What Do These Themes Mean? [Round 2]
Theme voting is here! That means that we get our chance to say what themes we most want. This can be hard though, especially when you don't even understand a theme on the list. The Ludum Dare community has a large number of non-native English speakers who might have a hard time with themes that were written largely with English in mind. And some of the themes can just be confusing. I'm here to help you figure them out and connect the themes to cultural ideas that you might not be aware of. This is all just to help everyone out in figuring out what theme to vote for. This list can help everyone, especially if you're wondering "why would anyone choose this theme?" This list simply gives people a better idea about each theme. Some of these meanings might seem simple or pointless, but if they help anyone then that's all that matters.
This is for round 2! Click here for Round 1. Click here for Round 3.
What are these themes?
Here are the themes we're voting on in round 2! The themes are alphabetized and contain as much as I can think of that will help you understand the idea. Some of these have an "Other meanings" which are times when I want to let you know about cultural references, weird meanings for words in the theme, or little changes you can make to the theme. These are not the only interpretations of the themes, these are just examples I came up with to help you get started with making your own interpretations.
Color changes everythingMeaning: Color is something that we see. Some colors are red, blue, and green. When you add color to something, we see it differently. When this happens, we might be able to understand something better. "Everything" here tells you that whatever color does in your game, it should be big.
Other meanings: Color can mean life or health. Good color means good health and poor color means poor health. Color can also refer to a flag ("Germany's colors" means the German flag).
Meaning: When you control something, you make decisions for it, like how to move or act. This theme tells you to make a game about someone being able to control more than one character. This can be one at a time, or all at the same time.
Other meanings: A character is also a letter or number in text. Multiple characters might just be a word. Character is also another word for integrity or morals. Control doesn't have to be direct, either. You can control someone by convincing them to do something or by giving instructions.
Meaning: When you move, you change where you are, like when you walk. When you stop moving, you stay in the same place. This theme tells you to make a game where something cannot stop moving or should not stop moving.
Other meanings: It is called moving when you find a new place to live. When something made you very happy or sad or emotional, people say it moved you. When you change your mind about something, people might say you moved to a new idea. You can add a little punctuation to the theme so that it reads "Don't! Stop moving!" This changes the meaning of the theme to be about something that must stop moving.
Meaning: Usually, when you cannot see something, it is still there. This theme wants you to make a game about something that stops being there when someone doesn't look at it.
*Other meanings: This theme is about something called object permanence, a skill that infants learn. Before they learn this, they do not understand that things exist when they can't be seen. The children's game "Peak-a-boo" works with this idea.
Meaning: A superpower is a special ability that someone can do that others cannot do. Superpowers are often related to comic book super heroes, people who might have abilities like flying and super strength. This theme is about inconvenient superpowers. This means that someone's special ability is difficult to use or often causes problems.
Other meanings: Big, important countries are often called superpowers because they control a large amount of the world's power. This can be because the country has a large military, has many people, or makes great advances in science or culture. Something can be inconvenient because it prevents you from doing what you want, like a law that says you cannot lie when you want to lie to someone.
Meaning: When things grow, they get bigger or they change and get older. This theme wants you to make a game about something that is always changing or getting bigger.
Other meanings: When people grow, they often show maturity, integrity, or courage when they would not have before. A person who finally stands up to a bully is someone who has grown. To grow something means to take care of something and help it stay alive and healthy. This meaning is usually used with plants. You can grow ideas by telling people about those ideas or thinking about them. When you're making a game, you are growing a game.
Meaning: A weapon is a tool you use to harm someone or something like a gun or a sword. This theme wants you to make a game about a single weapon, but that weapon can be used in many different ways. The purpose of a weapon is to cause harm, and this theme wants you to have a weapon with many purposes.
Other meanings: A weapon is just another word for a tool that happens to cause harm. The harm that a weapon does might not be physical. An idea can be a weapon that changes someone's mind.
Meaning: A shelter is a place that can protect you from harm or danger. A house is shelter. A tent is shelter from the rain. Shelters are places of protection and comfort.
