{"author_link":"\/users\/geeitsomelaldy","author_name":"geeitsomelaldy","author_uid":"geeitsomelaldy","comments":[],"epoch":1533071276,"event":"LD42","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":100734,"likes":18,"metadata":{"p_key":"115822","p_author":"geeitsomelaldy","p_authorkey":"1001048","p_urlkey":"331796","p_title":"My Rules for Theme Slaughtering","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD42","p_time":"1533071276","p_likes":"18","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1001048","us_name":"geeitsomelaldy","us_username":"geeitsomelaldy","event_start":"1533859200","event_key":"73","event_name":"LD 42"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD42","removed_author":false},"_superparent":97793,"_trust":7,"author":1048,"body":"I'm notoriously picky when it comes to slaughtering themes. I maybe say YES to 3 or 4 out of the 2,000 theme suggested. \n\nSo here's my list of rules I use, and 50 themes, what rules they break and why\n\nI Reject if the theme is:\n\n1. 1 Word\n - Often overlaps with rule 14. One-word themes are often too broad and can be interpreted *too* liberally to be nearly pointless\n2. A Meme\/Too Meta\n - Everything from TV shows to Internet-in-jokes to development In-jokes. That instantly puts people who are out-of-the-loop off joining the jam.\n3. Restricts Genre(s)\n - While having too broad a theme is a bad thing, restricting the theme narrowly is also undesirable. Rules 3-6 reflect the desire to be able to make almost any game you want with the theme.\n4. Restricts Game Mechanics\n5. Restricts Setting\n6. Restricts Graphical Style\n - This is a short, intense, game jam. Entrants are not always the best designers and will not join if they don't feel comfortable switching up the graphics style they're used to using. It would also eliminate certain development tools like, say, Pico8 (with its 2D graphics and limited colour pallete) if the theme was \"HD Graphics\"\n7. Is a Simple Contradiction (ie 'Destroy what you create')\n - Usually the opposite problem to rule 1, these are often too restrictive and limit the kind of game you make. With the example you'd first have to have a game where you both create and destroy things. Be it in game-play or narrative. And they're usually incredibly unimaginative.\n8. Too wordy \n - Ideal themes should be between 2 and 5 words long. Often they get too specific.\n9. 'Fill in the blank' (ie You have too many ___) , or implied blanks (ie One too many), or emphasis on pronouns (mostly 'it's')\n - Similar to rule 1, often too broad.\n10. Starts with \"What\" or \"You\"\/\"Your\"\/\"You're\"\n - These often feel like demands from a topic, rather than a request. Tend to be very broad topics too.\n11. Is a Question\n - Often are unimaginative, regularly bleeds over to rule 2 as well.\n12. X the Y, X to Y, etc\n - Again, unimaginative and vague.\n13. Overtly Political\n - Not against political games, but you shouldn't be forced to make one if the theme demands it.\n14. Very Broad Concept\n - Really a catch-all for any theme that still feels too broad without falling directly into the above\n15. Already been a theme, or very similar to an old one\n - Simple explanation, people love submitting old themes, slightly tweaked... and it's unimaginative and boring to retread old ground\n16. Bad Spelling\/Grammar\n - You're not writing a novel. It's a single line. It's not hard to proof read.\n17. It's just bloody stupid\n - Come on, some of these are just stupid\n18. Would put off Beginner Devs from joining\n - While this is at the bottom of the list, it is a *very* important one. I will instantly slaughter a theme if I think it would put off a dev who is new to Jams, or new to development, from joining in. A theme, at face value, must allow you make something simple, like snake, or pong variants or something, out of it. If the answer is no, then it's not a good theme. If the theme passes this test and doesn't have very many creative variants, then it puts off experienced devs looking for a challenge. I'll slaughter it then too.\n\nNot all of these rules are created equal. I know a lot of you wont' care about rules 7 through 14, and that's your prerogative. These are my rules, subjective as they are, but any theme that passes them is going to be a great theme. \n\nAnd the Themes I slaughtered:\n\n- Pathfinding\n - Rules 1, 4, 18\n - Forcing a game to involve pathfinding, or at least suggesting pathfinding (even if you come up with a creative alternative meaning for 'pathfinding') would put off new or uncertain devs.