Thematic-feeling Mechanisms

There is a difference between the logic of the theme informing the design of the mechanics and those mechanics actually feeling thematic. Sushi Go!, for instance, does not feel particularly thematic despite the drafting loosely representing a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. The metaphor of the conveyor belt is entirely escapable; it does not add to the experience of play. 

When we attempt to design highly thematic games, we must implement one or more "inescapable metaphors" (or simulative actions). In general, the more representational the action the more the players can access the theme. In this regard, simulative and literal actions work better than mere metaphors for driving home the theme. Most players will not have degrees in media criticism that they put to use by teasing out how the setting impacts the available actions. They will know when a game feels like the theme and if it doesn't they will call it abstract. 

There are three primary ways to make a game feel more thematic. 

• Mechanisms that evoke sense memory. When I talk about theming the physics of your world that is because human scale physics are not just familiar but will produce a visceral response in players. The game will feel more "real" if even one element reminds players of how the real world works. Heat, gravity, etc. are powerful tools that when modeled in games will make the world of the game seem grounded in reality. Importantly, the mechanisms must remind players of the sense of feeling hot, cold, vertigo, thirsty, and so on. The goal is to evoke sympathetic sensations as opposed to scientific accuracy in the theme. This method gets used a moderate amount. I see it most often in smaller games modeling simpler ideas. 
• Gameplay decisions that evoke the theme. Most detective themed games involve players solving mysteries in some way or other mechanically. The closer aligned the decision space is to the theme, the more thematic the game will feel, even after multiple plays. There is a lot of rich territory to explore here around player agency, loss aversion, other player psychology topics, and how those topics can be integrated into various themes. This method is very underutilized (except in the detective genre), and I want to see much more attention paid to the theming of the decision space of a game. 
• Themes that evoke emotional reactions. This method is the most used in games. However, the emotions typically evoked tend to lean toward "I find this art/subject matter to be appealing." I think we can do better. Instead of asking players if they are interested in playing a generic nature game, find an aspect of that thematic genre that has a strong pull for your intended audience. For example, a game about baby giraffes trying to complete an obstacle course, which is difficult because they're still learning coordination. The goal of compelling themes is to take the reaction from "Yeah, ok, sure" to "Heck yes, I want to play that right now!" The major caveat here is that that response tends to only get you to the point of a first play. In order to maintain a sense of theme throughout play, you really need the other methods and/or simulative actions that fall outside of those methods. 

Sense memory, decisions, emotions. Thematically integrated games will feel thematic if they get inside the players heads. To feel thematic, theme need to exist not only on the table but also in the players minds. This is the power of a thematic-feeling game: to get under the player's skin and make them feel. To me, this is the pinnacle of design. 

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