I was wondering, what do the subconscious archetypes of your character’s mind look, talk, or act like?
Inspired somewhat by Carl Jung’s conception of the psyche -
Who are the characters inside their character?
Brief Explanation -
- Ego - Who the character consciously chooses to be. The mask or persona they present to the world.
- Superego - Who the character’s ideal self is or would be. The model they yearn to embody. Often imposed by the values of the culture or society around them, but sometimes chosen consciously or unconsciously.
- Anima - Their feminine aspect.
- Animus - Their masculine aspect.
- Shadow - The unconscious dark side of their character, built from trauma and rejected aspects of the self. If your character is a Light-worshipping, pacifistic people-pleaser, their shadow might be a Void-revering, tyrannical berserker. That raging warrior might have a scared, meek, weak shadow-self their anger and violence serves to mask.
- Other Archetypes - Other characters, or voices in the character’s head, embodying different aspects of who they are, whispering away in the subsconscious. They can take form of characters real or imagined, or voices from remembered friends, enemies, and tutors.
Imagine each of these aspects as a seperate character, each one a fragment of the whole character as you know them. How would you design them, visually or in terms of personality?
What are they? What do they wear, what is their nature like, and what do they do?
If you’ve played Disco Elysium, you’ll have some idea of what archetypes are like.