\n- Carrot and Stick\n - Rule 12\n- Drift\n - Rule 1\n- At least one thing procedural\n - Rule 18, procedural generation is *difficult*. To the point that there's a Procedural Jam that allows you two whole weeks to make something, and doesn't care if you submit something you've been working on for *years*. It's not something you can do in 48 hours, especially if you're a new dev.\n- World drained of colour\n - Rule 6, for all the reasons stated in Rule 6.\n- The Keyboard as a weapon\n - Rule 4 because having a weapon restricts the Genre to one that requires a weapon. It would encourage people to make a game first and shoe-horn in the theme after the fact, which doesn't make for fun games.\n- 2d shooter\n - Rule 4\n- Build-a-Dungeon\n - Rules 12, 14, 18\n - Again, while creative ideas can be made with the theme that don't involve actually building a dungeon, it's incredibly limiting, and at face-value many new devs would feel put-off by such a daunting task.\n- Cheat to Win\n - Rule 12\n- Close to Home\n - Rule 12\n - Note: I submitted this theme. I never said I was perfect.\n- pixel art\n - Rule 6\n- Buildings\n - Rule 1\n- Not enough power\n - Rule 15, \"Running out of Power\", ([See the game I made for LD 39](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/39\/jetpack-june-and-the-tower-of-power))\n- communism\n - Rule 1\n- Just a minute\n - Rule 12\n- pirate\n - Rule 1\n- If you're moving you can't \\_\\_\\_\\_.\n - Rule 9\n- Background\n - Rule 1\n - Honestly, this wins the award for the vaguest theme I've seen yet.\n- your weapon will not help you\n - Rule 4, 8. Again, restricts the game you make to something that has a weapon.\n- Make Two from One\n - Rule 9 (Implied blank: Make Two \\_\\_\\_\\_ from One \\_\\_\\_\\_)\n - Rule 12\n- Platformer Gimmicks\n - Rules 3 and 4\n - Seriously, I love making platformer games. And Gimmicky ones at that. But I wouldn't force that on everyone.\n- Survive in Space\n - Rule 12\n- Time to Think\n - Rule 12\n- Heat\n - Rule 1\n - Okay, got something that's ousted Background from it's vague throne\n- not a game\n - Rules 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, 14, 17 and 18. But mostly 17. Definitely mostly 17.\n- With Wings\n - Rule 9 (Implied blank: \\_\\_\\_\\_ With Wings)\n- These Themes All Suck\n - While true, it's definitely breaking rule 17, and 2 (those rules tend to go hand in hand to be honest)\n- Random Powers\n - Rule 4\n- Superpowers in day-to-day work\n - Rule 8\n- More than the sum of its parts\n - Rule 8\n- Joke with battle royale\n - Rules 2, 3, 16 and 17. This structure sentence english not.\n- An unusual form of currency\n - Rule 14, really vague. This could apply to almost anything in a game. Easy to shoehorn in to anything, makes the jam too easy.\n- Charge\n - Rule 1\n- Lose to Win\n - Rules 7 and 12\n- Why Are We Still Here\n - Rules 11, 14\n- Topsy turvey world. Roles are reversed\n - Rules 7 and 8\n- Fusion\n - Rule 1\n- Never Ending \n - Rule 9 (Never Ending \\_\\_\\_\\_)\n - Rule 14\n- Love You Enemies\n - Rule 7 and 16\n- Lost the Instruction Manual\n - Passes!\n - Firstly, I can think of numerous different ways to apply this to very simple games that would make them fresh and exciting. How this theme might inform everything from story, to mechanics, to presentation. It's a very open theme, but not too vague. It's not restrictive, but instead provides guidance into more creativity.\n- heat wave\n - Rule 14\n- Always expanding\n - Rule 9 (Implied blank: \\_\\_\\_\\_ Always Expanding, or Always Expanding \\_\\_\\_\\_)\n- Glow\n - Rule 1\n- It's alive!\n - Rule 9 (Implied blank: ____'s alive!)\n- combine game and gamedev tool\n - Rule 18, very much so. Like, I've been programming for 20 years and making a game-dev tool in 48 hours is daunting, let alone a game and a dev tool that can be used in game at the same time.