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Game Design: Modes of Play

Invisible Sun is the game I'm looking forward to the most in 2018. Among the many features of the game I'm looking forward to is Development Mode.

Development Mode is a simple system for narrative play that does not require the whole game group to be present. This is something that's been a part of role-playing games for a long time and in a lot of forms. The innovation is in a game considering this a standard mode of play. That means people who want to introduce development mode have the support built into the system. It means fewer outside books and source materials to have the thing happen. It also plays on the simple resolution system that Monte Cook Games has always been known for. Invisible Sun gives a great way to handle whole scenes with a single system.

I'm excited about the idea of Development Mode because it  follows the concept we are seeing in other games such as Blades In The Dark, Mouse Guard and The One Ring of alternative modes of play. More than just managing down time or giving structure to scene resolution, Development Mode emphasizes the idea that one-on-one play can exist in a larger game framework.

I'm really interested in seeing more alternative modes of play in upcoming games. Recently I've seen a lot of people modding games for interactive play with an audience over Twitch or other live-streaming services. I think it would be a great idea to design a game with this in mind, giving a structure or system that GMs could use to build a game with audience interactivity in mind.

Some of the things I'd like to see supported in upcoming games:
  • 1-on-1 play
  • interactive audience play
  • solo play (no GM, story driven by adventure books)
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