archetypes, patterns, game design

'A Practical Guide to the Hero's Journey' - useful summary of Joseph Campbell's theory by Bob Bates

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050617/bates_01.shtml

'What every game designer needs to know about story' - useful overview of McKee's Story by John Sutherland

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050727/sutherland_01.shtml

Summary of Ernest Adams' 'A New Vision of Interactive Stories' - counter to Aristotle, Campbell, & McKee in the context of game design

http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2006/03/gdc_a_new_visio.html