep connection with their surroundings (like their home, or hometown) and even the work they do (think of how much pride SpongeBob takes in flipping burgers). Being severed or separated from the subject of their affection is the Loverās biggest fear.
General Examples:
Jack Dawson (Titanic)
Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Elmira (Tiny Toon Adventures)
Video Game Examples:
Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros.)
Aeris Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII)
Alphys (Undertale)
If the Hero has a love interest, theyāll usually be this archetype. However, the fairy tale-esque romance this pairing usually conjures is increasingly falling out of favorāwhether for being old-fashioned, two-dimensional, or problematic (or all three). Regardless, expect this character to go to the ends of the Earth (or galaxy), forsake everyone/everything else they know, and even give their life for the well-being of the subject of their affinity.
Depending on how romantic or cynical you are, this will strike you as either sweet and endearing, or baffling and excessive (if not a bit creepy).
The Trickster
One of the more well-known (and most misunderstood) archetypes, the Trickster (sometimes called the Jester, or the Fool) is all about enjoying oneself and living completely in the moment.
Unpredictable, playful, and funny, the Trickster has a propensity for tricks and jokes, especially of the practical varietyāwhich tend to annoy others around them. They are also masters of disguise, manipulation, and other forms of deception. However, while the Tricksterās antics can spring from a place of selfishness or malice, this isnāt always the case. They can just as likely come from wanting to shake others out of complacency, conformity, and boredom.
When encountering the Trickster in stories, expect motifs related to deceit or obfuscation (masks, shadows, thievery), chaos, and random chance. Gambling/gaming motifs like cards, dice, chips, and game boards are especially popular, andāto further drive the point homeāthe Trickster may speak in riddles and rhymes, or even challenge the hero/villain to a game of chance.
General Examples:
Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes)
The Joker (Batman)
Loki (Norse Mythology, MCU)
Video Game Examples:
Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Kefka (Final Fantasy VI)
Crazy Redd (Animal Crossing)
About that last exampleāthe fox has been Tricksterās animal motif of choice for centuries. Think of the Western adages ācunning like a fox,ā āoutfoxed,ā or āfoxy vixen.ā From folklore, tricky foxes feature in several of Aesopās fablesāand on the other side of the globe, weāve got the multi-tailed Kutsune from Japanese folklore. Makes sense, considering how remarkably cunning IRL foxes are.
The Everyman
Exactly what it sounds like. The Everyman (or Everywoman, or Everyperson) is just like you and me. And everyone else hearing his story. The Everyman is ordinary, normal, average, or however you want to describe splitting every distribution curve right through the middle. On one hand, this makes the Everyman more relatable to the audience. On the other, the Everymanās more balanced and grounded personality can make it harder for him to stand out from his supporting characters (thatās a highly diplomatic way of saying āthis is a BORING character!ā).
Still, even the most anodyne, milquetoast slices of cornbread that barely pass as unique characters can become interesting when placed in extraordinary situations. Then, not only do they become different (and thus, interesting) by default, they become even more relatable to audiences.
General Examples:
John McClane (Die Hard)
Arthur Dent (The Hitchikerās Guide to the Galaxy)
Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)
Video Game Examples:
Link (The Legend of Zelda)
Ness (EarthBound)
Crono (Chrono Trigger)
In video games, āblank slateā protagonists tend to be Everymen, almost by definition. This is because game writers go for āblank slateā protagonists for the same reason their peers in books, movies, and other games write Everyman protagonistsāfor relatability.
āBlank slateā characters allow the player to project her personality onto the characterāand whoās more relatable to any given person than herself? And since people are not nearly as unique or individualistic as they think they are, then more often than not, you end up with an archetypally Everyman character.
The Caregiver
The Caregiver is somewhat similar to the Lover, in that theyāre both motivated by selfless desires. But whereas the Lover wants to protect and care for a specific person, place, or thing, the Caregiver is far less picky. They live to help others, no matter if theyāre family, complete strangers, or even bitter rivals. Theyāre the nurturing instinct personified.
Think of a parent, teacher, nurse, or activist in your life who was absolutely, 100% dedicated to the well-being of their chargesāsometimes even at their own well-beingās expense. Thatās the Caregiver (albeit to an extreme degree).
General Examples:
Mrs. Medlock (The Secret Garden)
Rebecca (Ivanhoe)
George [to Lennie] (Of Mice and Men)
Video Game Examples:
Big Daddies (BioShock)
Lisa (Silent Hill)
Hinawa (MOTHER 3)
Because women had almost always been expected to assume the rule of nurturing and caregiving, characters based on this archetype tend to very often be female (in fact, another name for this archetype is āthe Motherā). However, as we can see from two of our examples, men also have a nurturing side, and are perfectly capable of using it. And in the Big Daddiesā case, their caregiving can be painfully lethal for any unfortunate player characters who threaten (or appear to threaten) their dear Little Sisters.
