At their core themes are short sentances that describe what the story is about. There are many different ways to write themes. 3 simple examples are:
X leads to Y
X vs. Y
These themes help frame conflicts, story ideas, and even the characters.
Love vs. Honour needs different characters than Duty vs. Honour.
Love vs. Honour needs a person who loves and is deeply touched by honour (a Samurai falling for a peasant girl).
Duty vs. Honour is where a man has to choose what is more important to him and follow through. A Samurai who has a duty to his Lord but his honour forces him to protect someone weaker against his Lord's wishes.
Keeping this theme to mind during the character's adventures can lead to a more uniformed story which could help make things easier when you come across strange oracle results. A forest and cave Rory's story cube results in the Love vs. Honour could mean a cave in a forest where the two main characters meet. Or it could be the Samurai having to dig deep into the untamed regions of his mind to discover who he is deep inside.
You should check out some indie games like Shock. This kind of vs theme is baked into the game's stats.
ReplyDeleteAlex Yari I picked up a copy of Shock. It's on my list of systems to look at. Thanks for the recommendation.
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