LUDOTHEMATICS: Harmony and Dissonance in Game Design

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⏰ KEY MOMENTS:
00:00 intro

PART 1: Ludonarrative Dissonance in AAA Games

00:39 defining dissonance
02:13 Bioshock and Uncharted
06:05 do we all experience it?
09:58 GTAV example
11:25 Skyrim Cabbage Collection as Positive Dissonance
13:23 The Ludonarrative Death Double-Standard
14:25 more Good Dissonance

PART 2: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying (About Ludonarrative Dissonance) and Love Ludothematics

15:11 Introducing Ludothematics
17:04 Game Genre vs Game Theme
19:27 Game Theme as Heuristic-Mnemonic
22:19 Deckbuilding as an Example of Explanatory Metaphor
23:29 Character Design as Thematic Communication of Mechanical Info
26:07 Using Themes to De-Scope Mechanics & Systems
29:35 The "Fireball Wizard" Problem
32:10 Sonic The Hedgehog and Thematic Consistency

34:42 What About Your Game?
38:09 Outro

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