Game Dev Diary There is A LOT of stuff out there that deals Oneiroi is an illustrated narrative game with dreams. One of my favourite series of in which players are the Dreamer, an graphic novels is The Sandman, written by Neil insomniac dealing with her inner Gaiman and featuring covers by Dave McKean, demons while she sleeps. Different who is an inspiration for my work. I knew choices take them on a branching path about Morpheus and some of the mythology and into different dream worlds, where around the deity, so I started to delve deeper they meet the Oneiroi, children of the into the mythology. This research was not night, messengers of the gods and meant to result in a historically (or rather, personifications of dreams. They may mythologically) accurate game, but to serve as help the Dreamer tackle your fears and inspiration on which to base my personal anxieties… Or plunge deeper into them. interpretation of the subject matter. As should This personal game combines words become apparent, I took many liberties with and images to create a story with surreal the myths. elements. Using mythology, metaphors As often happens with very old texts, This is the game dev diary of my game Oneiroi. Here you will find some insights into the game and visual art, the main character’s battle with depression and anxiety are information is scarce and often confused. design and the production process that resulted in this illustrated narrative game. I always manifested on the story and discovered Oneiroi and Somnia are both used to refer to find it enjoyable when other game designers let others take a peek behind the curtain into by the player as they make choices and dreams, and the personifications of dreams are their process, so here’s mine. navigate the world. sometimes said to be the children of Somnus / Hypnos (sleep) or Nyx (night). The siblings If you’d like to get in touch to know more, you can find my contact information and links in The idea for this game started with me Morpheus, Phobetor / Icelus, and Phantasos the last page of this document. Enjoy! thinking how to make a game inspired are named by the Latin poet Ovid in by my experiences with insomnia. Metamorphoses. They are the only named Beyond physical tiredness, your Oneiroi of many, the most prominent of what perception and interpretation of Sofia Romualdo amounts to a thousand personifications of things changes too. Being awake and dreams. They were said to be sent by the gods June 2020 dreaming starts to look the same as messengers, appearing to people in their (something I tried to portray with the sleep. London, UK Morpheus dream, along with the dream-within-a-dream phenomenon and lucid dreaming). Clockwise: Kabeiroi – location-based immersive experience by Punchdrunk Erica – cinematic videogame by Flavourworks Pan’s Labyrinth – film directed by Guillermo del Toro The Sandman – graphic novels series written by Neil Gaiman, covers by Dave McKean The Metamorphoses – stories by Ovid Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog – painting by Caspar David Friedrich Enter Sandman – song by Metallica Inception – film directed by Christopher Nolan The main gameplay mechanics are: If the player decides to take a sleeping pill Different choices lead players towards on the first night, they get a vivid dream different pathways. where they are visited by Phantasos, who The key choice that influences what tries to seduce them with the promise of a dream the player visits is the decision carefree (but ultimately empty) existence. of whether to take the sleeping pills or If they wait until the second night to take not, and how much dosage to ingest. a sleeping pill, they are plunged into a nightmare where they are hunted by Players cannot backtrack on a choice, Phobetor, who tries to terrify them into and can only visit one dream per playthrough. If they would like to submission. discover a different dream, they have to If they take only half a pill on the second play the game again and make different night, they are visited by Morpheus in a choices. dream within a dream (which initially looks a lot like reality). This is the only dream in which they get an explanation of the Real insomnia feels like a lack of agency: you mythological undercurrent of the story, don’t choose to become an insomniac. Often, you which is never confirmed to be true or desperately want to fall asleep, but cannot. false. Sleeping pills are used to give your body and mind a break by forcing you to go to sleep (and even That ambiguity was deliberate. I like then they might not work). The solution for stories in which the magic is hinted at, but which never confirm what is real and what insomnia is elusive and, in many cases, almost is not. impossible to figure out. There is too much at play for easy fixes. Each playthrough