Choosing a theme for a casual puzzle game

[VaderSB]

Hi! I would like to discuss a topic of choosing a theme/setting for a casual puzzle game and more generally - casual auditory tastes for graphical and sound content.

I made a small research on portals and gathered some statistics. So the most used themes are (in no particular order):

1)Lost Civilizations. Well, it's obvious - Zuma, Jewel Quest and loads of clones are using this theme. It's definitely overused already and IMHO it's not a best choice to make next game using this theme.

2)Fantasy. Puzzle Lab's games using it (Puzzle Inlay, Magic Inlay, etc...). Often it is not a traditional AD&D-like fantasy (that is too "dark" and complicated for casual crowd), but more of a magic world/fairy tale.

3)Underwater. There are few games using it, but because of Big Kahuna Reef's popularity this theme is worth mentioning.

4)"Cartoon". Simple, cartoonish characters, often from a modern world - Farmer Joe, Traffic Jam, etc.

5)Abstract. The games with no particular theme used, there are lots of them, but looks like you can't satisfy casual game with a game without a theme these days.

A space/futuristic theme can be added to this list, especially because of Bejeweled 2 theme that is not common IMHO.

All games (of any theme) tend to have bright colors and fun (or at least "not sad") music.

So what do you think about all this? Did I forget to include something in this list? How would you choose a theme for a casual puzzle game?

[ManuelFLara]

I'd choose one that:
1) "fit" well with the game mechanics
2) is casual friendly in the sense that it's not too dark or obscure
3) if my game is based on another game, don't use the same theme! ;)

[James Gwertzman]

When picking a theme, I personally think you're best served by trying to be original than by trying to imitate other games already out there, especially if your game-play mechanic is similar to existing game-play mechanics.

The only thing a good theme needs, I think, is that it has to be compelling for your target audience. The themes you mention in your list all satisfy that test - although I personally think Bejeweled 2 is successful despite its theme, not because of it, but I could be wrong.

A good theme needs to have enough "depth" that it will provide you enough raw material for all the various elements your game might need: powerups, game pieces, multiple locations, etc. A truly great theme will even inspire the game and help you make it better.

This is not to say that all games need themes. Our word game Word Harmony did, since the game-play was fairly abstract, and so we dressed it up in a Japanese theme.

Feeding Frenzy, on the other hand, was inspired by the old Intellivision Game "Shark, Shark" and so the underwater setting was inextricably tied to the gameplay. It's very hard to imagine taking Feeding Frenzy and setting it in another theme. Ditto for Pizza Frenzy - that started life as a pizza delivery game, and in fact the hard part of that game was working out the appropriate gameplay not figuring out the theme.

[VaderSB]

Hmm, and what about more traditional media influence? I mean - after the release of Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, the fantasy theme became much more acknowledged by the broad audience. Or am I wrong?