Since this is a series about the principles of design, we should probably start talking about them. The first principle of design is arguably the most important. And the oldest. And my favorite.
Unity is when all elements work together as one harmonious composition. In other words, all the elements feel like they belong in the same world.
Aristotle, in writing about tragedy, wrote "the components ought to be so firmly compacted that if any one of them is shifted to another place, the whole is loosened up and dislocated; for an element whose addition or subtraction makes no perceptible difference is not really a part of the whole." (The 'classical unities' of theatre would be described two thousand years later based on what Aristotle wrote in the Poetics.)
I firmly believe Aristotle's view of unity applies to board game design. The debate about toy factor and table presence needs a good dose of unity-focused design. Especially from designers. Publishers are going to sell games however they want to, but designers should be slow to embrace gimmick. This does not mean ignoring product-focused design! Designers should be designing for the overall gameplay experience including making a game desirable to not just to play but also to purchase. But there is a difference between games with table presence and games people only buy for the bits and never play.
Now that there are so many games on the market, the standards for a 'good' game have gotten higher. Game designers (supposedly) used to be able to design a set of mechanics and let the publisher take it from there. Designers now are responsible for designing (although perhaps not executing) the full play experience, which requires a different set of skills than what is required for developing mechanics alone.
How unity can help your designs:
-Better integration of theme
-Fewer unnecessary mechanisms
-More immersive world-building
-Art that supports gameplay
-Components that add to the overall experience
Next post, we'll delve into ways to create unity.
In this series, I'm outlining the principles of design from a perspective of how they relate to board game design. If you want to read more on your own, the main reference I use is Design Basics by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak. Available here.
Unity is when all elements work together as one harmonious composition. In other words, all the elements feel like they belong in the same world.
Aristotle, in writing about tragedy, wrote "the components ought to be so firmly compacted that if any one of them is shifted to another place, the whole is loosened up and dislocated; for an element whose addition or subtraction makes no perceptible difference is not really a part of the whole." (The 'classical unities' of theatre would be described two thousand years later based on what Aristotle wrote in the Poetics.)
I firmly believe Aristotle's view of unity applies to board game design. The debate about toy factor and table presence needs a good dose of unity-focused design. Especially from designers. Publishers are going to sell games however they want to, but designers should be slow to embrace gimmick. This does not mean ignoring product-focused design! Designers should be designing for the overall gameplay experience including making a game desirable to not just to play but also to purchase. But there is a difference between games with table presence and games people only buy for the bits and never play.
Now that there are so many games on the market, the standards for a 'good' game have gotten higher. Game designers (supposedly) used to be able to design a set of mechanics and let the publisher take it from there. Designers now are responsible for designing (although perhaps not executing) the full play experience, which requires a different set of skills than what is required for developing mechanics alone.
How unity can help your designs:
-Better integration of theme
-Fewer unnecessary mechanisms
-More immersive world-building
-Art that supports gameplay
-Components that add to the overall experience
Next post, we'll delve into ways to create unity.
In this series, I'm outlining the principles of design from a perspective of how they relate to board game design. If you want to read more on your own, the main reference I use is Design Basics by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak. Available here.
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