There are many Archetypes such as the Jeigan/Oifey, Camus, Navarre, Est, the Christmas Cavaliers, and so on. But have they considered a Stereotype within the Fire Emblem Community on how we viewed them as a good or bad thing about them?
I need your thoughts about them.
I think it depends on the context. Often you are better served using some stereotypes in new ways rather than scrapping them entirely, I believe. My game got better, for example when I added my own take of a Jeigan. I think the stereotypes are useful reference points as we know how they work, and can then as creators take our own stance on what we think about them. Ultimately I think we limit ourselves by deliberately avoiding all stereotypes, as well as by blindly following them.
So basically, do as you wish, but at least consider if they are right or not for your particular game.
In a quote by notable film critic, Roger Ebert, in reference to a movie from the year 2000 known as Battlefield Earth, he stated:
People often use or discard the Fire Emblem archetypes, but the value in an archetype comes not from its simple appropriation or misappropriation, but understanding why it exists in the first place. Once you have studied the advantages and disadvantages, you can repurpose or replace it with something more befitting of your project’s style and theme without harming the gameplay experience.
That’s a good quote from Roger Ebert.
Stereotype implies something like a negative assumption or a cliche. I wouldn’t say the Archetypes themselves fit that mold yet, for example that Jeigans eventually split into multiple archetypes depending on their difference in gameplay and story roles. I think you can play many of the archetypes straight and still engage the fan community, in a way that is a comfortable familiarity, and perhaps play within that trope at the same time, like having your Navarre-type cool and silent swordsman actually just playing it up to intimidate people and being a softie in the supports, or making your christmas cavs a different class.
The other nice thing is you can break the mold and just play against the archetypes as well, either by excluding them or starting with the idea in a recognizable way but spinning it entirely. Maybe you trust your Jeigan too much and he becomes the villain, maybe theres a narrative reason the Est has held back the potential for fear of too much un-controllable magical prowess, deconstructions of the idea in a framework we recognize basically.
Thread was inactive for over half a year.