In an attempt to transition out of hiatus, I will be posting the scripts of my Thinking Beyond Mechanisms segment. I don't plan to edit them, so there may be some differences between the audio and written versions. Take the audio as the correct version.
Win Conditions
Welcome to Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, an in depth look at some of the other aspects of game design, the segment that looks at some of the theory of board game design that goes beyond what typically gets covered when we learn how to design games. My name is Sarah Shipp and today I want to talk about thematic win conditions.
I have long advocated for the win condition of a game to align with the theme. This is one of the strongest ways to integrate the theme and mechanics. When the win condition makes sense thematically, the players have a sense of why they want to win. This helps the players remember the rules around winning but also invests the players in the theme. I believe that thematic win conditions are the best way to create player investment into theme.
When we sit down to play a game, we become invested in the outcome. C. Thi Nguyen describes this phenomenon in his book Games: Agency as Art as players adopting disposable ends or temporary agencies that we then abandon after the game is over. For the span of gameplay we care, sometimes deeply, about who is generating the most resources or occupying the most territory in a curated cardboard experience. Once the game is over, we return to our normal priorities and values.
This striving to win lasts the entire game. Players may be invested in other goals than winning, but those are typically less enduring or reliable. For example, the endowment effect, which creates loss aversion, typically gets weaker as players approach the end of a game. At a certain point, a player’s desire to win overtakes other motivations. This shift in motivation is referred to as the goal gradient effect, which you can explore in more detail in the book Achievement ReLocked.
Win conditions shape how the game is played, but they do that by shaping what the player becomes invested in. Goals speak to us as humans. As I have stated, players become invested in the goals that surround winning the game. Audiences of all types become invested in character goals, whether in movies, books, games, or other media. Aligning both the mechanical goals and the thematic goals of a game allows for greater thematic investment.
If the theme has no impact on how players win, they are less likely to care about the theme. The mechanical goals will as a rule take precedent because those goals are active and involve the player. Thematic justification that is disconnected from the win condition is passive and cannot create the same level of investment.
However, when the goals of gameplay align with the goals of the theme, players can translate the emotions of gameplay into the imagined world of the theme. A critical hit becomes an exciting moment for both the player and the character.
It is impossible to over stress the importance of goals when it comes to crafting an experience. People tend not to respond well to being told how to feel. Goals create desires and how near or far a character is from a goal can inspire corresponding emotions. The cliche phrase in acting is “what’s my motivation?” Actors are not trained to merely express one emotion after another. Rather, they are trained to look at the goal of a scene then attempt to overcome their character’s obstacles in pursuit of that goal. The emotions come from the obstacles and desires related to the goal.
Likewise, players are presented with goals and obstacles that create the emotional experience of the game. If the theme has corresponding goals and obstacles, then players will transfer some of their investment in the game to the world of the theme. At times, this investment can arise to something similar to an acting exercise. Sheriff of Nottingham instructs players to essentially improvise dialogue between two characters with opposing goals: the sheriff and the merchant.
Not every game needs elements of roleplaying in order to create thematic investment. As long as the player goals align with the character goals, players will be invested in the theme—provided the other thematic trappings attempt make a similar amount of sense. Thematic investment is additive to the overall game experience. It adds to the reasons someone will become a fan of the game. Greater player investment in a game is the ultimate goal.
Thematic win conditions are only one part of creating player investment in the theme. In recent episodes, I’ve mentioned gates and loss aversion. Intrinsic motivation and agency can also be leveraged thematically. And, yes, content such as missions in campaign games also leads to thematic investment. However, the foundation of theme should be goals, with the overall goal aligning with the win condition. So, if you are looking at the theme of your game, your first question should be “who are the characters and what do they want?”
For more ways of thinking beyond mechanisms, you can visit my blog at shipp board games dot blog spot dot com or catch future episodes of thinking beyond mechanisms on ludology.
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