That's easy, if you are making an Amerithrash game add Orcs, if it is European design add the theme when the game is done. Right?
Uh, no. If fact I think we are in a very cool place with game design now where we are blending the streamlined mechanics from traditional "Euro-Games" with cool thematic integration from "American Design". Theme is very important to design. If fact I would say that Twilight Struggle wouldn't be #1 on BGG if it weren't for it's unique theme.
Shouldn't you have your theme picked out before you start designing your game?
Absolutely. This is clearly a preference, and many themes resemble each other, so there is room for movement in theme. But you should definitely have an idea about theme before you start on the design. In fact the theme should help inform your design choices. If you have a more accessible theme you should have a more accessible game. With more fantasy themes you are probably ok going with more difficult gameplay. And if you are designing a war game you can have very complex interactions.
Now certainly there are exceptions to these rules. Classic Dungeon is a great game with a fantasy theme that is very accessible. I would argue that Agricola has a very accessible theme with some complex mechanics. Twilight Struggle's goal was to make a more accessible war game. But in general you have to know the audience that will be attracted to your theme and make the gameplay match their interest.
What made you write about this topic?
As with every week I take my topics from what I am currently working on, or thinking about. Typically we make very thematic games that focus on some sort of fantasy setting. It may be post apocalypse, medieval fantasy, etc... But over the Holidays I was playing games with my extended family and realized that these weren't the best examples of things to introduce them to the hobby. I needed to find a theme they were interested in.
So what did they pick out of the selection I brought to them. Viticulture. A game about making wine. This is no surprise considering how much wine we had to drink throughout the weekend. As I was teaching them the game it seemed very straightforward to me. All the mechanics made sense, and were very straight forward. But as I was describing it to them their heads started to spin. They asked me how many times I had played it and I explained that I had never played it before, I just looked through the rules once and the board did a good job of explaining what to do.
1 hour in they were still spinning a bit. My one cousin said I don't really know what my goal is (maybe that is my fault, although my other cousin got it and was doing quite well). I told them we could stop at any time but they wanted to play a bit longer.
2 hours in they were both had the mechanics down cold, although the one still didn't have a good idea about the strategy even with our help. We decided we were just going to play one more turn at this point.
3 hours in we had finished the game, and everyone had a blast. This is not a 3 hour game mind you. Just with 2 non-gamers it was this time. Even though the mechanics were difficult for them, they had fun playing the game because of the theme. Even when they didn't know the goal, they liked figuring out how to make things, then sell them. They went through a 3 hour tutorial just because they were engrossed in the theme.
So what now, no more "Thematic Games"?
Not at all. We love designing games with strong theme, but you can make a game with strong theme like Viticulture without it being a Fantasy theme. We are going to keep making thematic fantasy games as well, but we also decided to dip our toes into more realistic themes as well. Something we could show our families to help introduce them into the hobby. The goal is to pick 1-2 mechanics (similar to dominion with deck building) and focus the game around those mechanics. Provide a great into game to our hobby. If you like economic engines, see if you can come up with an accessible theme that can support teaching those mechanics. It is really a good way to get into design. It will keep you focused and these sorts of games are usually easier to design. They are also more likely to get picked up by publishers if you keep the component count and complexity down.
Lesson Learned?
If you are a new designer, or even and accomplished one, try making an accessible game that teaches 1-2 new mechanics to a non-gamer. If we want to grow the industry we have to teach games one concept at a time. But people won't come in unless they feel comfortable with the subject matter first. Don't shy away from unusual themes, but make sure you match your theme to the mechanics and complexity of the game.
What's next?
That's it for this week, next time I am going to talk about my top podcasts for game designers to listen to and why. Until then, I am Peter, keep designing great games.
