The previous blog featured the mythology of the Namco theme park called Wonder Eggs. I talked about Elds the Goddess of Play, and how she liberated the village of Laperot from the clutches of the Devil Godot. I mentioned that she had four dragons that helped dispatch of the monsters he summoned. In fact they were more powerful than dragons. The story of Elds stated that “The four subordinate gods, the Pyrallis, descended on the village of Laperot. A variety of games are born from the ‘play eggs’ they create.” It was easy for the four to dispatch the villains because they were gods themselves. More important the wonder eggs that Elds left behind were actually from the dragons, or to be correct the Pyrallis.
The pyrausta or pyrallis (also called pyrigonos “πυραλλίς” in Greek ) were mythological insects. According to history texts “They lived within the furnaces in copper-smelting factories in the island of Cyprus. The four-legged insects with filmy wings could only be seen within the fires themselves. They would die instantly if they were taken out of them.” The philosopher, and historian Pliny the Elder believed that the creatures were born from the flames, which would make them elementals similar to the
salamanders of European mythology. As with many mythological creatures there was also some truth to their existence. Frans Janssens identified the species as the melanophila acuminata aka the black fire beetle aka the fire bug. The Pyrallis did appear in the “true” form, as massive creatures in a few places within Wonder Eggs. The majority of their appearances however were smaller cartoonish figures.
The designers at Namco were keenly aware that the theme park needed mascots. The company could have turned the stars of their hit games into costumed walk around characters. Pac-Man, Mappy, Gil, or DigDug could have easily been featured characters in the park. Instead the studio wanted to reinforce the theme of Laperot village. This was a magical place that was founded by the goddess of play. This was a park from another time, and another place. It wouldn’t make sense to characters born in the 1980’s be seen hanging around Laperot. As such the mascots of the village had to represent play, but how do you show that? What does “play” look like? It turned out that philosophy was the answer.
I talked about Johan Huizinga, and the concept of the Magic Circle previously in this series. Namco quoted him in the science fiction play space called Milaiya. Mr. Huizinga was a Dutch historian, and cultural theorist that emphasized the importance of play in his book Homo Ludens (Man the Player), which was published in 1938. Prior to that many authors believed that play was not significant to the development of culture. Huizinga believed the opposite, he emphasized that culture was derived from play. This understanding informed the decisions from Namco founder Masaya Nakamura. Mr. Nakamura made play central to the role of Namco. He didn’t wait around to follow the trends. He blazed a trail instead through the use of play. Understanding play helped him grow in an industry faster than any of his peers in both Japan, or the USA. This meant that his staff was expected to understand what the word meant as well. Huizinga identified five characteristics that play must have:
1. Play is free, is in fact freedom.
2. Play is not "ordinary" or "real" life.
3. Play is distinct from "ordinary" life both as to locality and duration.
4. Play creates order, is order. Play demands order absolute and supreme.
5. Play is connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained from it.
Huizinga was critical to the evolution of Namco as a business, and in the way they approached their attractions, and arcade hits. When it came to Wonder Eggs there was somebody more important to the company. French philosopher Roger Caillois would study, and expand upon the philosophy of play. His book Man, Play and Games was first published in 1961. Mr. Caillois would identify six major components of play.
1. It is free, or not obligatory.
2. It is separate from the routine of life, occupying its own time and space.
3. It is uncertain, so that the results of play cannot be pre-determined and the player's initiative is involved.
4. It is unproductive in that it creates no wealth, and ends as it begins economically speaking.
5. It is governed by rules that suspend ordinary laws and behaviors and that must be followed by players.
6. It involves imagined realities that may be set against 'real life'.
In order to help readers understand the distinct types of play Caillois' created four terms to help describe them; these were agon, alea, ilinx, and mimicry. Some of these ideas were opposites, and some were complimentary. That is to say that play could incorporate more than one of these forms simultaneously. The people at Namco turned the four types of play into colorful mascot characters, and tied them into the mythical pyrallis. Agon represented competition. The Wonder Eggs preview in NG Magazine described him as “A green Pyrallis with a bow and arrow shaped tail. He has a stubborn sense of justice.” According to Wikipedia: Agon was a Greek term for a conflict, struggle or contest. This could be a contest in athletics, in chariot or horse racing, or in music or literature at a public festival in ancient Greece. People that engaged in play and did so because they craved the contest were filled with agon.
Alea represented chance. The Wonder Eggs preview in NG Magazine described him as “A violet Pyrallis with a three pointed harpoon shaped tail. A free-spirited carefree person with a harpoon tail.” Mr. Caillois probably selected this name for chance because alea was also the Latin name for a game of dice. People that enjoyed games of chance, and gambling were filled with alea.
Ilinx represented dizziness. NG Magazine described him as “A dark pink Pyrallis with a propeller shaped tail. A cheerful and funny person.” According to Roger Caillois “Ilinx is the Greek term for whirlpool, from which is also derived the Greek word for vertigo (ilingos).” These were people that enjoyed play for the physical sensation, whether it was riding on a roller coaster, or spinning around until you got dizzy then you were filled with ilinx.
Mimicry represented simulation. NG Magazine described him as “A blue Pyralliss with a harp shaped tail. Shy, and gentle.” These were for people that enjoyed games where you could inhabit the role of a character, play make believe or even something as simple as wearing the jersey of your favorite team. I could certainly identify the most with this character. My favorite arcade video games felt like simulators. When I sat inside of a deluxe arcade cabinet
like Starblade for example then it was easy to get lost in the world created by the developer.
At Wonder Eggs the pyrallis were treated like mascots. Not unlike how Mickey Mouse, or Tinkerbell would be received at Disneyland. They were mainly presented as cute cartoon characters. There weren’t however any walk around costumed pyrallis. They appeared only on plush figures, soft goods, tickets, stickers, and the like. In a few places we did see their “true” form as giant winged creatures. It was a nice duality that reminded us about the mythology of the park. The people at Namco made them friendly characters, while at the same time highlighting the power of play. There was strength, and purpose in play. As both Huizinga, and Caillois featured in their books play was both crucial and necessary for society to function. Whether physically, spiritually, or emotionally humans craved peace of mind. Play was one of the things we could do individually, as well as collectively that allowed us to reach it. In short it was one of the things that made life worth living.
Mr. Nakamura understood how important play was. He could see it in the kiddie rides he created in the ‘50s, the electromechanical games he published in the ‘60s, and their video game successors through the ‘70s, and ’80s. Understanding play allowed him to capture a market that his rivals, and even the banks never saw as important. It was why Namco grew into an entertainment juggernaut in less than four decades. It turned out that there was a science behind play. It was something that his team could exploit while creating games, and attractions for Wonder Eggs. It helped explain why it was such a beloved park in the few years it existed. We will talk about that in the next entry. Were there any defunct parks that you visited? Please tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me
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