So as EpicSloth (JD) has worked on The Waste is Not Kind, the subject of “tone” has come up a lot. How do you use the mechanics of the game to highlight a particular feeling that a GM or player might be after? Well, I can say that EpicSloth was able to achieve that with the Waste and why his insight into the subject prompted this conversation.

As EpicSloth and I discuss the questions presented below, it really highlights how being in tune with our guts and our feelings as we play is so important. There isn’t one answer to how to achieve tone. You have to feel it out. Find what resonates and what sows dissonance into the game. As we play, those things become more apparent and then we’re not designing in the dark anymore.

Plus, once you’ve got a good grasp of the tone you’re after, it becomes easier to share those ideas with other players and help them get on board too. When the GM, the players, and the mechanics of the game are in sync, great games are so much easier to come by. But what do you think?