Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The 3 Act Story

            In stories and tales told throughout all times there is a common theme used in storytelling, that being a 3 Act structure. It follows the simple path of Introduction, Progression and Build Up, and Conclusion. The first Act introduces us to the main characters and its world, the second builds on that to explore these characters and settings, as well as explore new characters and parts of the world, building the story up even more. And then the third part is the conclusion itself, which brings an ending and final hurrah to everything. As I played through The Thousand Year Door, I noticed that there were many signs in this game that pointed to this 3 Act structure being used. With that in mind, let me lay out my theory for this structure, and what in this game draws the point home. 

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The Town of Rougeport

Hello, for today’s entry, I wanted to briefly talk about a video game that I had played recently, moreso some things I noticed and really liked about the game’s structure. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door would be the name of that game, and I suspect some of you may be familiar with it. For those who don’t know much about it, the Paper Mario series is one famous for a simple RPG gameplay system,  fun deep worlds with lots of intricate characters, and a nice simple 8 (or 9) chapter structure that the game follows. For this game, I wanted to discuss 2 things; it’s beautiful central hub setting, and it’s possible 3 act story structure. Today I will discuss its central world, and after that will move on to my 3 act theory. 

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The 4 Elements - Volume I

 “Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.”
                                                                                                                                                -Iroh, Bitter Work (S2E9)