The Ruler
The Ruler desires power and control over everything elseāand will not hesitate to wield their power to secure themselves from any threats to their hold on it. Mortal enemy of the chaotic Trickster, the Ruler values order, leadership, and hierarchy. As such, a character based on the Ruler archetype will often serve as a foil to another based on the Trickster. Hilarity ensues (except when it doesnāt).
General Examples:
Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars)
Daenarys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)
Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckooās Nest)
Video Game Examples:
Rufus Shinra (Final Fantasy VII)
Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda)
M. Bison (Street Fighter)
Kings, queens, and emperors generally come to mind when thinking of this archetype. But as the above examples hint at, practically anyone, in any position of authority, can represent this archetype. Corporate executives, politicians, store managers, team leaders, anyone held up to be a role model for others. Yes, even a subredditās head moderator would count.
The Creator
The Creator is defined by (surprise, surprise) their creative impulses and output. The Creator often takes the form of a stock āartistā or āwriterā character, but it can just as easily be an AI programmer, mad scientist, or creator deity.
General Examples:
Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein)
Jo March (Little Women)
Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)
Video Game Examples:
Professor Hojo (Final Fantasy VII)
Pikango (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
Adeleine (Kirby)
Suddenly, I understand why every time I boot up Civilization, I feel like Elon Musk was right about living in a simulation.
The Innocent
Also known colloquially as āThe Pollyanna,ā āThe Dreamer,ā āThe Mystic,ā or āThe Child,ā the Innocent represents childlike innocence, optimism, and naivite. Itās the unflinching belief in the ultimate victory of good over evil, and an undying conviction that humanity canāand willābuild a better world once it gets its act together. A convinction so strong, that not even the blinding flashes of nuclear bombs raining all around them could shake.
General Examples:
Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter)
SpongeBob (SpongeBob Squarepants)
Video Game Examples:
Papyrus (Undertale)
Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
While a āchildishā outlook is often seen as something to grow out of, the Innocent teaches us that, au contraire, looking at the world through a childās eyesāthrough a lens of optimism, wonder, and righteousnessācan stop your soul from withering under the unrelenting torrent of cynicism that characterizes oneās adult years.
Remaining in touch with oneās inner child is not only desirable, but from a psychological standpoint, positively vital.
The Sage
The Sage archetype represents the pursuit of intelligence, wisdom, and truth. They will usually be a scholar, philosopher, detective, teacher, or some other learned professional. Theyāre almost always very old and, more often than not, a reclusive hermit or spinster whoāll chase the Hero off with a stick (or a tongue sharper than the finest steak knife) before eventually agreeing to mentor them.
In the Heroās Journey, the Sage acts as the Heroās mentor (in fact, the Sage is sometimes called the Mentor Archetype). Think of a martial arts master teaching their apprentice. Or a professor mentoring a graduate student. The mentor will usually die in order for the Hero to take their place. That said, not all Sages are mentors, nor do mentors necessarily physically die (sometimes, they simply retire).
General Examples:
Yoda (Star Wars)
Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
Gandalf (The Lord of the Rings)
Video Game Examples:
The Old Man (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
Granny (Celeste)
Kaepora Gaebora (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
The Sage will often perform the role of delivering vital (if interminably long) exposition dumps, or otherwise bringing the audience to speed about whatās at stake in the storyās main conflict (especially if the protagonist has been chosen by Fate to save the world, and has no idea why).
The Explorer
The Explorer is all about the journey. They value seeking out new places to see, new people to meet, new things to do. Novelty is the name of the game here, as is the agency, will, and means to continuously pursue said novelty. These characters tend to ruffle more than a few feathersāsometimes, their mere presence as an outsider in a hostile land is enough to raise tensions (and arms); others, itās some unintentional transgression which seems innocuous to the Explorer, but is a deadly serious faux pas in their host culture.
General Examples:
Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones)
Scrooge McDuck (DuckTales)
Captain Kirk (Star Trek)
Video Game Examples:
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
Kass (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
Like all archetypes, the details vary across the ages, but the overall idea remains the same. Yesterdayās Marco Polo-esque explorer is todayās traveling salesperson.
The Outlaw
Another very well-known archetype, particularly in Western culture⦠and especially American culture, which glorifies and idolizes this archetype to a point thatād cause outside observersā head to explode, especially if theyāre also familiar with Americaās puritanical history and legacy. How can the same culture house a religious and social paradigm so obsessed with order, while also making popular heroes out of those who flagrantly defy that order?
The answerās actually quite simple. For the Outlaw Archetype, all the lawbreaking is just a means to an end: liberation. The Outlaw is all about breaking free of constraints so they can realize their potential unabated. The Outlaw represents freedom. This symbolism is particularly resonant in the United Statesāwhen youāre talking about a nation that so greatly values freedom (at least nominally) as to change the name of āFrench Friesā to āFreedom Fries,ā well⦠no wonder we idolize Robin Hood, Billy the Kid, and Michael Corleone so much (as long as weāre not in their crosshairs, obviously).
