Revealing the Character's Ghost | Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

0:00 The explosive opening to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,

0:04 quickly establishes important elements of the game.

0:07 It introduces the world,

0:09 the basic mechanics of traversal and combat,

0:12 the crew the player will be traveling with,

0:14 the antagonist, and of course,

0:17 the protagonist, Cal Kestis.

0:20 But in-between exciting scenes of action one brief quiet moment stands out,

0:25 a dream sequence in which Cal is following his friend,

0:28 Prauf, on a train.

0:30 Prauf, wait up.

0:31 Cal turns to find themselves suddenly in the hallway of

0:34 the Star Destroyer where he's confronted by his former master, Jaro Tapal.

0:39 Apprentice, mark well and listen.

0:43 Master.

0:43 Trust only in the force.

0:48 This vision is the player's first indication

0:51 that Cal is being haunted by something;

0:54 the kind of traumatic event that's often buried deep in

0:57 a particular element of character design, backstory.

1:01 Today, I want to examine the overall design of

1:04 the game's central protagonist, Cal Kestis,

1:07 to demonstrate how his backstory is used to recontextualize

1:11 the games tutorials and create a game-long mystery and

1:15 explore how the game takes one of the most important events in

1:18 the Star Wars saga and uses it to build the foundation of Cal's character.

1:25 Welcome to Story Mode.

1:28 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

1:34 When we spoke to Aaron Contreras,

1:36 the narrative lead on Jedi: Fallen Order,

1:39 he described the game as.

1:40 The story of Cal Kestis,

1:42 a Padawan who survived the purge who then picks

1:45 himself back up a few years later and goes on to complete his training,

1:49 goes through a hero's journey,

1:50 and go on his quest to rebuild the Jedi Order.

1:53 The game tries to ask the question of the player and of the audience,

1:57 what does it mean to be a Jedi now that the Jedi are fallen?

1:59 When we first meet Cal,

2:01 he's been in hiding for 10 years.

2:03 In order to evade imperial inquisitors,

2:06 he's partially closed himself off to the Force.

2:09 His character arc in the game is all about allowing

2:12 himself to once again fully open up to the Force.

2:16 But there's something holding him back.

2:18 Every time I open myself up I see Master Tapal.

2:22 This implied traumatic event in his backstory is

2:26 the reason Cal is so afraid of reconnecting to the Force.

2:30 In story terms, this type of event is sometimes called the characters ghost.

2:35 In his book, The Anatomy of Story,

2:37 John Truby defines a character's ghost as,

2:40 "An event from the past that still haunts the hero in the present.

2:44 The ghost is an open,

2:46 a wound that is often the source of the hero's psychological and moral weakness.

2:50 You can also think of this as the hero's internal opponent.

2:54 It is the great fear that is holding him back from action.

2:58 The hero's desire drives him forward;

3:00 his ghost holds him back."

3:02 But while many stories establish the characters ghost right away,

3:06 Jedi: Fallen Order chooses to turn it into a mystery.

3:10 The details surrounding what happened to Cal

3:12 are slowly revealed throughout the game.

3:15 As we've already discussed,

3:16 they're first hinted at in the opening sequence.

3:20 This mystery deepens when the player next

3:23 seize Jaro Tapal during the game's tutorials.

3:26 Try again.

3:28 It's difficult, master.

3:29 At certain points in Jedi: Fallen Order,

3:32 Cal can only traverse an area by recalling an ability,

3:35 triggering a tutorial for the player.

3:39 But instead of simply telling players which buttons to press,

3:43 the narrative team uses these tutorials

3:45 as opportunities to explore Cal's backstory.

3:48 You're going to acquire certain abilities at

3:50 certain locations to move through certain physical gates in the game world,

3:54 and then it fell on narrative to contextualize

3:57 that and make it fit into his hero's journey in the story.

4:01 Each time Cal recalls an ability,

4:03 the player flashes back to a training session

4:06 between Cal and his former Jedi Master.

4:08 These flashbacks allow us to experience some of Jaro Tapal's teachings.

4:13 With persistence, and the Force as your ally,

4:15 you will overcome any obstacle.

4:18 As well as the close friendship he had with Cal.

4:21 Perhaps I chose the wrong Padawan.

