10 replies to this topic

[whatabout_paul]

Yesterday Sega had a small expo just to announce a few games and show off some ‘Coming Soon’. Takashi Iizuka was there to talk about the new NiGHTS game, huzza! Kotaku posted their impressions:

"Takashi Iizuka was on hand yesterday to talk a bit about the upcoming NiGHTS title for the Wii. In a sort of surreal twist, he spent much of the 15 minute presentation talking about Carl Jung and dream theory.

He started by saying that this latest NiGHTS is inspired by the dreams we all have when we go to sleep at night and then he touched briefly on Carl Jung's dream research pointing out that the five archtypes of Jung's research (Great Mother, Old Wiseman, Shadow, Anima and Animus) were all represented by people in the game. (NIghtmares, Wizeman, NiGHTS, boy and girl.)

Iizuka went on to say that the heart of the game was about making flying fun and in this Wii version you will be using your remote to guide your character on his flights of fancy. The game will have seven worlds to fly through and an eclectic mix of bad guys and bosses.

After about 12 minutes of talking generalities, Iizuka showed us a roughly minute long trailer which showed a bit of the flight and some of the surreal settings from the game... looked sorta like Sonic in the air, but it was hard to judge with such a short clip."

http://kotaku.com/gaming/gallery/NiGHTS-pu...leep-259690.php


Next CVG.com have some speculation about a potential NiGHTS online mode...

SEGA Studio producer, Takashi Iizuka, has expressed his wish for NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams to utilise Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection when it hits Wii later this year.

"Currently, we are investigating a number of features that will utilize the Wii network capability," Iizuka told IGN, "but, at this time we have not decided on any specific functionality yet."

On a still vague but more encouraging note, he goes on to say: "Ultimately, we would like to have multiplayer functionality as well as a way to tap into the Nintendo network where players could share their game experience on a world-wide level."

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Whether this means some sort of online scoreboard or full-blown online multiplayer is left to speculation, but we obviously hope for the latter.

He also revealed that work started on the new NiGHTS last year, and went on to talk about the challenges encountered with developing controls for the Wii Remote.

"Initially, we envisioned using the Wii remote as sort of a "magic wand", where NiGHTS could be directed simply by movements of the controller," he revealed.

"But with any new input device, we were finding some limitations using just the remote. That is why we are also designing the game to be played using the remote with the Nunchuk for a more "traditional" control configuration."

Look out for more on NiGHTS in the next couple of weeks.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=163762

[Q-Lok]

Great Mother, Old Wiseman, Shadow, Anima and Animus

Nightmares, Wizeman, NiGHTS, boy and girl

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold the phone! Did that say that NiGHTS is the Shadow? That doesn't make any sense at all to me. I mean, I thought that Reala was the only character to really correspond to the Shadow. After all, NiGHTS seems to fit in much better as the Son, right?

[KyraWolf]

I want to see the trailer. xD *POUT*

[Louis]

I want to see a trailer, but not this one. A lot of people who say it say it was crap and Disneyish.

[Misaki-chan]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold the phone! Did that say that NiGHTS is the Shadow? That doesn't make any sense at all to me. I mean, I thought that Reala was the only character to really correspond to the Shadow. After all, NiGHTS seems to fit in much better as the Son, right?

From what I've read, the Shadow seems to fit just fine.

Wikipedia article: Jungian archetype "Shadow"

The shadow may appear in dreams and visions in various forms, often as a feared or despised person or being, and may act either as an adversary or as a servant. It typically has the same apparent gender as one's persona. It is possible that it might appear with dark features to a person of any race, since it represents an old ancestral aspect of the mind. The shadow's appearance and role depend greatly on the living experience of the individual, because the shadow develops in the individual's mind rather than simply being inherited in the collective unconscious.

Interactions with the shadow in dreams may shed light on one's state of mind. A conversation with the shadow may indicate that one is concerned with conflicting desires or intentions. Identification with a despised figure may mean that one has an unacknowledged difference from the character; a difference which could point to a rejection of the illuminating qualities of ego-consciousness. These examples refer to just two of many possible roles that the shadow may adopt, and are not general guides to interpretation. Also, it can be difficult to identify characters in dreams, so that a character who seems at first to be a shadow might represent some other complex instead.

[Curiosity Inc.]

First of all, there are way more than five archetypes in Jungian psychology.

Second, the ones listed weren't even the main ones! There are four main archetypes, not five. They are the Self, the Anima, the Animus and the Shadow. I always took the Self to be represented by Claris and Elliott, Reala to be the Shadow, and NiGHTS to be an amalgam of the Anima and Animus. Fits pretty well to me.

That said, however, saying that NiGHTS is the Shadow archetype or the Child archetype are also valid interpretations. It's just that I don't believe them. The Shadow is made from parts of the subconscious that are suppressed by the conscious. NiGHTS doesn't seem to me like anything that Claris or Elliott are trying to push away. Reala fits that bill pretty well, though.

According to the Wikipedia entry for the Child archetype, the Child is supposed to be a child with the mind of an adult. That doesn't fit NiGHTS' description, in my opinion. In fact, I'd say that in addition to having no gender, I think that NiGHTS has no age. The concepts of "child" and "adult", therefore do not apply to NiGHTS.

On another subject, how exactly do the Nightmarens represent the Great Mother? I just can't wrap my head around that one.

Personally, I think that Iizuka was just throwing out examples of archetypes and characters, and whoever wrote that article took them to be complete and corresponding lists. Of course, I'm not a psychology major, but that's what I think.

[Misaki-chan]

I always thought Claris and Elliot themselves were kind of representing the Anima and the Animus, even though they're "real" characters, which I guess would make them fit Self too. None of the archetypes used seem to be 100% accurate to the whole Jungian psychology thing, and NiGHTS has no gender. That's why I thought Shadow fit, because it's not necessarily an enemy or evil. Reala is most definitely evil. And NiGHTS being genderless kind of makes him fit as a Shadow-like figure for both Claris and Elliot.

But that's just my own thoughts based on what I've heard and read of Jung's work. Which was mostly because I heard it related to NiGHTS somehow.

[AYRiES]

I'm interested in that mention of online multiplayer- I wonder if it'd be like a race? I mean NiGHTS has a few things in common with racing games anyway. And maybe then you'd have to race to do the boss battle too? Or maybe it'd be co-op somehow? Still, an online scoreboard would be great as well. Especially if it was global, I never got the point of national boards.

I still want a fan-maren/fan-kid creation system for the online mode, even if it's just for a headshot for an avatar. Note even for ID purposes- too many people online- but just because it would be good fun to see yourself. And easier to tell whose save file was whose. XD

[NOTiC]

does anyone know what books i can read up on jung's theories of dreams?

[Louis]

Off topic, but Jung is pronounced with a Y. I noticed on the podcast thing it was being pronounced like young but with a J. It's more you-nge, with an emphasis on the you bit.

Anyway, Jung theory is most accesable to most people in lovely psychology books, though I'm sure Wiki should have the basic stuff.

[Misaki-chan]

They were mispronouncing it on the podcast? I, er... haven't been listening.

Probably goes without saying that Wikipedia doesn't have all the information. I know people who have borrowed books about Jungian psychology from the local library. I wouldn't be able to stand it myself... just the basics is enough for me.