How Research Informs Theme

Why research theme? Shouldn't gameplay be prioritized over theme? I usually spend at least several days researching theme early in my design process. My research helps shape my intended core experience which informs how my core loop develops. While researching, I always find ideas better than anything I could invent. But in the interest of actually writing a full post today, here are four more ways research will have a positive impact on your game. 

Abstraction

The predominant argument against extensive thematic research is that games are abstractions, and as such they cannot present very much in the way of thematic detail, especially mechanically—so why bother spending valuable design time researching? However, abstraction from lack of knowledge conveys ideas more poorly than abstraction from knowledge of a subject. Abstraction is the removal of details in order to present a more simplified representation of a concept. Knowing what details to preserve and which to remove requires an understanding of the subject you are abstracting. I prefer Bang! to all other social deduction games that I have played in part because it does the best job at evoking the theme, both subject and setting. Yet few people would list Bang! if they were asked to list strongly thematic games. The thematic experience is effective but not extensive; the theme works because of which details are preserved in a fairly simple game. 

Verisimilitude

Familiarity with your theme enables you to add the small flourishes that make the game feel grounded in something real. Attention to small details will make your game world feel as though there is a fully formed world that exists beyond the constraints of the game. This is especially true for players who have some prior knowledge of a subject. Players may not notice every detail that flows smoothly with a game, but if there is something that sticks out to them as wrong they will fixate on that detail. Keep in mind that a world you invented will most likely still have elements that exist in reality. Some of my favorite fantasy authors have gotten more mileage out of using obscure but real details than made up ones. Likewise, many sci-fi authors are well versed in space/technology design and research in order to present some plausible elements alongside less plausible ones. Research within genre media can also be important. If you want to play into tropes or against tropes, you have to know what the tropes are. 

Emotional Knowledge 

When you are familiar with a subject, you can better judge how lightly or seriously you can present it. Understanding the emotional content of a subject requires more than just cursory knowledge. You have to know the subject well enough to understand how knowledgeable players will feel when they play your game. Most people will forgive the details you sacrifice to the abstraction of gameplay as long as the game 'feels' like the theme. Playtesting can help reveal the experience a game will provide, but is limited by the demographics and proclivities of your playtesters. Cultural consultants can help, but awareness of pitfalls at the beginning of a project will be useful both to you and any cultural consultants brought in later in the process. 

Resonance

Resonance is familiarity plus unexpectedness minus chaff. Verisimilitude covers familiarity; abstraction covers chaff. That leaves unexpectedness. Research can reveal delightfully true details that will make your game more memorable by their inclusion. For example, I found a list of real Victorian charities to use as flavor text in Deadly Dowagers. The names were far funnier than anything I could come up with and felt more appropriate to the setting because they are contemporary to the setting. Instead of using flavor text to display my own cleverness, I creatively curate details that shine a light on all the wacky, delightful things that already exist in the world. 

Yes, you should research your theme. But you should research with an eye for design. Learn how the people closest to the subject matter feel about it. Learn enough of the details to know which to leave out and which to leave in. Make sure to leave in some of the most memorable details, even if they only make it into the rulebook. The amount of time spent on research will have an outsized impact on your final product. 

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