Other meanings: You can shelter something by protecting it from harm, such as stepping in the way of a punch meant for someone else. You can also shelter a person by not telling that person about something that might cause them distress or harm. A person is considered sheltered when they don't know very much about the dangers of the world. A shelter is also what we call a place where homeless people can sleep and get basic services. An animal shelter is a place where you can find animals like dogs and cats to take home as pets. These animals are usually ones that have been abandoned or taken away from their owners because of abuse.
Meaning: A world is a place so big that no one person can know all of it. When something shrinks, it gets smaller. This theme wants you to make a game about a world that is getting smaller.
Other meanings: A person’s life is often called their world. This means that everything someone experiences is different and unique than someone else, and that they see everything differently. This is also called a worldview, which is an idea of how the world around them works. You can also call a profession’s community a world. For example, “the art world” means the community and knowledge that an artist needs to know. When someone is afraid we might say that they shrink. A shrink is a word for a psychiatrist, someone who helps you work out mental issues. Someone who is very shy is called a "shrinking violet".
Meaning: A signal is a sign or message that you send to someone or something. To be lost means that something can no longer be found. The phrase "signal lost" is used to say that a message that someone received can no longer be found. "Signal lost" is often used on ships or planes that are trying to follow a message back to its source. The signal in this situation is usually a distress signal. These kinds of signals are sent one after the other so that someone can follow it to the source, usually to help.
Other meanings: Phone reception is often called a signal, and the loss of a phone signal means that you cannot make calls. Radios use signals to broadcast their audio, similar to how a distress signal works. A traffic light is often called a signal. People use hand signals when riding bicycles to show where they are turning. Flags are often used as signals on ships. People can be lost, meaning that they don't know where they are or they cannot find where they are going. Lost was the name of a famous American TV show about a group of people trapped on an island. You can add a little punctuation to this theme and turn it into "Signal: 'Lost!'" With this meaning, the message someone sends out is "Lost!"
Meaning: Your perspective is how you see the world. Switching perspectives means changing how you see the world. This could be because you learn something new about the world, or because you look at the world in a different way. Another way to switch perspectives is to control a different character.
Other meanings: Cameras have a perspective that you can change when you are making a 3D game. Changing these perspectives can make a game look very different to the player. Perspective is a term used in drawing to describe how flat drawings can appear 3D.
Meaning: When you are being watched, someone is paying attention to you and following you. The idea of being watched often means that somebody or a group of people always try to know where you are and what you are doing. This is called surveillance, and it is often linked to a government spying on your actions.
You are what you eatMeaning: This theme wants you to make a game about someone becoming something they eat. This is the main gameplay for most of the Kirby games.
Other meanings: This theme is a saying that people use to remind others that they should eat healthy foods. It means that if you eat healthy foods, you will be healthy, and if you eat unhealthy foods, you will be unhealthy.
Meaning: An environment is a place like a forest or a city. It can be another word for area. When you control something, you make decisions for it like how it moves or acts. This theme wants you to make a game about someone who controls the area of the game.
Other meanings: "The environment" is what we call the general idea of the well-being of the planet. In this meaning we're talking about all the natural parts of the world. When the environment changes, we see many natural disasters. An environment might also be a culture. The "office environment" is the culture at a particular office.
Meaning: A scenario is a situation or event that happens like a meeting with your boss. When you control something, you make decisions for it like how it moves or acts. This theme wants you to make a game about someone who controls the events in the game.
Other meanings: A scenario can also be an outline of a novel, a movie, or a play.
Meaning: When you mix two things, you put them together. Once two things are mixed, you usually cannot get the original things back. This theme tells you to make a game about things that someone should not put together.
Other meanings: This theme talks about chemistry or alchemy. These are sciences where you combine substances to make something new. Many stories about chemistry or alchemy are about something bad happening after you mix two things.
Happy Voting!
I hope these explanations help you decide which themes to vote for! The list can also help you think up ideas when the final theme is chosen. Have a happy Dare, and let's go make some games!