Start Here

After nearly a hundred posts, I feel compelled to offer a reading list of some of the highlights of this blog. I've divided the posts into categories of interest and ordered them by how I think they will flow best conceptually. I'm aware my blog is not the easiest to navigate, but I simply can't be bothered to learn better web design. I won't do another one of these types of posts until after another hundred or so posts. 

If you are interested in theme, start here:

So You Need a Theme: Answering the most asked question regarding theme, "How can I retheme my game?"

The Anatomy of a Theme: My first attempt at defining parts of a theme.

Defining Theme: A more detailed attempt to define theme that builds on much of my writing.

The Three Levels of Theme: Ways theme can be expressed in a game. 

Thematic Transportation: One way to think about immersion.

How to Tell When a Thematic Element is a Gimmick 

Creating Resonance: A series based on my GDC talk. 

Abstraction, Representationalism, & Choice: Why specificity is better than abstraction. 

On the Subject of Subtext 

If you are interested in designing for emotions, start here: 

Emotion-Driven Design

Empathy-Driven Design

Creating Emotions in Players: A look at two emotional arcs used in games. 

Tools to Create Emotions: My most popular post. 

A Close Look at Endowment Effect: How one of my designs used loss aversion for emotional effect. 

If you want to learn about how game design intersects with art, start here: 

Are Designers Artists?: YES. 

Art Versus Craft: Are craftspeople artists? ALSO YES.

Collaboration in the Arts: All art is collaborative. Just like in making board games. 

Limitations in Art: All art has limitations. 

Art, Pandering, & Propaganda: Defining some terms. 

If you want to read what little I've written about mechanics and adjacent topics, start here: 

The Seven Action Categories of Board Games: A method of thinking about mechanical elements. 

Mechanics Roundup: Acquisition (Cards): Every way to get a card during gameplay. 

The Heaviest Mechanism: What makes a mechanism heavy?

Types of Information: How information is presented via different components and mechanics. 

Everything a Game Does: A short list of game elements that tend to get relegated to apps. 

Design for Learning: Player aids, glossaries, and more. 

Board Game Titles: Just a bit of fun.

If you are looking for general design discussion, start here:

Breaking the Rules: An outline of the design process that addresses the why of the process. 

Tough Love: Questions to ask of your design. 

Innovation vs. Refinement: Relative merits of each. 

Sources of Inspiration: Where can inspiration come from?

Development Directions and Ways to Stand Out in a Crowded Market: How can my game get noticed?

Elevator Pitches: One way to get your game noticed.

The Other Complexity Creep

ShippBoard Games is a board game design blog that updates most Mondays.

Elevator Pitches

I am probably better at elevator pitches than I am at designing. So, I thought I would put a few pointers together that should strengthen your elevator pitch game. 

An elevator pitch is a short paragraph designed to get someone (usually a publisher) interested enough in your game to listen to a full pitch. Stylistically, elevator pitches should follow the ABC's: accuracy, brevity, and clarity. Be brief, be clear, be to the point. If your elevator pitch is a little lackluster, the first thing you could try is cutting as many words as possible while still sounding professional. Leave out all superlatives and generic adjectives or adverbs, such as "fun," "unique," or "very." One way I like to start writing an elevator pitch is to write a potential tagline for my game and expand on it. For example, "Urban Decay is a city unbuilding game that combines tile-flipping and pattern-building" developed from "Urban Decay: A City Unbuilding Game." 

The most important information should be in the first sentence. Don't bury the lede. I like to combine the thematic hook of a game with the major mechanic(s). Normally, I would recommend stating the thematic hook as a question, but I don't think that is necessary with an elevator pitch. Instead, just stick to noun + verb + thematic win condition/player goal. A thematic win condition would be something like "makes the best hats" rather than "gets the most points." "Noun" refers to who the players are and "verb" is what they are doing in the game. NO world-building lore in elevator pitches.

Include the mechanic/genre most gamers would use to describe your game in your pitch: party game, auction game, social deduction game, etc. You want to set expectations as much as possible. If your war-themed game is auction driven, you need to say so or you may inadvertently set false expectations. The point of an elevator pitch is to convey as much information as possible in a couple sentences, so it's vital to use the knowledge publishers already have about games. 

