Archetype definition:

From the ancient Greek αρχέτυπο, meaning “original Pattern”. A similar definition is found in dictionaries and lexicons around the world. As we are UK based (no jokes please), our Collins Dictionary provides the following: “An archetype is something that is considered to be a perfect or typical example of a particular kind of person or thing, because it has all their most important characteristics.”.

So, in simple terms, an Archetype in Peridot is a Dot having particular characteristics (Traits) that define it as being of its own kind.

In Peridot, all Archetypes have a specific set of required characteristics, or Traits, that make up that particular Archetype. Some have only a limited number of requirements, others have complex requirements.

Dots have seven Traits, each or any combination of which can be requirements in the makeup of an Archetype.  In addition to the seven physical Traits, every Dot has a colour or variety of colours, these too can be one of the requirements that make up an Archetype.  Whilst the physical Traits are visually easy to match, the same cannot be said for the colours if they are a requirement for the archetype.  Sure, the Archetype information Card (we’ll get to that later) shows a colour bar that indicates the range of colours required for the Archetype but this is where things get a little more complex, your own Dot does not have a colour bar for you to compare and the visual colours on your Dot can be dramatically affected by the material Trait that your Dot possesses – let’s take a look at an example.

This is a Dot card of a ‘standard’ xxx Archetype (clownfish to hold anchor):

And this is one of the same Archetype (xxx) with xxx material (clownfish to hold anchor):

Notice the difference in colours? This is a slightly extreme example but used to prove the point – don’t rely on the visual appearance of your Dot to identify its colours.

There is hope that colour bars will be introduced for our Dots, but that is perhaps for the future.  Even if colour bars are added for our Dots it will be down to a visual comparison to determine compatibility which is not ideal since the average human cannot accurately commit a specific colour shade to memory for any significant period of time (Source: Flombaum JI, Bae G, Olkkonen M, Allred SR. Why Some Colors Appear More Memorable Than Others: A Model Combining Categories and Particulars in Color Working Memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2015).

So, what can we do about this? Well, we can try our luck with a ‘best guess’ match when trying to create an Archetype with a colour requirement, or we can look at some specific reference information that gives precise colour requirements for each Archetype and then try and find the colour data for our own Dot.

To view the visual colour requirements for any of the current Archetypes in the game (we will update as and when we can), you can check them out here on the Archetypes reference page: Archetypes

To decode the colour/s that your Dot possesses you can save your Dot’s DNA profile as a text file (instructions here: add hyperlink) and then follow the detailed instructions here (add hyperlink) to locate, extract and decode your Dot’s colours.

You can then directly compare the two – the Archetype requirements will be a range of permissible colours; your Dot’s colours will be specific.

So, colour discussion over, where can I find a list of the Archetypes, their Traits and requirements? Simply follow the same link above for the Archetype Colours and it will take you to the full Archetypes reference page.

{Add more about classic Archetypes, competitions, release mechanics etc.}