was designed to take I wanted the player to have some agency about 15 minutes. At each ending scene, I regarding when to fall asleep and, subsequently, added the option to play again, to what dream they end up in. In the end, I chose to encourage players to explore different The Dreamer is an insomniac. The player first meets her as she wakes up from a restless options and delve deeper into the story simplify the choice down to whether or not they night, during which she slept very little and had unsettling dreams she wishes she could took the sleeping pills, and when they chose to do with each playthrough. remember. All that is left is a vague feeling of unease and impending doom. She reflects that. on her longing for a good nights sleep and wishes she could remember her dreams. The Dreamer is fighting her mental health issues, which all manifest in her dreams and nightmares. It might be her subconscious sending messages to herself, using different symbols and metaphors depending on the type of dream, or they might be actual messages from the gods – this is never confirmed or denied, but always implied. Each playthrough follows 3 arcs. 1. Awake: from the time the Dreamer wakes up until she goes to sleep. a. Includes whatever it takes for the player to get her to that point. She might spend her day in bed, or get up and read, drink tea in the balcony, have a shower. b. It is possible for her to stay awake for 3 days (if the player decides not to take pills), after which she has no choice but to take a sleeping pill and have a dreamless sleep. 2. Dream State: from the time the Dreamer falls asleep until she wakes up. a. Once the player decides to take the pill (either the full dosage or only half), the Dreamer goes to sleep. b. Depending on how long she’s been awake for and the pill dosage, she will go into a different dream. c. These dreams come from different “messengers” – Phobetor, Phantasus or Morpheus – and have different aesthetics. They are manifestations of some sort of anxiety the Dreamer has. 3. The End: waking up and reacting to the dream, or being consumed by the dream. a. Similar scene no matter what dream she’s had, with slight variations. b. Reflection and implication that tomorrow this may happen all over again. c. Decision to face issues and enact change. d. Or relinquishing control to the dream. The Dreamer Main character and playable character. The player drives the story forward and controls her actions by making choices. A woman in her early thirties. Insomniac. Unemployed or furloughed due to the lockdown. Lives alone. Perpetual dark circles under her eyes. Dresses simply. The sort of quiet strength that sensitive people develop over time and experience. Depressed but determined to not lose her grip on life. The Oneiroi Children of the night and sleep, immortals who travelled through dreams appearing as certain types of images, the Greek mythology personifications of dreams. The Oneiroi are: • Morpheus: The Sandman. Most powerful of the Oneiroi. o Realistic dreams. o Appears as a human, with stars and wings. o Wants to guide the Dreamer, help her regain control instead of relinquishing it to Phobetor or Phantasos, but does so without any sense of empathy or warmth. • Phobetor: The Beast. o Nightmares. Sends messages using beasts, birds and serpents, monsters. o Appears as wild animals, often as lions and bears. o Desires to create chaos and suffering in order to subdue humans. Seeks to amplify the Dreamer’s anxieties and trap her forever inside her own fears and suffering. • Phantasos: The Fantasy. o Surreal prophetic dreams. Sends messages using items made of the elements earth, rock, water and wood. o Appears as a benevolent, colourful animal. o Desires to seduce the Dreamer by engulfing her in a cloud of euphoria and drawing her attention away from her anxieties, but not actually helping her to deal with them. All they do is draw the Dreamer further away from reality until she is completely disconnected. I decided that each “level” of the game should have a distinct aesthetic identity, with different dreams and awake states correspond to different levels. They vary in: • colours (from realistic to highly saturated, glitchy, monochromatic) • depth of field • textures (light leaks, paint, grain, glitches) • level of realism (dreams have warped perspectives and object sizes) • environment (empty apartment, lush forest, underwater, decayed / destroyed places) Some examples of reference photos, as well as before and after shots. • symbols (the digital watch is the “awake” token; wings and birds are repeating motifs; different dreams make use of different symbols related to each Oneiroi) To take the photos, I used my Canon 5D Mark II, which I’ve had since my years working as a professional photographer (to pay for my master’s degree).