[First published December 15, 2024 on the former Keskin Woods blogspot]

[Cover image Couple Seated at a Table by James McNeill Whistler from Smithsonian Open Access Collection]


Duet play

I began designing my game system a few months ago to early alpha my duet game with my favorite player and unadopted son, Elliot. So I began with research. 


What is a duet game?

    In the simplest terms, it is a game where there is one player character and one person telling the story.

 

How is a duet game different than a traditional group game?

   In a group game, multiple player characters help each other to solve problems and tell the story with the game master. Players can compensate for others' weaknesses or help using their own strengths. A duet game has one player who must handle everything. 


What additional challenges arise in duet games that you wouldn't think of without research?

   Play moves quickly. There is no group to bounce ideas across or to converse between themselves. The player and GM only work with each other so scenes move fast and the story moves quickly. This also means the GM is always on because there is no distraction of player to player conversation and the player has to devote more energy to role playing because there are no other players to take the spotlight away. 

 

Is that all? 

    There is only one player character and the story revolves around them. Death is a big deal in duet play. Player character death should be avoided as a rule. The GM must keep player autonomy in mind and ensure that risks feel risky and that players can escape or solve them.

 

I was inspired by so many systems

I have played or ran upwards of 50 game systems in the last 20+ years. I wanted to capture the joy that my favorite systems brought to me while I was playing, from philosophy to world building to creating random chance. When I played shadowrun, I loved rolling numerous dice to see how well I did. A few other systems also used dice pools instead of a single die roll. Hearing the clacking of dice in my hands while shaking them vigorously before rolling felt great. I decided on using a Dice Pool system.


When I first began running Into the Odd, I was first enamored with how rule-lite that system is. I read 6 pages and was running a game. Unlike most systems I've played, ItO could be taught or learned in a single session. Player frustration is a big concern for me because learning a new game system is already a stressful time and takes up valuable brain space. I decided that I wanted this to be a Rules-Lite system. 

Problem solving in Old School Renaissance systems was broken down for me once as Talk? Get creative? Run? Fight. I thoroughly enjoy this style of gameplay. Killing for experience creates a less varied flow of gameplay. Words matter and creativity should be an accessible option for moving through scenes and scenarios. I decided this system would encourage creative and narrative gameplay. This aspect is less concrete and is better but still a work in progress in the latest alpha testing.

Most importantly to me, I enjoy running games with fleshed out characters. There are many systems where you can be a superhero or deity. I enjoy running games for characters with flaws and strengths and quirks like your average Joe. I wanted this to be reflected on a character sheet. I decided that this system will deviate from traditional attribute systems or skill systems for rolling dice to allow characters to play as whole people. More on the skill and attribute system later.

Shadowrun, Nova Praxis, Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder all suggest or imply worlds that are enormous and that given enough player time and GM investment players can move the world. World building for these systems is a big task and can leave players feeling uninvested or easily distracted if the world is already built and the players don't know the supplement or media it is based on. I want the player I GM for to feel empowered to add and create aspects of the world. And I want my player to be invested and feel like they can influence the story meaningfully.

So, an easy to pick up system that is different than others narrative game with a dice pool that is balanced for games where one player character must manage all problems in a world that my players are invested in. Easy.