Well, first post here, hi everyone, but that's not the point of this post, I'm getting a group of programmers to make a game, I have prior experience in small nonsense games and a lot of experience in OO programming and other university related programming and algorithm classes, etc. So long story short, before our first meeting next week I asked some of the guys to come up with general ideas, nothing set in stone but general ideas. I want to have a list of game themes written down amongst other things. I know making a game is a big endeavor, I've heard all of it before, don't worry. Why should you, if i succeed or fail, what real difference will it make to you...unless I make a great game, so let's assume I will haha.... So for those who don't know, the defintion of theme: 1. a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic. 2. a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art. 3...etc. So, game themes that I have come with: 1) Fantasy: set in a fantasy world (magic, unicorns, dragons) 2) Sci-Fi: set in a futuristic world (guns, ships, lasers) 3) Steampunk: subgenre of sci-fi and fantasy, steampower is still being used but elements of sci-fi/fantasy are still being used. Anything else anyone can think of? if this list becomes long enough, we could even sticky this. This can include subgenres/subthemes or more.

Why not use this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_genres as a start? Not a very well written article, even for Wikipedia, but anyway...

I've already looked at it, it doesn't describe themes, it's genres, I'm not looking for genres...

For example, a theme is a setting/situation for a genre, like most FPSs are either sci-fi or modern...lookie there another theme, (modern), i'll add it tomorow to the original post.

First of all, welcome to GameDev.net. ^_^

Quote:

Originally posted by Wudek So, game themes that I have come with: 1) Fantasy: set in a fantasy world (magic, unicorns, dragons) 2) Sci-Fi: set in a futuristic world (guns, ships, lasers) 3) Steampunk: subgenre of sci-fi and fantasy, steampower is still being used but elements of sci-fi/fantasy are still being used.

To be honest, I think that I would classify those as settings (and fairly general ones, at that), rather than themes. One could, I suppose, argue that they are "unifying or dominant idea. motif, etc.", but in that case &#111;ne could similarly argue that "running around shooting things" is the theme of first-person shooters: probably true, technically, but, I suspect, not as useful as narrowing the definition a little.<br><br>Story Themes might be (in my opinion, at least):<br><ul><br><li>Good vs. Evil (the perennial favourite ;))<br></li><br><li>The growth of a child to an adult, in particular the transition from &#111;ne to another.<br></li><br><li>The dangers of power.<br></li><br><li>Humankind's relationship with the Earth.<br></li><br></ul><br>etc.<br><br>Similarly, a game that involves magic might have the theme of power coming at a price if the use of magic requires that the player sacrifice something (I seem to recall someone &#111;n this forum suggesting that "sanity" be the price, for example).<br><br>A game that uses the idea enough might be said to have the theme of specialisation being more powerful than generalisation - single-class characters might be considerably more powerful than multi-class characters, and an NPC that has dedicated his life to the pursuit of a single topic might unlock a key secret that has eluded other, less obsessed researchers, for example.

The themes you've listed so far I'd describe more as a list of settings. I've also got no real idea of what kind of games you're interested in, as you've given us no hints.

You've listed the two big settings that have become game cliches:

• High Fantasy - almost always heavily based of ideas from Tolkien. These days it comes in two sub-flavours, those based of D&D, and those based of Japanese RPGs.
  
• Space Opera - loads of space ships and space laser dogfights with Aristotlean physics... in space!

Frankly, I think these two are used so much that an example of anything else is a breath of fresh air. Some examples:

• Steampunk: I describe this as more Victorian era sci fi. It's sci-fi set in the past. More common than others on the list, but not as overused as the top two.
  
• Classic Mythology: Greek or Egyptian usually, sometimes Roman. Since fantasy cribs so much from this it can feel like a subset.
  
• Classic Historical: A more realistic take on classic history. Usually used in strategy games. The Romans are the most popular choice here.
  
• Medieval Historical: Also feels a bit like a subset of fantasy given the whole knights theme, but this is much more realistic. Also usually used in strategy games.
  
• The New World/Age of Pirates: Sword fights, ships, gunpowder and gold.
  
• 19th century warfare/World War I: There's the occasional Napoleonic simulator, and there's always the American Civil War games, but I'm not sure why this era is ignored so much except for die-hard strategy games.
  
