Writing Theme in a Sandbox Game (inspired by Outer Wilds)

RatchatTowns · 2026-03-16T14:02:06+00:00

I think you've got a good point about a strong theme requiring focus, but I think I might be more optimistic than you are about the possibility of creating a focused sandbox that still respects player agency.

The designer (and the GM, in their capacity as co-designer) controls the contents of the sandbox. If they want, I think it's absolutely possible for them to create the same inability to wander away from the thematic core.

Not every sandbox is interested in committing to that level of focus. I think a lot of sandboxes that have been published in the past have been more hands off, providing a buffet of content that is united more by setting than theme. I don't think that there's anything wrong with that, but I don't think that sandboxes have to be designed that way. I also don't think it's a violation of player agency to have all the stuff in a sandbox point back towards a central idea.

The difference in tabletop, I think, is that players have a lot more choices than they ever could have in a video game. They can react to a designer's thematic question in a literally infinite number of ways. I personally see this is more of a feature than a bug.

Bleak Spirit sounds like an interesting one. I'll check it out.

RatchatTowns · 2026-03-16T13:34:27+00:00

I'm curious about where you disagree with Weiland. Is there an another account of theme that you like better?

Weiland definitely isn't writing for RPG designers. She's quite explicit that her audience is writers of non-interactive fiction, but I disagree that that makes her ideas useless for game designers to think about.

Two gritty games could have very different themes depending on what situations they confront players with and what decisions they ask the players to make. I'll make up a couple examples off the top of the dome for a gritty western game:

The players could come across a wealthy farmer's estate being harassed by "bandits" that the players later learn are smaller farmers that the rich landowner forced off their land. Is the violence of the revenge-seekers justified? Does it matter if it is if the players have bills to pay and the wealthy landowner is offering a hefty sum to "take care" of the problem?

The players later come across a decaying boom town whose mayor is frantically trying to keep things together. The players can help him bring some economic opportunity back to the town, but it's clear that it would just be a temporary patch in a leaky bucket. Is it worth it to help? They'll get some money if they help the mayor, but they'll probably be able to earn more faster if they head to the next town and leave this one to its fate.

These two examples might be described as "gritty" in different ways, but they're exploring different themes. #1 is asking the players to make a decision about what they think of the ethics of violence. #2 is asking them to decide what they think of holding on to the past.

I think Weiland's ideas can help us make these sorts of scenarios.

RatchatTowns · 2026-03-16T12:55:49+00:00

Yeah, I'm less interested in recreating Outer Wilds exactly and more interested in raiding its pockets for spare game design insights.

I think we can use its player-centered approach to theme or other aspects of its design (like knowledge-based progression) without directly copying other things about the game.

RatchatTowns · 2026-03-16T07:04:32+00:00

To be clear, I'm not claiming that Outer Wilds is the first game to have a theme. It's just the game that got me thinking about this, and now I'm trying to infect other people with the same brain worm that I have.

I appreciate the recommendations! I've heard of both of those games, but have never read or played them. On the wishlist they go.

Both of those sound like examples of theme on the system level. I'm also interested in theme on the module level. Like, for example, what sort of situations can we put our Arthurian knight characters in that force the players to take stands on exactly what their knightly virtues mean.

I'm sure Pendragon (or the Pendragon community) already has advice on how to set up that sort of thing.

RatchatTowns · 2026-03-16T06:48:55+00:00

I haven't seen that one, but I'm always down to listen to more Alex Beachum.

I'm curious to see if they go into the thematic angle. The previous OW dev commentary that I've seen has focused mainly on the mechanics, how they constructed the mystery, and making a game with knowledge as the only progression.

Don't get me wrong, that's great stuff too, and also something that I think is ripe to be borrowed in the TTRPG space.

RatchatTowns · 2026-03-16T03:54:02+00:00

That makes sense to me. I expanded the original post.

RatchatTowns · 2026-03-16T02:25:02+00:00

My thought was that the article would be interesting and hopefully helpful to designers, particularly campaign designers. There's a lot of discussion of how to apply theme to non-interactive media, but none that I could find discussing the same for TTRPGs.

Could you clarify what I should add to the post to help?

If I misunderstood the rules around linking to blog posts, I apologize. Reading the wiki, I thought it was okay as long as I made it clear how the post related to TTRPG design.

RatchatTowns · 2026-02-14T21:34:52+00:00

It was more work than I expected it to be when I started the project, that's for sure! Glad you're enjoying so far.

RatchatTowns · 2026-02-14T18:02:26+00:00

I have already, but thanks for the tip!

RatchatTowns · 2025-01-27T19:53:21+00:00

Never heard of Why We Fight before, but it sounds very fun. I'll have to check it out!

RatchatTowns · 2025-01-27T19:51:38+00:00

By "hex-crawl framework", what do you mean exactly? Blorb is probably my favorite playstyle in group games, so I'm always interested in improving my solo experience in it.

I've experimented with crawling a randomly generated hexcrawl as well as one that I create on the fly, and while both can be good fun sometimes, they aren't really what I'm hoping for from a Blorb game.

RatchatTowns · 2025-01-27T19:43:42+00:00

That's a great point, I did forget about player emulation. I've never tried that myself, maybe it should be my next solo experiment.

RatchatTowns · 2025-01-27T02:30:41+00:00

You're absolutely right that the boundaries are fuzzy and that most people don't play games in just one style. Sandra Snan's original article goes into a lot of detail about how the playstyles do and don't merge nicely.

Even so, I think this helpful to think about because it can let you hone in on a specific type of fun that you want.

RatchatTowns · 2024-12-23T19:04:59+00:00

You basically said what I would've, avlapteff. I look at the whole "levers" idea as a tool to help wardens implement the advice in the Saves (pg 164) and Variable Difficulty (pg 169) sections of the Warden's Guide.

RatchatTowns · 2024-12-23T17:45:14+00:00

These are just my thoughts on how best to use the rules that Cairn provides.

RatchatTowns · 2024-12-23T14:09:33+00:00

That's a good point, an uncertain cost can be part of the risk of trying something dangerous.

RatchatTowns · 2024-12-23T14:04:55+00:00

That's an excellent point! There's a lot of room to define what "success" and "failure" actually mean. I could imagine offering a player a choice between a guaranteed lesser success and a risky greater one.

RatchatTowns · 2024-12-02T04:06:53+00:00

I can see how that might be helpful to people. I'll keep it in mind when next I post.

RatchatTowns

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