General Examples:
Long John Silver (Treasure Island)
Louise Sawyer (Thelma & Louise)
Jordan Belfort (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Video Game Examples:
Niko Bellic (Grand Theft Auto IV)
Garrett (Thief)
Dutch Van der Linde (Red Dead Redemption II)
Oh, and speaking of GTAācontrary to popular belief, committing wanton violence does not constitute the core of the franchiseās appeal. Rather, itās the ability to commit said wanton violence; the game never forces you to be violent, nor does it force you to not be violent. The choice is entirely up to the playerāsame with the choice to go anywhere in the map, and at anytime.
In other words, GTA emphasizes freedom and liberation. When you think of it that way, no wonder playing as outlaw protagonists works so well in GTA. It makes me thinkāwould the series be nearly as much fun if the player characters werenāt criminals?
The Wizard
The Wizard is a visionaryāthey envision the solution to a problem, or an improvement to the world, and they make it happen. Naturally, this includes the general stock wizard from high fantasy settings. But like all archetypes, the Wizard is nothing if not adaptable, and has taken several forms outside of medieval European fantasy settings.
And I donāt just mean āWizardsā by any other nameālike shamans, clerics, or prophets⦠though this archetype does indeed include those. But rather, a āWizardā is someone who envisions what they want, and (sometimes literally) move mountains to make it happen.
This can be a genius inventor, a cunning businessperson, a dangerous cult leader, or anyone else who can take a vision and will it into beingāwhether through magic, science, or sheer willpower (and/or money). If it helps, think of the Wizard Archetype as āthe Fixer.ā
General Examples:
Tony Stark (Iron Man)
Merlin (Arthurian Legend)
Melissandre (Game of Thrones)
Video Game Examples:
Andrew Ryan (BioShock)
Marx (Kirby Super Star)
Mike Toreno (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
Anyway, those are just a few of the archetypes out there.
Thatās right, archetypes are by no means limited to the āBig 12ā listed above.
Nor do characters need to comprise only a single archetypeācreators can (and do) combine aspects from different archetypes to create more complex characters!
In any case, hopefully you now understand how central archetypes are to storytellingāand there, to the human experience. Because next time, weāre going to go even DEEPER!
āTill Next Time!
Yup, thatās a wrap, folks! Join me for G&Wās next issue, when we explore the collective unconscious as a wholeāwith a little help from some great video games, obviously. See you then!
~Jay
Food for Talk: Discussion Prompts
While you wait for the next issue, I invite you to mull over the following discussion prompts. Please reply to this email with your answers, or post them in the commentsāI'd love to hear your thoughts!
Can you think of any additional video game examples for any of the āBig 12ā archetypes? List them here, and tell us why.
Do you disagree with any of my archetype examples? How so, and what would you suggest instead?
Which Jungian archetype represents you best? How so? If youāre stumped, take this quiz to help out. (For what itās worth: mine is the Joker/Trickster)
Further Reading
From The Psychology of Zelda, edited by Anthony M. Bean, Ph.D.āĀ A highly illuminating and accessible collection of essays analyzing the Zelda series through various psychological paradigms.
The Archetypal Attraction by Anthony M. Bean, Ph.D.
Understanding Personality: The 12 Jungian Archetypes āĀ A basic primer (and taxonomic visualization) of Jungās āBig 12ā archetypes.
Archetypal Characters by TVtropes.org āĀ A slightly more expanded (though by no means exhaustive) list of archetypal characters.
The Dream Interpretation Dictionary: Symbols, Signs, and Meanings by J.M. DeBord.ā Symbology and dream interpretation is a fraught and highly subjective undertaking, and most free online ādream dictionariesā are about as useful as a Buzzfeed quiz. This one, however, was written by someone who clearly gets Jung, and outlines a solid methodology for creating your own dream and symbol interpretations.
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Tags
#psychology #philosophy #metaphysics #religion #spirituality #mythology #archetypes
#GameOverMatter
Footnotes
True, you can consciously control your breathing, but this requires focusing your consciousness on it, to begin with. And even if you try holding your breath for as long as possible, your unconscious brain will eventually take over and compel you to breathe in again. This is why breath work is so instrumental and central to Buddhist meditationābecause breathing happens on its own and with no conscious input, itās an easy thing to focus on while clearing your mind.
Note: Jung (and/or Merriam-Webster) is referring to the human race as a whole, not to any of the arbitrary social constructs we assign to different people.
Creators can also combine archetypes to create more complex characters. For instance, Batman is a mix of the Hero and Outlaw archetypes.
I bet Iād be written as a Creator archetype. Writing has been my primary passion for as long as I can remember. Iāll take that over being a boring Everyman!
Combine this with Joseph Campbellās Hero With A Thousand Faces and youāve got the recipe to make deep impressions on our minds.