Motivational Analysis

Siffrin (he/they)

Who?

For my motivational analysis, I’ve chosen the character Siffrin from the video game In Stars and Time. Siffrin is a member of an adventuring party whose goal is to defeat a mysterious man called The King (he’s not a real king, he just started calling himself that and people shrugged and said “Alright”) and save the country Vaugarde, which has been slowly frozen in time by The King. The other members of the party are Mirabella, Isabeau, Odile, and Bonnie. Siffrin comes across as a laidback and often jokey person, loving to make bad puns to make his friends laugh. He deeply cares about his party members, even viewing them as his family. He would do anything for them and he would do anything to stay with them. They’re very self-critical, berating themself over things he can’t control (like missing a trap when the party first enters the House of Change and dying) or accidentally making one of his friends upset. You may have noticed I mentioned Siffrin died? Well he did, but also he didn’t. He did in the old loop, but not yet in this current one. 

Context

See, this game starts at the climax of their journey. They’ve traveled the country, met their friends, and gathered the tools to confront The King at the House of Change in the town Dormont, where The King started his rampage and where Mirabelle, a Housemaiden from Dormont — and the “leader” of the party — escaped, tooking it upon herself to save Vaugarde from The King after being "gifted" unique powers by the Change God (will explain shortly) that make her immune to Time Craft (magic). After months of adventuring, they return to Dormont and spend the day preparing. Mirabelle sets up the party’s room for a sleepover the night before they go to the House, Odile (a researcher from the neighboring country Ka Bue) checks out the library, Isabeau (a city Defender from Jouvente) plans to make a wish at Dormont’s Favor Tree, and Bonnie (a kid they rescued from one of the many towns frozen by The King’s Craft) sits over by the town’s crop fields. 

At the start of the game, Siffrin has just woken up from a nap, not unusual for them to do, and wanders the town to check in on his friends. When checking in with Isabeau, Siffrin learns about one of Vaugarde’s traditions, making wishes at the Favor Tree. For context, Vaugarde worships a deity called the Change God, so a lot of their cultural practices center around how change is a part of life and ought to be celebrated. Siffrin decided to make a wish at the Favor Tree, since why not; there’s no harm in asking for a favor before a big fight like they’d have tomorrow. So Siffrin has the option to make a wish for one of his friends, and then the day carries on. 

That next morning, the party goes over to the House, unlocked the main gate and begins their marches through to confront The King. After looking around the first floor for any supplies they might need, they find a corridor to the next floor with pillars on either side of the walkway. With Mirabelle nervous that there could be traps, Siffrin volunteers to check for the group, given that’s one of their skills. After walking up and down the corridor, Siffrin walks back over to the group…only to be crushed by a falling boulder. Siffrin then wakes back up in the field, going on to experience the exact same day before the party went to the House. They’re stuck in a time loop. 

His new task is to figure out how he got stuck in this time loop, in addition to helping his party defeat The King. And while he's stuck in this time loop, maybe he could even take the time to fix all of his friends issues! Probably. He just can't let them know that their in a time loop. Ever.

Motivations

- Protect his friends (including not let them know they're stuck in a time loop)

- Defeat The King (including figuring out how The King gained control over time and where he came from)

- Escape the time loop! (and maintain their sanity the best he can); surely it's because of The King?