4:23 Master.

4:25 I'm only joking, Cal.

4:27 By juxtaposing these positive memories of Jaro Tapal

4:30 with the intense vision Cal experienced in the opening,

4:33 the game keeps the player intrigued by continuing to

4:36 develop the mystery around the protagonist's ghost.

4:40 What would Jaro Tapal say?

4:42 You have no right to mention his name.

4:43 I wonder what would he think if he could see his Padawan now.

4:48 Why is Cal so haunted by this former relationship with his Jedi Master.

4:54 The player receives the answer during the final flashback.

4:58 Once the player is several hours into the game,

5:01 the tutorial sections become familiar.

5:04 When this flashback doesn't begin in the

5:07 training room at first for these tutorials,

5:09 the game is signaling that something about this one is different.

5:13 Cal roams the halls on his way to training,

5:15 giving the player a chance to interact with his friends,

5:18 the clone troopers, along the way.

5:20 You're in a rush.

5:21 Master Tapal has called me for training.

5:24 You got this, kid.

5:26 As the training session begins,

5:29 it feels like a normal,

5:30 if more challenging, training session.

5:32 But when Cal reaches Jaro Tapal, something isn't right.

5:39 Master, are you okay?

5:42 Something isn't right.

5:52 Padawan, something terrible is happening.

5:55 The clones betrayed us.

5:57 We need to get off this ship quickly into the escape lines.

6:02 Go.

6:03 As Cal begins his escape,

6:05 we realize we are no longer playing a simple tutorial.

6:08 We are experiencing first-hand one of the most consequential moments in

6:12 Star Wars history and also the most crucial moment of Cal's backstory,

6:18 the origin of his ghost.

6:23 Master.

6:31 Remember, trust only in the Force.

6:37 Yes, master.

6:39 That whole sequence is probably the heart of the game.

6:41 I think the power of video games and interactivity

6:44 is that you become young Cal in that moment,

6:46 and that really allows a certain different experience

6:49 through it for you to feel like it's happening to you,

6:51 and it makes it very personal.

6:53 Immediately following the order 66 sequence,

6:57 the player experiences another vision of Jaro Tapal.

7:01 But now we understand why Cal is so terrified by his image.

7:05 Padawan, it is time for instruction.

7:15 Because he's overwhelmed by the guilt of not

7:18 being able to save his master's life,

7:20 Cal's emotional ghost has manifested into the literal ghost of Jaro Tapal.

7:26 You're fear cost me my life.

7:29 By literalizing this narrative device,

7:31 the writers create a unique gameplay opportunity.

7:34 I would have survived had you not been so weak.

7:37 As the player must battle the embodiment of the protagonist's inner turmoil.

7:42 Yes.

7:43 My blood is on your hands, apprentice.

7:48 You are a failure,

7:50 a weakling, a traitor.

7:53 You are no Jedi.

7:59 The player, just like Cal,

8:02 must learn that this ghost cannot be defeated through pure aggression.

8:06 Discovering the fear that has been holding Cal back is only part of the journey,

8:11 overcoming it will be a whole new challenge.

8:15 I saw Master Tapal.

8:18 I saw the day he died.

8:19 I saw what I did.

8:21 Now it's destroyed.

8:23 I couldn't save him.

8:25 You will always struggle.

8:27 But that is the test.

8:30 It's the choice to keep fighting that makes us who we are.

8:35 I guess it's about time I find out who I am.

8:48 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a great example of how to use

8:53 a character's backstory to create an ongoing

8:56 mystery that keeps the player curious.

8:58 It demonstrates how unnecessary game mechanic,

9:01 like a tutorial, can be used for a strong narrative purpose,

9:05 and it allows us to experience one of

9:07 the most important moments in Star Wars history from an intimate,

9:11 character-based perspective preparing us

9:15 for the thrilling finale of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

9:21 Hey, guys.

9:22 Michael, here.

9:23 I hope you enjoyed our episode on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

9:25 If you ant to listen to the full conversation with Aaron Contreras

9:29 you can on our podcast, Beyond the Screenplay.

9:31 The link to episode is in the description below.

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10:13 So thank you for watching, I’ll see you next time,

10:16 and always remember, the cake is a lie.