From Unsung Hero to Savage Hero: Shaping Characters’ Roles in the Adaptation Between Literary Works and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang! Moba

Abstract

This paper examines adaptation study of famous heroes from various literary works (such as Mahabharata, Arthurian legend, Journey to the West) and a Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) ‘Mobile Legends: Bang Bang!’ (MLBB) by Moonton. This paper focuses on how fictional heroes and divine figures like Gatotkaca, Lancelot, Freya and Sun Go Kong are presented and shaped into different in-game roles. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang! a game designed for mobile phones, provides two opposing teams fighting one another to reach and destroy the enemy’s base while defending their own base for control. Descriptive analytical method with documentation obtained from books and research journals was used to analyze the media; in addition, the theory used was based on Damono’s theory of adaptation (2012) and Elleström’s modalities (2010) by analyzing the element changes in the adaptation study. The conclusion is that the heroes’ roles are shaped differently due to their true nature and motives from the original literary works.