• The Wild West: Showdowns at high noon. Bandits robbing the stage coach. Steam engines. Tumbleweeds.
  
• World War II: Every flippin' second FPS game seems to be set here.
  
• Modern: Very wide range of settings from today's world. Pick a subculture or a country and you'll have a different feel.
  
• Twenty Years in the Future: A subset of sci-fi. It's just a little bit more futuristic from today. Deus Ex would be set here.
  
• The Masquerade: It's today, but not as you know it. There's secret conspiracies behind every world action. Maybe supernatural creatures rule the world, or maybe it's just shadow organisations. Trust no-one.
  
• Cosmic Horror: Lovecraftian horrors lurk behind every corner.
  

Heck, you could just head over to the TV Tropes website and look up their sections on themes (prepare to lose several hours to that website. It's very addictive).

Edit: Just in case it isn't clear from context, that "heck" was because I inadvertently slipped into trope-speak for those last three. That website will burrow itself into your brain if you aren't careful.

[Edited by - Trapper Zoid on April 25, 2008 12:01:11 AM]

Themes along the lines of the OPs thoughts:

- War
- Historical (re-enactment, historical events, etc... often crosses over with war)
- Prehistory (dinosaurs, cavemen, etc - subgenre of fantasy?)
- Cyberpunk (subgenre of sci-fi)
- Present-day (Anything from Max Payne to The Sims to Rollercoaster Tycoon...)
- Alternate-history ("What if a historical event had turned out differently." Eg "What if America lost WW2")

Given that games are about making decisions, any kind of philosophizing about how and why we make decisions are particularly relevant to games. That includes themes like instinct vs. logic, desire vs. duty, force vs. persuasion, hierarchy vs. equality, freedom vs. compulsion, crime and punishment, errors and atonement, good and bad attitudes, is it ever better to lie than to tell the truth, is it ever ok to steal, priorities, motivation and desire, hurting people's feelings...

Quote:

Original post by Trapper Zoid The themes you've listed so far I'd describe more as a list of settings. I've also got no real idea of what kind of games you're interested in, as you've given us no hints. You've listed the two big settings that have become game cliches: High Fantasy - almost always heavily based of ideas from Tolkien. These days it comes in two sub-flavours, those based of D&D, and those based of Japanese RPGs. Space Opera - loads of space ships and space laser dogfights with Aristotlean physics... in space! Frankly, I think these two are used so much that an example of anything else is a breath of fresh air. Some examples: Steampunk: I describe this as more Victorian era sci fi. It's sci-fi set in the past. More common than others on the list, but not as overused as the top two. Classic Mythology: Greek or Egyptian usually, sometimes Roman. Since fantasy cribs so much from this it can feel like a subset. Classic Historical: A more realistic take on classic history. Usually used in strategy games. The Romans are the most popular choice here. Medieval Historical: Also feels a bit like a subset of fantasy given the whole knights theme, but this is much more realistic. Also usually used in strategy games. The New World/Age of Pirates: Sword fights, ships, gunpowder and gold. 19th century warfare/World War I: There's the occasional Napoleonic simulator, and there's always the American Civil War games, but I'm not sure why this era is ignored so much except for die-hard strategy games. The Wild West: Showdowns at high noon. Bandits robbing the stage coach. Steam engines. Tumbleweeds. World War II: Every flippin' second FPS game seems to be set here. Modern: Very wide range of settings from today's world. Pick a subculture or a country and you'll have a different feel. Twenty Years in the Future: A subset of sci-fi. It's just a little bit more futuristic from today. Deus Ex would be set here. The Masquerade: It's today, but not as you know it. There's secret conspiracies behind every world action. Maybe supernatural creatures rule the world, or maybe it's just shadow organisations. Trust no-one. Cosmic Horror: Lovecraftian horrors lurk behind every corner. Heck, you could just head over to the TV Tropes website and look up their sections on themes (prepare to lose several hours to that website. It's very addictive). Edit: Just in case it isn't clear from context, that "heck" was because I inadvertently slipped into trope-speak for those last three. That website will burrow itself into your brain if you aren't careful.

Thanks, this was more along the line of what I was looking for, and that site is great, I just started to look at it, but I'm going to look further into it.