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Does The theme = The Dream
Author
Is theme becoming the most important element to have in a game that wishes to become commercial/profitable? I mean, is it possible to have a dream for a game that carries little to no theme what so ever?
When we think of a great idea for a game at which point do you consider the theme? First? Chuck it in later?
And how dictorial does the theme become over the game once its established. Its pretty powerful isn''t it? Or?
I love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
I think the theme is one of the most important parts of the game, so I always figure out what it should be very early in the design process...
- DarkMage139
"Real game developers don't change the rules. Real game developers don't break the rules. Real game developers make the rules!"
"Originality (in games) is the spice of life!"
- DarkMage139
"Real game developers don't change the rules. Real game developers don't break the rules. Real game developers make the rules!"
"Originality (in games) is the spice of life!"
Before you start programming it is basic to make a good idea of what you want to make but not nessecary to write the whole story.
Let''s say you want to make a 2d top-down RPG.
You just need to clear:
-The main story in a few paragraphs
-The time of the story
-The main characters good and villain(who they are,what they are,etc.)
-The world in which the game is placed
As soon as you have programmed some stuff you may add some other elements to the plot and the game''s plot will be weaved simultaneously with the programming tasks.The more you advance your programming tasks the more specific your plot will be.
I think this what most people do when it comes to making up the game''s story.I''m talking about individuals mostly cause in teams and especially in big companies the different parts of a game(programming,art,story) are shared by more people.
Voodoo4
Let''s say you want to make a 2d top-down RPG.
You just need to clear:
-The main story in a few paragraphs
-The time of the story
-The main characters good and villain(who they are,what they are,etc.)
-The world in which the game is placed
As soon as you have programmed some stuff you may add some other elements to the plot and the game''s plot will be weaved simultaneously with the programming tasks.The more you advance your programming tasks the more specific your plot will be.
I think this what most people do when it comes to making up the game''s story.I''m talking about individuals mostly cause in teams and especially in big companies the different parts of a game(programming,art,story) are shared by more people.
Voodoo4
depends on the type of game and the game itself. Most of the projects I''m designing (if only I could program as fast as I can think) don''t rely on a theme at all. Some of them need a theme tacked on (like my civcraft TBS that has no sim elements) but others (lost vikings meets quake) don''t need a theme at all. Heck I might just have robots fighting wizards vs cartoony animals, since the theme means nothing. For a single player game you''d probably need a strong theme because well single player games tend to be lacking.
I think in large scale projects, the theme is more than essential, it''s the whole thing. While in a small scale project you are generally designing just for fun, a large scale one needs something to tie all the work together, to give the work a direction. In most large scale projects nowadays they start with theme and work the way down.
quote: Original post by Voodoo4
As soon as you have programmed some stuff you may add some other elements to the plot and the game''s plot will be weaved simultaneously with the programming tasks.The more you advance your programming tasks the more specific your plot will be.
Voodoo4
Ach! Ach! No, no it''s all wrong! Don''t encourage people to create their plots as they go along! This is one of the numerous causes that amateur projects fail! If you want to do a story-based game like an adventure game or an RPG, do it RIGHT ... create a formal design doc with ALL characters, ALL plot elements, from beginning to end, and (if you''re a good and diligent designer) some kind of storyboard (could be in words instead of pictures) mapping out the whole game.
This seems elaborate, and many indie developers just skip it (which is a big mistake, IMO). But if you don''t have the patience, at LEAST take the time to plan out EVERYTHING plot-wise and theme-wise--which, typing back to the original thread, I think is extremely important.
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Changing the future of adventure gaming...
Atypical Interactive
counter example: quake III, theme only mentioned in manual
counter example: solitare, no theme at all
counter example: chess, minimal theme
counter example: solitare, no theme at all
counter example: chess, minimal theme
Hrm - I personally think that it really depends on what u are trying to do. Some successful products have gone totally without theme (as mentioned) by instead have "style". Which I guess is slightly different, a theme doesn''t have to be stylish I suppose.