I also like to include player count, game length, and general heaviness. These elements tend to get shuffled  into the second (or third) sentence if the first has gotten too clunky. I tend to think of this type of sentence as a postscript of additional information: it needs to be fast and informative. (e. g. "Deadly Dowagers is a medium-light 30 minute game for 2-6 players.") 

Depending on how much I need clarity over brevity, I may have a another sentence that expands on either the theme or the mechanics. This sentence could be before, after, or between the other two. In my Urban Decay example above, I would probably want to add a little more about the theme: "Players destroy buildings, grow forests, and spread waterways as nature reclaims an abandoned city." You may want to mention a mechanic that makes your game unique instead of expanding on the theme. However, the first question an interested publisher will ask is "what makes your game unique?" I'd, personally, rather give a clear impression of my theme in my elevator pitch and be ready for follow-up questions about mechanics. 

Learning to communicate the substance of your game efficiently and evocatively is an important skill for a designer to have. Elevator pitches are one of the best ways to hone that skill. 

ShippBoard Games is a board game design blog that updates most Mondays.

The Three Levels of Theme

The thematic experience of playing a game is created by a number of elements that operate in different ways as we play a game. Ideally, a game should have consistent theming at all levels to produce a deep thematic experience. Understanding how theme is expressed at different levels can help you identify where your theme may be weak or underdeveloped. 

Level 1: Core Gameplay

A game system is a series of rules and mechanics that produces an experience even when divorced from theme. This is easiest to see when you play two versions of the same game with a different theme (see numerous Reiner Knizia titles). It is possible to build a theme from a complete set of mechanics or even just a core mechanic that enhances the existing experience of a game system. The experience of core gameplay includes mechanics, rhythm or flow of play, and the tension of decisions (such as loss aversion).  These will be present regardless of setting and need to be taken into account when theming a game. Failure to factor in how a game actually plays to the thematic expression of a game will often create ludonarrative dissonance. Arguably, this level isn't theme, but theme is about creating a specific experience and core gameplay is all about player experience. 

Level 2: Baked-in Thematic Elements

Elements that are baked into a game are thematic elements that cannot be avoided when playing a game (without third party modification). These elements largely define the theme of the game (or create the most ludonarrative dissonance). Baked-in elements include illustration, components, icons/graphics, layout, and terminology. Terminology sits on the cusp between this level and the next, because so many terms are ignored in favor of color or shape names. I would argue that is the result of bad theming, however. All of these elements define the parameters of the game world because they are so closely tied to the actions of gameplay. You can't help but look at, hold, and manipulate tokens and cards while taking actions. In strongly themed games, what players call the tokens should at least closely resemble their actual names. So, while I may consistently get the names of the resources wrong in Everdell, stones and sticks aren't that far off from pebbles and twigs. And, yes, cubes are inherently more difficult to incorporate thematically because nothing about them, except color, helps reinforce the theme. (Looking at you, Century: Spice Road.)

Level 3: Opt-in Thematic Elements

Opt-in elements are elements that can be ignored during gameplay. This includes flavor text, rules fluff, narrative or dialogue breaks (in some cases), additional lore or components located in companion products, and meta-play. The difference between opt-in and baked-in is that opt-in elements invariably distract from or break the flow of gameplay. That doesn't mean they are inherently bad, but it does help explain why so many players choose to ignore flavor text. These elements exist for the players who want to engage with them and should enhance the overall play experience for those players (by working with the other levels and not against them). Meta-play is difficult to design for. Meta-play includes role-play, describing your character's reactions, silly voices, etc. Some notable games that encourage meta-play are Gloom and Sheriff of Nottingham. (I may revisit meta-play in a future post.) The important thing to know about this level is that opt-in elements cannot be where your theme begins and ends. Opt-in elements should be the final touches on a game that feels thematic even when players ignore those elements. 

I hate when flavor text breaks the fourth wall, or when icons and tokens don't have matching shapes, or when cubes don't represent anything. And I have made my feelings about rules fluff abundantly clear on many occasions. The world of the game exists from set-up until final scoring. The theme should enhance what happens in that period of time. Flavor text alone will not make your game thematic. Build your theme from the core outwards with every element reinforcing the others. After all, I've never heard anyone complain that a game experience felt too thematic. 

ShippBoard Games is a board game design blog that updates most Mondays.