\n- Anti meta, meta game\n - Rules 2, 7 and 18\n- Big world, small you\n - Rule 7\n- Decremental\n - Rule 1\n- Maze\n - Rule 1\n- OS simulation\n - Rule 3 and 18\n\nWell, if you made it this far, good for you. I hope you're not bored to tears, but it felt good to get this all down in writing.","comments":14,"comments-timestamp":"2018-08-01T12:12:41Z","created":"2018-07-31T20:03:31Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":100734,"love":18,"love-timestamp":"2018-08-04T19:10:11Z","meta":[],"modified":"2018-08-04T19:10:11Z","name":"My Rules for Theme Slaughtering","node-timestamp":"2018-07-31T21:14:51Z","parent":99219,"parents":[1,5,9,97793,99219],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/running-space\/my-rules-for-theme-slaughtering","published":"2018-07-31T21:07:56Z","scope":"public","slug":"my-rules-for-theme-slaughtering","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":293124},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"100734","n_urlkey":"331796","n_parent":"99219","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/running-space\/my-rules-for-theme-slaughtering","n_slug":"my-rules-for-theme-slaughtering","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"1048","n_created":"1533067411","n_modified":"1533409811","n_version":"293124","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/running-space\/my-rules-for-theme-slaughtering","text":"I'm notoriously picky when it comes to slaughtering themes. I maybe say YES to 3 or 4 out of the 2,000 theme suggested. \n\nSo here's my list of rules I use, and 50 themes, what rules they break and why\n\nI Reject if the theme is:\n\n1. 1 Word\n - Often overlaps with rule 14. One-word themes are often too broad and can be interpreted *too* liberally to be nearly pointless\n2. A Meme\/Too Meta\n - Everything from TV shows to Internet-in-jokes to development In-jokes. That instantly puts people who are out-of-the-loop off joining the jam.\n3. Restricts Genre(s)\n - While having too broad a theme is a bad thing, restricting the theme narrowly is also undesirable. Rules 3-6 reflect the desire to be able to make almost any game you want with the theme.\n4. Restricts Game Mechanics\n5. Restricts Setting\n6. Restricts Graphical Style\n - This is a short, intense, game jam. Entrants are not always the best designers and will not join if they don't feel comfortable switching up the graphics style they're used to using. It would also eliminate certain development tools like, say, Pico8 (with its 2D graphics and limited colour pallete) if the theme was \"HD Graphics\"\n7. Is a Simple Contradiction (ie 'Destroy what you create')\n - Usually the opposite problem to rule 1, these are often too restrictive and limit the kind of game you make. With the example you'd first have to have a game where you both create and destroy things. Be it in game-play or narrative. And they're usually incredibly unimaginative.\n8. Too wordy \n - Ideal themes should be between 2 and 5 words long. Often they get too specific.\n9. 'Fill in the blank' (ie You have too many ___) , or implied blanks (ie One too many), or emphasis on pronouns (mostly 'it's')\n - Similar to rule 1, often too broad.\n10. Starts with \"What\" or \"You\"\/\"Your\"\/\"You're\"\n - These often feel like demands from a topic, rather than a request. Tend to be very broad topics too.\n11. Is a Question\n - Often are unimaginative, regularly bleeds over to rule 2 as well.\n12. X the Y, X to Y, etc\n - Again, unimaginative and vague.\n13. Overtly Political\n - Not against political games, but you shouldn't be forced to make one if the theme demands it.\n14. Very Broad Concept\n - Really a catch-all for any theme that still feels too broad without falling directly into the above\n15. Already been a theme, or very similar to an old one\n - Simple explanation, people love submitting old themes, slightly tweaked... and it's unimaginative and boring to retread old ground\n16. Bad Spelling\/Grammar\n - You're not writing a novel. It's a single line. It's not hard to proof read.\n17. It's just bloody stupid\n - Come on, some of these are just stupid\n18. Would put off Beginner Devs from joining\n - While this is at the bottom of the list, it is a *very* important one. I will instantly slaughter a theme if I think it would put off a dev who is new to Jams, or new to development, from joining in. A theme, at face value, must allow you make something simple, like snake, or pong variants or something, out of it. If the answer is no, then it's not a good theme. If the theme passes this test and doesn't have very many creative variants, then it puts off experienced devs looking for a challenge. I'll slaughter it then too.\n\nNot all of these rules are created equal. I know a lot of you wont' care about rules 7 through 14, and that's your prerogative. These are my rules, subjective as they are, but any theme that passes them is going to be a great theme. \n\nAnd the Themes I slaughtered:\n\n- Pathfinding\n - Rules 1, 4, 18\n - Forcing a game to involve pathfinding, or at least suggesting pathfinding (even if you come up with a creative alternative meaning for 'pathfinding') would put off new or uncertain devs.