I mean, these are only my opinions, so I’m sure they’re biased. Here’s a sentence or two about each possible theme in the final round voting.
Alchemy
I like this theme, because I like crafting and creating items. Admittedly, there are already lots of games featuring crafting, from nothing-but-crafting (Doodle God, which was based on an old game I think was just called “Alchemy”) to crafting-as-an-afterthought, but there’s always room for more…right? Also, you could consider the spiritual aspects of alchemy as it was practiced. Well, anyway…
Another World
This does afford a few different possibilities. You could have a separate world like in Link to the Past or Soul Reaver and switch between them. Or, a game about visiting another world. Space exploration? First contact? You could even go abstract, some intense event happens to a person and they look at their life with new eyes so it seems like…another world.
Break The Rules
A little vague. A game where you modify the game rules, maybe, like Hack and Slash (on Steam now, well Early Access at least). There’s probably more design space there. Or maybe a game about civil disobedience?
Chaos
Admittedly vague, though I like it (told you I was biased). “Suddenly, something happens!” Lots of games start out like that, of course. Or! Go for the mathematical meaning…somehow?
Choose A Path
Too vague, I think. Don’t you choose a path in every game you play? Or you have a game where you…walk somewhere. Or do interactive fiction, which I love, but…
Connected Worlds
Again, Link to the Past, Soul Reaver; things that have been done before, not to mention Ocarina of Time and the Oracle games. But you could do other stuff, like, reality and a dream, reality and the spirit world…Or just colonies on different star systems connected by warp gates. Hey, even a trading game!
Day and Night
I don’t know. I mean, there’s Castlevania 2, and there’s Minecraft. Beyond that there doesn’t seem to be much design space.
Destroy The System
I guess you can think of different “systems”, like a big machine, a government, the solar system. Still doesn’t bring much to mind, though.
Don’t Stop Moving
So this a game where you move, and you can’t stop moving, so a bunch of Canabaltlikes. No Tetris or Civilization. Or, I dunno, maybe a game where you play a moving company moving people into houses. Beyond that I got nothin’.
Do No Harm
Sure, you can have a game where you don’t hurt anything (I think nowadays they call that “atmospheric”). But that’s too vague. A game about doctors? No idea.
Fortress
Well, obviously one of my favorite games immediately comes to mind. I guess you can build all sorts of fortresses in different situations. I suppose there isn’t much design space here, but I’ll probably vote for it anyway.
Growing
Vague, yet it has possibilities that intrigue me. Plants, ecology, forests…or just civilizations, I guess. Wasn’t there an LD game a while back about a conjoined twin growing inside someone?
Isolation
Too vague. I mean you can do a Minecraft or Unreal World survival game. Or, what, something inspired by HPL’s “Polaris”? Anyone got any other ideas?
Lost In Space
And do what, exactly? Build stuff, like Habitat? Go on quests, like Star Command? Wander around like Capsule? Maybe someone else is lost and you find them. Or you go on a treasure hunt. I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
No One Can See You
All right, well. Not one I particularly like, but there are a couple of possibilities. First, “No one can see you” as in “you’re invisible”. Sneak around and play pranks, maybe. Or infiltrate stuff when you’re invisible. Maybe, metaphorically no one acknowledges your existence, like the myth of Cassandra. Or, the more pedestrian approach–no one CAN see you, as in, no one must see you or you lose. In other words, just do a stealth game like Deus Ex (that’s how I played Deus Ex, anyway…).
Randomly Generated
Ugh. See, you can have random generation in just about any game. This doesn’t restrict you in any significant way. It’ll just force the devs to learn about procedural generation algorithms. Which is, you know, not a BAD thing, but…
Strength In Numbers
Eh. Gather followers, like Galcon and all the games like it? Or, hey, how about in numbers, like an educational game? Or spells that are math. Yeah, I’m reaching…
You’re Not Supposed To Be Here
This doesn’t suggest any gameplay, just plots. Either you, the player, stumble onto something you’re not supposed to see…Or, you are the one trying to hide things from others; that would be a twist. What sort of game, though? No idea.
You Are Already Dead
Well, either Fist of the North Star or Owl Creek Bridge. It’s an intriguing idea, but still, doesn’t suggest any gameplay.
You Must Leave It Behind
Really vague. If pressed, I could come up with something–Gurren Lagann in reverse, maybe?–and I’m sure there are one or two good games possible…not really more than that, though.
I guess that’s it! I probably won’t be LD-ing because I’ll be really busy this weekend. But good luck everyone!
or LSDJ (if we feel like some chiptune)
