Ganondorf and Villain-centric Plotting
A storytelling lesson from the Legend of Zelda Antagonist
While surfing through YouTube videos for stuff that interested me, I came across one of many videos analyzing the storyline behind the classic video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This particular video was unique in that it showed how the plot of the story could have been generated in reverse. Essentially, instead of starting with the hero (Link) and crafting the plot around his needs, the plot actually was centered around Ganondorf the villain and HIS needs.
In following Link around as he tries to be rectify all of the problems Ganondorf created, you get to inadvertently see an entire backstory of how the king of thieves came to power. The video pointed out that Ganondorf's actions in the past set up a logical progression of problems for Link to solve over the course of OoT's storyline. Link wasn't just wandering around Hyrule looking for something to do, he was undoing all of the damage Ganondorf did, with each solved problem leading directly to the next problem that needed solving. This is a technique you can use to make your plots more focused and streamlined for your stories.
The beginning is the end
In my upcoming novel Needle of the Southside, my protagonist must solve a series of puzzles to find the location of a Macguffin that can change his life. He has to follow a series of clues that lead him to locations where he retrieves pieces of a larger puzzle that when solved reveals the building said Macguffin is hidden in, with even more clues on where exactly to find it. To set this scavenger hunt up I had to be very deliberate and meticulous on where I placed these puzzle pieces and how I presented the clues revealing those locations, not to mention where the final solution to the puzzle was placed. I had to delve into the motivations of the person that set this up for my protagonist. As a result, each clue and location held personal significance for my protagonist, to the point where he has to face his past and learn some very uncomfortable truths about himself and his world to accomplish his goals. But for that setup to work, I had to know where he was going and why long before I set his quest into motion. I wouldn't call the one setting this quest up a "villain"per se, but he is the architect of the challenge the protagonist must overcome.
For your story, start with asking yourself what your protagonists' overall goal is, and what it would take to realistically set that goal up, and what obstacles one would have to go through to achieve that goal. Now flip it. How do those obstacles benefit your antagonist? How do they help them achieve their endgame? If said obstacles don't help them, then you might want to consider replacing them with obstacles that do. It can't be all about stopping the hero. Basically, what your antagonist does to set up the problems for your protagonist to solve is a separate story unto itself that ends right as your protagonist's story begins.
Placing the dominos
When you look at your antagonist's needs, you need to make sure every element stays connected. Ideally, every challenge the hero overcomes leads to the next challenge. In Ocarina of Time, there was a clear progression in Link's quest, which also reveals a clear agenda on Ganondorf's part, first to neutralize the great Deku Tree and the avatars of the three goddesses that would stand against him in Link's youth, then to neutralize the seven sages that would stand against him while Link was trapped in time. But there was a specific order that Ganondorf had to operate in for maximum efficiency, with each victory setting up the next challenge. And this ends up being the order Link must go on in to restore everything to its rightful state.
When setting up your villain's agenda, be sure to ask what steps they would take to achieve their goals, what kind of opposition (that isn't your hero) they would face, and how they would overcome that opposition. The answers you come up with might provide the foundation for the problems your hero must solve, and the order your hero must solve them in.
Shocking revelations and twist endings
It can be a lot easier to know where in your story to place a major plot twist or story-altering revelation when you build your plot around the antagonist's needs. David was the hero of the movie Unbreakable, but his story was part of a grand plan by the movie's main villain Mr. Glass. Every plot point was driven by Glass's schemes and overall mission. David was simply reacting to situations Glass had put him in, leading him to a discovery Glass needed him to make. Neither David nor the audience is made aware of Glass's master plan and the acts he committed behind the scenes until the very end of the story. It would not have worked had that revelation happened earlier, and that is attributed to the villain's need to keep his motives -and the actions attached to the motives- close to his vest until David could confirm Glass's theories. So not only was the narrative driven by the villain's needs, but also the major plot twists and revelatory moments. By focusing on the villain's needs, you can better determine where in your narrative these moments would have the Greatest impact.
This doesn't have to be limited to sentient adversaries. You can use this approach with any adversity. Let's say your story is about your protagonist surviving a hurricane. What does a hurricane want to do? It wants to do what a hurricane does, and there is a set progression of how hurricanes operate and interact with buildings. You can create a rough outline of how the hurricane moves through your environment independent of your protagonist. Then you put your protagonist in the middle of each of these steps and have them react and adapt to what the hurricane is doing. So even though the opposition is not in human, it still has a method of operating you can build a plot around.
Drafting your plot from the vantage point of your antagonist can be a great way to keep your story focused and efficient, with every plot point serving a purpose within the story. If your story is starting to ramble, or you don't know what happens next, give this method a try.
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