Fairy tale stereotypes in old games

[robotriot]

I'm creating a short article (the focus is on the layout and design, not the actual text) for a project, and the topic is fairy tales. So I decided to explore games that contain fairy tale stereotypes. There are basic things like the hero rescues princess themes in games like Mario/Zelda etc., but maybe anyone else observed other games which have fairy tale elements in them, directly or indirectly? Thanks for your input :)

[Switchstance]

I think your main idea is ok, but I think it's better if you do for example a list for the fairy-tales-stereotypes first, like you said, for example : Rescue the Princess - Beat some kind of monster - Good witch / Bad witch - etc.
Then the ideas are coming up more easily.

[Haoie]

A simplistic, black/white, good/evil approach is the traditional approach games used to take. Very similar to the 'wicked witch' and 'kindly knight' sort of thing found in nearly all children's stories.

With more complicated stories [and perhaps the ability to play as several protagonists] the line is reduced.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

You should certainly consider magicians and wizards as well as the heros (often a "peasant" hero, I might add, and young at that) and princesses. All three are commonly seen in both video games and fairy tales.

Another interesting thing to explore might be the theme of becoming lost in a mysterious/magical world. This is pretty common in fairy tales like Grimms' and is also a somewhat common plot in video games.

This one may be reaching a bit more, but fairy tales often feature a series tasks given to the protagonist one after the other before some final prize is awarded. This is a common gameplay mechanic in video games as well.

You might also want to point out that many video games are created in Japan which obviously has a different tradition of fairy tale from Europe, but the connections persist partly because of similarities between Japanese and European (and all) mythologies, but also partly because European mythology has become universal in a sense. While on the other hand, Japanese mythology has become more commonly understood in the West precisely because of the influence on kids from Japanese-made video games.


...word is bondage...

[jpark203]

Joseph Campbell outlined a model for the "Hero's Journey" which is a common element in many myths, fairy tales, and movies. There are also several video games that would fit this mold. You should check his book out, "The Hero With 1,000 Faces," sometime.