Hello!

LD46 is just a month away, and with the ongoing pandemic, it might see a sizeable influx of participants. This might be a good opportunity to try and have as many great themes to vote on as possible!

So without further ado, here are 5 guidelines I think would greatly help when coming up with theme ideas: - The shorter, the better. Complex, specific themes restrict creative freedom. Games under such themes tend to be very same-y! Keep it vague! - It's a theme, not a game mechanic! Descriptions of a core mechanic are, in my opinion, the worst kind of theme. Same problem as the above point but worse. Here not only will most games be extremely similar in ideas and gameplay, but even the games that think outside of the box, while they can be very original and fun, will also be restricted in their possibilities. - Don't try to be subversive. Themes like "you are the princess/villain" overpopulate theme votes and tend to be eradicated very fast. Something classic and straightforward works well, after all it's up to the participants to be subversive and surprising! - Avoid memes and politically charged themes, these too, tend to not survive for long. - While the best themes inspire and open up for all sorts of ideas rather than restrict, limitations also bring creativity! Restrictive themes can actually work as long as they are explicit (Only 4 colors, One room, etc).

I sincerely hope this will help you find amazing themes to suggest, and I also hope this semester's theme roster will be good! Take care, don't fall sick, and see you in a month!