Touchstones and Stereotypes

Representational art presents certain difficulties for creators. We find these same difficulties in themed board games, especially within certain genres of game. What are these difficulties? Balancing touchstones with stereotypes and clichés. 

Representational just means "not abstract." When we depict specific things or people, we run into two problems. One is that, in order for our theme to resonate, we must present something comprehensible (that is, familiar) to the audience. On the other hand, overfamiliarity results in clichés and potentially harmful stereotypes. 

A touchstone is a standard or criterion by which something can be recognized.* Without any touchstones, a theme will not 'fit' into a particular genre. A horror game must contain at least some recognizable horror elements. A fantasy game needs some magic, otherwise it might just be an adventure game. A game depicting aspects of a real world culture needs to be recognizable by people from that culture (but also accessible to people from outside the culture, if that is the goal). 

A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.* Stereotypes are familiar and can be easily confused with touchstones. Some of the time they can seem interchangeable. But touchstones are dynamic. Horror movies have evolved since the 1950s. New art creates new touchstones that build new conventions. Stereotypes are not dynamic. They are lazy categorizations because they do not take into account new ideas or information. I could pretty quickly come up with a game theme set in the American Old West, but only if I rely heavily on stereotypes. I would need to do a lot of research to create an Old West world that felt like it had something fresh and true to say. 

Both touchstones and stereotypes are simplifications of broader concepts, which is why they get used in board game design. Board games hide nuance in the mechanics. If the theme is not closely tied to the mechanics, the theme won't contain any nuance. This puts satirical games in a tricky place. Using stereotypes to poke fun at them is difficult in a medium that relies on abstraction. Thematic integration can help emphasize a lack of seriousness, as can illustration. But it's worth pointing out that most people are not as good at satire as they think they are. Use of stereotypes in general can lead to telling unintentional stories in a design. As a designer, I want to be intentional about the stories I tell. 

Often it is better to avoid stereotypes altogether. Culturally resonant touchstones can uplift communities. Stereotypes can make a theme feel dated, because they retread old ground. Stereotypes have nothing new to say and often what they do say is untrue or no longer true. They are neither kind nor educational, merely familiar and within arms reach. 

I'll leave you with a definition of cliché: a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.*

*Definitions taken from lexico.com.