However, some recognised/highly regarded, but unsuccessful products almost always have themes. But the "mass market" isn''t always very responsive to things which aren''t murder based.
My personal opinion as a gamer is that themes are extremely cool and I hardly own a game that doesn''t have a strong theme in it, but I''m not the average gamer. Hell I thought that Half Life sucked, Quake III was pitifully crap and C&C sucked compared to Warcraft 2 - so what would I know
However, some recognised/highly regarded, but unsuccessful products almost always have themes. But the "mass market" isn''t always very responsive to things which aren''t murder based.
My personal opinion as a gamer is that themes are extremely cool and I hardly own a game that doesn''t have a strong theme in it, but I''m not the average gamer. Hell I thought that Half Life sucked, Quake III was pitifully crap and C&C sucked compared to Warcraft 2 - so what would I know
quote: Original post by AtypicalAlex
Ach! Ach! No, no it''s all wrong! Don''t encourage people to create their plots as they go along! This is one of the numerous causes that amateur projects fail! If you want to do a story-based game like an adventure game or an RPG, do it RIGHT ... create a formal design doc with ALL characters, ALL plot elements, from beginning to end, and (if you''re a good and diligent designer) some kind of storyboard (could be in words instead of pictures) mapping out the whole game.
This seems elaborate, and many indie developers just skip it (which is a big mistake, IMO). But if you don''t have the patience, at LEAST take the time to plan out EVERYTHING plot-wise and theme-wise--which, typing back to the original thread, I think is extremely important.
Alex,i was talking about amateur individuals as you can read in my post.When creating the design document it is supposed to have total knowledge of the programming process you''re gonna follow.
I mean all programming technics that will help you set up the main engine of your game.This supposes you are an experienced(or experienced enough) programmer.
But when you are an amateur you learn during the process of programming.You certainly don''t know all the available programming technics that an experienced programmer does.
So i (the amateur) am not in position to design the whole game before i start programming.
If i just tried to turn into a game my ideas right now i would certainly fail.I''m not yet capable of turning my dreams into a game.
Only a part of them.
Voodoo4
theme (thm)
n.
A topic of discourse or discussion.
A subject of artistic representation.
An implicit or recurrent idea; a motif: a theme of powerlessness that runs through the diary; a party with a tropical island theme.
Fyi, theme is not another word for plot. A game that has a theme isn''t a game that has a story; it''s a game that has a similar style or design running throughout it. Most forms of entertainment have themes, as do most games. Theme can also be the point of a story, if your game has a story. For example, the theme of a game might be death, in which case the art would be dark and death-like, the characters would be morbid, the plot would be about killing, etc. Another theme might be cuteness. If cuteness were your theme, you would have everything in the game look cute, and the goal would be to have the player feel like they are surrounded by it.
These are not very good examples, but I guess they''ll do. It sounds more like you are talking about a game not having a plot than a game not having a theme. Games like Pacman and Tetris, without any plot, can still have themes.
n.
A topic of discourse or discussion.
A subject of artistic representation.
An implicit or recurrent idea; a motif: a theme of powerlessness that runs through the diary; a party with a tropical island theme.
Fyi, theme is not another word for plot. A game that has a theme isn''t a game that has a story; it''s a game that has a similar style or design running throughout it. Most forms of entertainment have themes, as do most games. Theme can also be the point of a story, if your game has a story. For example, the theme of a game might be death, in which case the art would be dark and death-like, the characters would be morbid, the plot would be about killing, etc. Another theme might be cuteness. If cuteness were your theme, you would have everything in the game look cute, and the goal would be to have the player feel like they are surrounded by it.
These are not very good examples, but I guess they''ll do. It sounds more like you are talking about a game not having a plot than a game not having a theme. Games like Pacman and Tetris, without any plot, can still have themes.
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