Brainstorming on Theme and Genre

Anyone who has gamed with me, or followed my gaming, should not be surprised that I like to think about theme and genre tropes a lot about the games I run, and play in. I’ve long been very clear about spelling them out ahead of time and referring back to them as play continues. I’d like to think that while themes exist in any game, making a conscious decision to place them in the forefront allows one to connect to the story on a deeper level.

That said, I don’t really see the need to have explicit rules to encourage people using the theme. I do believe that adherence to the tropes of genre and theme are ones that everyone should buy into upfront of the game and solely exists on the level of social contract. Anything more than that is stifling, it removes the ability to interpret, and for me any creative encounter is at heart one of interpretation. Any mechanistic attempt to regulate theme just serves to limit the potential of interpretation and limit the fun.

But recent events has led me to wonder about other system aspects to help here. Stuff that I'd bundle under social contract and play strategy. But I'm having a real bit of trouble getting my ideas on paper so I'm posting this, more than any other reason, as a brainstorming space to think about the question "What parts of the game can serve genre and theme expectations""