The Mechanics of Theme

The Designer #2

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Designing a theme is just like designing a game; it requires iteration and playtesting to be sure you’ve got something that delivers an awesome experience to players.

What is theme?

The theme is what your game is about. Game themes can range from simple motifs, like stained glass window patterns, to complex narratives, as seen in games like Dungeons & Dragons.

When combined, the theme and mechanics should always support the core principle of game design, which, as we learned in the previous newsletter is: Player experience is the only metric that matters.

Of course, each game designer will find their own way to bring together the theme and mechanics, but below, I’ll outline two different directions game designers take when approaching the theme.

• The Mechanics-First Approach

• The Theme-First Approach

This issue also includes a brief exploration of the interaction of art and theme.

At the end, you’ll find a worksheet that will assist you in differentiating between the narrative or thematic aspects that are necessary to the game and those that are desirable but non-essential.

The Mechanics-First Approach

At my company, Stone Blade Entertainment, our approach is to develop a game's mechanics before its theme. This doesn't imply that we ignore the theme during the design process; rather, the theme is not our primary focus initially and receives more attention during the game's final polishing stage. Once we have mechanics refined to a point where they’re enjoyable, we begin to consider what theme can be layered onto the mechanics. Working from this direction helps us refine mechanics with maximum flexibility.

The amount of time dedicated to this phase varies significantly depending on the game's genre and the development budget. For instance, creating a board game generally requires less time compared to a collectible card game, and both are quicker to develop than a massively multiplayer online game (MMO). Sometimes, the perfect theme emerges early in the process, but other times, finding a theme that aligns with your game mechanics can be more challenging.

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In my interview with Elan Lee, the creator of Exploding Kittens, he says:

“I believe the story is 50% of any video game you work on; I think the other 50% is the game mechanic. […] I think that the game mechanic is the mechanism by which your story is delivered.”

Elan Lee — From Star Wars Intern to Kickstarter Triumph, Embracing Risk in Game Design, The Power of Storytelling, and Crafting Games that Build Communities. (#20)

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The Theme-First Approach

The core concept of the theme-first design approach is to start with a specific theme and then develop game mechanics that encapsulate the experience implied by that theme.