\n- Carrot and Stick\n - Rule 12\n- Drift\n - Rule 1\n- At least one thing procedural\n - Rule 18, procedural generation is *difficult*. To the point that there's a Procedural Jam that allows you two whole weeks to make something, and doesn't care if you submit something you've been working on for *years*. It's not something you can do in 48 hours, especially if you're a new dev.\n- World drained of colour\n - Rule 6, for all the reasons stated in Rule 6.\n- The Keyboard as a weapon\n - Rule 4 because having a weapon restricts the Genre to one that requires a weapon. It would encourage people to make a game first and shoe-horn in the theme after the fact, which doesn't make for fun games.\n- 2d shooter\n - Rule 4\n- Build-a-Dungeon\n - Rules 12, 14, 18\n - Again, while creative ideas can be made with the theme that don't involve actually building a dungeon, it's incredibly limiting, and at face-value many new devs would feel put-off by such a daunting task.\n- Cheat to Win\n - Rule 12\n- Close to Home\n - Rule 12\n - Note: I submitted this theme. I never said I was perfect.\n- pixel art\n - Rule 6\n- Buildings\n - Rule 1\n- Not enough power\n - Rule 15, \"Running out of Power\", ([See the game I made for LD 39](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/39\/jetpack-june-and-the-tower-of-power))\n- communism\n - Rule 1\n- Just a minute\n - Rule 12\n- pirate\n - Rule 1\n- If you're moving you can't \\_\\_\\_\\_.\n - Rule 9\n- Background\n - Rule 1\n - Honestly, this wins the award for the vaguest theme I've seen yet.\n- your weapon will not help you\n - Rule 4, 8. Again, restricts the game you make to something that has a weapon.\n- Make Two from One\n - Rule 9 (Implied blank: Make Two \\_\\_\\_\\_ from One \\_\\_\\_\\_)\n - Rule 12\n- Platformer Gimmicks\n - Rules 3 and 4\n - Seriously, I love making platformer games. And Gimmicky ones at that. But I wouldn't force that on everyone.\n- Survive in Space\n - Rule 12\n- Time to Think\n - Rule 12\n- Heat\n - Rule 1\n - Okay, got something that's ousted Background from it's vague throne\n- not a game\n - Rules 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, 14, 17 and 18. But mostly 17. Definitely mostly 17.\n- With Wings\n - Rule 9 (Implied blank: \\_\\_\\_\\_ With Wings)\n- These Themes All Suck\n - While true, it's definitely breaking rule 17, and 2 (those rules tend to go hand in hand to be honest)\n- Random Powers\n - Rule 4\n- Superpowers in day-to-day work\n - Rule 8\n- More than the sum of its parts\n - Rule 8\n- Joke with battle royale\n - Rules 2, 3, 16 and 17. This structure sentence english not.\n- An unusual form of currency\n - Rule 14, really vague. This could apply to almost anything in a game. Easy to shoehorn in to anything, makes the jam too easy.\n- Charge\n - Rule 1\n- Lose to Win\n - Rules 7 and 12\n- Why Are We Still Here\n - Rules 11, 14\n- Topsy turvey world. Roles are reversed\n - Rules 7 and 8\n- Fusion\n - Rule 1\n- Never Ending \n - Rule 9 (Never Ending \\_\\_\\_\\_)\n - Rule 14\n- Love You Enemies\n - Rule 7 and 16\n- Lost the Instruction Manual\n - Passes!\n - Firstly, I can think of numerous different ways to apply this to very simple games that would make them fresh and exciting. How this theme might inform everything from story, to mechanics, to presentation. It's a very open theme, but not too vague. It's not restrictive, but instead provides guidance into more creativity.\n- heat wave\n - Rule 14\n- Always expanding\n - Rule 9 (Implied blank: \\_\\_\\_\\_ Always Expanding, or Always Expanding \\_\\_\\_\\_)\n- Glow\n - Rule 1\n- It's alive!\n - Rule 9 (Implied blank: ____'s alive!)\n- combine game and gamedev tool\n - Rule 18, very much so. Like, I've been programming for 20 years and making a game-dev tool in 48 hours is daunting, let alone a game and a dev tool that can be used in game at the same time.\n- Anti meta, meta game\n - Rules 2, 7 and 18\n- Big world, small you\n - Rule 7\n- Decremental\n - Rule 1\n- Maze\n - Rule 1\n- OS simulation\n - Rule 3 and 18\n\nWell, if you made it this far, good for you. I hope you're not bored to tears, but it felt good to get this all down in writing.","title":"My Rules for Theme Slaughtering","wayback_source":[]}