Syncing Feeling

Game Design Project: Syncing Feeling

Team Size: 1

Worked on for: 15 Weeks from January 2025 to April 2025

Role: Designed, tested, balanced, and documented the entirety of the TTRPG System.

DEVELOPMENT

Syncing Feeling stemmed from me wanting to add more narrative impact to how players engage with TTRPGs. Initially, I envisioned it as a homebrew concept for my friends and I's D&D Campaign.

I started with a few rules for how players would fight while 'Synced' together. My plan was to chip away at it and slightly modify the D&D rules.

However, it burgeoned into a unique system that pairs characters together and requires players to converse and agree upon how they will spend their collective turn.

The system encourages collaboration, and after extensive testing and balancing, I was able to take it from the initial concept to a fully-fledged system.

The original mandate of Syncing Feeling.

The original battle mechanics of Syncing Feeling.

GAMEPLAY

Syncing Feeling features two modes of gameplay, combat and interaction. Both modes utilize systems to encourage role-playing between the characters to help them feel more immersed and connected to their characters. The system features multiple mechanics that take advantage of this.

Primarily, the game utilizes a system known as Emotional Responses where players select one of four options based on their. It provides passive buffs and nerfs to specific parts of the gameplay that fit each response. As characters are damaged, their Emotional Response increases in level. This increases the impact of the passives.

Eventually, if the level gets too high they'll be 'Desynced' from the other player. There's a risk-reward system in having to manage the Emotional Response Levels.

The overview of the Feelings section of the documentation

An example of an Emotional Response and its abilities.

The overview of the Harmonics documentation

The Vows section of the documentation.

When outside of combat, the system uses a form of Bond Tracking called Harmonics. Harmonics will level up as characters grow closer together, and level down when they have conflict.

In an attempt to create a system that was flexible for roleplay while also rewarding characters who Sync together when they get closer, I sought to make the bedrock of the increases and decreases defined by the players.

This is done through the "Vows" they make to each other. Vows can be anything, and will increase as the characters follow them. The higher the level, the more abilities characters can access in combat.

TESTING AND BALANCING

When trying to balance Syncing Feeling, I tested the game with players who were familiar with playing TTRPGs. I had them make characters and gave them an environment to play around in. In these tests, I sought to find if the act of sharing your turn with another player was fun. I was also looking to see if the mechanics were balanced and encouraged roleplay.

The system was well-received in these tests, but there was one issue that continued to pop up. Characters would rarely have their Emotional Response levels increased to dangerous levels. In an effort to correct for this, I made it easier for the increase to occur and lowered the maximum threshold. It ended up being an overcorrection, and players found it to be too stressful to manage.

I came up with the solution to have the levels increase at defined thresholds, and include multiple different mechanics for how the player characters can reduce those levels. That way, they had more control over the increase.

The changes made to increase the frequency.

Added in a defined way to lower the Emotional Response Level during a fight.

COMBAT SHEET

The system features multiple different variables and stats that interact with the character based on their class, Emotional Response, and more. As players, you also need to combine certain values together while you're fighting.

To help with all of this, I created an Excel Sheet that could handle all of the functions in combat. It minimizes the math that the player needs to perform, and can store all of the important information they need while playing the game.

The sheet can also integrate with other sheets as long as they're available on the internet. It can get the data from a Sync Partner and will even update at their values change.

Overall Combat Sheet

Resources Section, shows all of the resources the player may be managing.

The Harmonics Section. The player can track all their bonds here.

Class Ability Lookup Section. The player can look up any ability from any class to get the relevant data.

The Class Abilities Section. Contains the data on every class ability in the game.

Damage Rolls Section. The sheet does the math for the player, factoring in their current modifiers to give the final results.

SYNCING FEELING MANUAL

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