Each forum I go to gives rather different advice, so I thought I'd try asking this here, too.

Woebegone
Are you strong enough to lift a spirit?

Synopsis: A star, touched and saddened by the troubles it saw in the world below, fell to Endless City, taking the form of a child. The task of helping people turned out to be more difficult than expected, and so it enlisted the help of several dreamers (the characters). Together they secretly brighten people's days while searching for their own dreams and trying to lift the heavy heart of the star back to the heavens.

The Inspiration: The setting, Endless City, is inspired by the illustrations by Imperial Boy (http://tksn.web.infoseek.co.jp/). I'm trying to capture that combination of enchantment and domesticity presented in his work.

The sub-structure of the system: I want some mystery, but also the sense of a hidden guiding hand that maintains the atmosphere. More than that, I want it to extend beyond just the gamemaster controlling the world or setting description and into the mechanics.

Is there a mechanic or system out there that achieves this, or can you think of one that would?

How would you create a sense of enchantment in a world without magic?

Why, this is the kind of poetic shit we used to work on with Jonathan Walton and Ben Lehman before the diaspora. I like.

Do you want examples of what others have done with game atmospheres of similarly delicate nature? Probably the most successful such game is Polaris, which includes ritual space mechanics for the express purpose of building and preserving aesthetic focus. I also seem to remember... yes, Moonsick might be inspiring for the ideas. Let us know if you want more stuff to slog through.

As for specific ideas, at first blush I'd focus on building up group commitment to the shared aesthetic. That's simply the shortest route to success: building up and maintaining a shared aesthetic is not going to happen unless a) all players are on the same page on what that aesthetic is and b) everybody subscribes to upholding it. So figure out mechanics in terms of ritual space preparation: design words to be said, images to be considered, acts to fulfill in preparation for play, and make them such that they both transmit the aesthetic you want and help players commit to upholding it. If the players are going to feel embarrassed and/or sneerful about the premise of the game, better for it to come up in preparation than during play.

That is precisely the sort of information and advice I'm looking for.

I'm very interested in seeing other attempts at games with similar elements. I do know of another, Youyake Koyake, from Sunset Games, but my inability to read Japanese has kept that one largely out of reach. The thread is a good start, and I may have to order a copy of Polaris.

I hadn't considered pre-game ritual as integral to the experience, despite having actually done it for a game I made previously. We explored grocery stores specializing in foreign foods, shopped for strange, untried foods (generally fruits, drinks and other simple foods) before playing, then made them part of play. That fit well with a game built around exploration and trying new things (not just food, but activities, social patterns and such).

Woebegone will, of course, need different rituals. I had considered such an act as being part of in-game play, but you're right in pointing out how it needs to be for the players. This really gives me something to think about and opens up a lot of possibilities. Thank you.