Section 1: Address to the editor

Dear Editor of Casual Game Insider,

My topic is Art in Board Games: The Inuence it has on Players. I personally
nd that the art (colors, pictures, graphics, etc.) in games are crucial elements and the
variations can mean a distinct difference in how players mentally interact with the game.
I plan to explore why certain elements are chosen and how these elements affect
individual players. For example, why colors are chosen for certain games and why
specic emotions are triggered by association.
You state on your website that Casual Game Insider is a quarterly magazine that
covers news, reviews, and interesting articles about casual board, card, dice, and party
games. My project would t perfectly into your magazine, because I think that many
gamers would enjoy reading about this topic as it relates to the games that they engage
themselves in. I myself am interested in researching this aspect of board games, as
psychology interests me and Im sure many of your readers would nd interesting as
well. I hope my work appeals to you to some extent, and let me know if it does so we can
work together and make a publication happen.

Ashley Hagenbuch

Section 2: Working Thesis

The art incorporated on and within a board game inuences individual players in a
subliminal way, whether they are aware of it or not. Artwork, designs, and even
coloration all play a role in developing a game that subconsciously affects the mood and
perspective of those who interact with it.

Section 3: Your Sources
Article 1

Albert, Amy. "Color Hue And Mood: The Effect Of Variation Of Red Hues On Positive
And Negative Mood States." College Of St. Elizabeth Journal Of The Behavioral
Sciences 1.Fall2007 (2007): 19-26. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.

Colors are seen to have relations to certain patterns of reaction or combinations of
feelings. Signicant evidence has been found specically involving the color red. Red has
often been thought to indicate feelings of danger, love, rage, and excitement. Additionally,
people associate red with certain objects such as re, blood, and hearts.

This article is benecial to my paper because it describes the psychology behind
associations with certain colors. The color scheme in a board games certainly evokes
certain connections with not only emotions but objects as well, and this article explains
how colors do just that. The color red, like this article explores, has certain associations
tied to it. This research can easily be incorporated in my paper, as designers intentionally
choose specic colors to direct players interpretations of the game.

Article II

Gridley, Mark C. "Preference For Abstract Art According To Thinking Styles And
Personality. North American Journal Of Psychology 15.3 (2013): 463-481.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Now let us turn to what may be the most promising area of research in the psychology of
art preferences: thinking styleThe more random and abstract the connoisseurs' thinking
scores on the Gregorc Style Delineator, the more abstract and avant-garde were the
connoisseurs' preferred styles of art.

This article is helpful for my paper because it explains which personality traits and
thinking styles parallel with a specic type of art. Many board games feature abstract
designs and understanding what type of people enjoy this art style could possibly
determine whether they like the game more overall, compared to other players. I think
this is an interesting aspect to bring into my paper. However, this paper does only cover
one art type and Id like to nd more because there are obviously many more art styles
that appear in board games.

Article III

Schell, Jesse. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press,
Taylor Francis Group, 2008. Print.

The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of
psychology that work for board games While touring through the unusual territory that
is game design, this book gives the reader one hundred of these lenses - one hundred sets
of insightful questions to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses
are gathered from elds as diverse as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, lm,
software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and
anthropology.

This book will be benecial to my project because it describes how to go
successfully create a board game using basic principles of psychology. This ts my
subject perfectly, and I hope to nd out which elements most affect players.

Section 4: Research Plan

Im sure I will nd more articles related to my topic, and I plan to nd more.
However, I would like to conduct my own study if possible. If not, Ill most likely just
provide an analysis of a study already conducted that is relatable to my subject. I think
that this a crucial part of my paper because my topic focuses more on the psychological
aspect of playing board games, and that in itself requires research, new or old.