Today we cover the last principle of design: rhythm. Rhythm is the visual, auditory, or chronological patterns present in a design. Two types of patterns can affect rhythm. Alternating rhythm is a consistent sequence of elements, the continuation of which can be anticipated by the viewer. Progressive rhythm is a sequence that changes or ramps up as it goes along.
In addition to design terms, we can look to music for ways to use rhythm. The visuals of our boards can have a tempo. Elements that flow gently to one another are more legato, whereas elements that abruptly break up the pattern are more staccato. Rounds of play can be described as having beats and meters. Here I think it is helpful to switch for a moment to theatre terms. In theatre, beats are small units of action that are broken up by moments of reflection. A beat may be more than a single action, but they have a single goal in the scene, or perhaps the phase or round. Much like in music, how you structure the beats of gameplay can build excitement (or relaxation, contemplation, etc).
All of a game's elements should have rhythms that make sense for what they are trying to bring to the game. Much like the actor's beats, each element should have a motivation. The goal of a card draft is for player's to add new cards to their hands. The motivation of drafting cards might be to slow down gameplay and allow for a moment of reflection and strategizing. Every board game mechanism (even the one you invented ex nihilo) has an inherent rhythm. The combination of mechanisms into turns and rounds and phases creates the cadence or meter of gameplay. The rhythms of the visual design should reinforce the rhythms of gameplay. A visually cluttered and chaotic play space (especially at set-up) will convey a stressful, frenetic rhythm, regardless of how the game actually plays or is intended to play. Visually and tactically, rhythm can be conveyed thru texture. Sharp edges and points can reinforce fast, exciting gameplay; gentle curves and soft edges convey a slower rhythm.
Rhythms that work together to achieve the design vision help create unity of design. Emphasis should be incorporated into the rhythm of your design. It should be clear by now that each design element supports the others.
In the next post we'll look at a bonus principle and draw some conclusions.
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.
In addition to design terms, we can look to music for ways to use rhythm. The visuals of our boards can have a tempo. Elements that flow gently to one another are more legato, whereas elements that abruptly break up the pattern are more staccato. Rounds of play can be described as having beats and meters. Here I think it is helpful to switch for a moment to theatre terms. In theatre, beats are small units of action that are broken up by moments of reflection. A beat may be more than a single action, but they have a single goal in the scene, or perhaps the phase or round. Much like in music, how you structure the beats of gameplay can build excitement (or relaxation, contemplation, etc).
All of a game's elements should have rhythms that make sense for what they are trying to bring to the game. Much like the actor's beats, each element should have a motivation. The goal of a card draft is for player's to add new cards to their hands. The motivation of drafting cards might be to slow down gameplay and allow for a moment of reflection and strategizing. Every board game mechanism (even the one you invented ex nihilo) has an inherent rhythm. The combination of mechanisms into turns and rounds and phases creates the cadence or meter of gameplay. The rhythms of the visual design should reinforce the rhythms of gameplay. A visually cluttered and chaotic play space (especially at set-up) will convey a stressful, frenetic rhythm, regardless of how the game actually plays or is intended to play. Visually and tactically, rhythm can be conveyed thru texture. Sharp edges and points can reinforce fast, exciting gameplay; gentle curves and soft edges convey a slower rhythm.
Rhythms that work together to achieve the design vision help create unity of design. Emphasis should be incorporated into the rhythm of your design. It should be clear by now that each design element supports the others.
In the next post we'll look at a bonus principle and draw some conclusions.
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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