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Go into your dream world and look for certain dreams that'll help you with your quest. However, there'll be nightmares included as well, so you better watch out for them. This game is mainly a puzzle rpg where you'll have to do puzzles in order to get dreams. Sort of based on Yume Nikki. Credit to Yanfly and Hime for the plugins! Special Credit to Frostnoble for making the catching sequence! Their twitter is here https://twitter.com/acrimonynoble?lang=en https://chinchou2004.itch.io/in-pursuit-of-a-dream

<Intro Phrase> So yeah, Maki here! </Intro Phrase> This time, I'm going to blow a bit of dust from my Instances of Clarity project by writing out some changes I've been planning to be made in the full version of the game, when if it's going to be released. Some of the changes here are not drawn in the absolute, there could be a change of plan in the future; but as of now, these are the stuff that I've been thinking. VX Ace or MV? I was quite confused back then about the platform I'd chose, since VXA had some of the scripts that MV didn't, but MV is more versatile and have more array of interesting features and plugins from what I've seen. So far, I'm leaning toward MV, so the game might be released there, with a VXA version following. Expanded World In the original IIAW version, there are only 3 Dreamscapes; The Manor, World of Ethelia and The Other Side. Originally, there would be other worlds, but due to time constraints, I scrapped those. Now, due to not being hunted by deadline, I can finally insert those scrapped worlds again, and even expand on them. Talking about expansion, I personally think World of Ethelia suffers from the cut the most; it was supposed to be a small simulation of old RPGs, with field map system and dungeons. In the end, the only real dungeon I can put in was the tower, and a simple one at that. "Revisit" Bonus Boss Another feature that was scrapped from the entry game was one to fight bonus bosses after clearing a Dreamscape and progressed the plot. However, these boss fights are quite difficult, and are usually equal to the boss of the next Dreamscape in difficulty. Upgrade-able Weapons Players cannot actually buy Weapons in Instances of Clarity, due to the "fixed weapon" nature of the game. However, I'm planning to do some kind of upgrade system to strengthen the weapon, since the final game would be considerably longer. Either that, or "Forging Upgrade" thing that lets a character uses their previous weapons as a material to make a new, better weapon. As for accessories, they won't be upgradable, although there would be more of them since they're changeable. Multiple Endings I'm planning to do multiple endings for the game, in which a certain ending would trigger depending on the player's playthrough. My current plan is it depends on the amount of Dream Characters that befriend the player and another thing, but that may change. Converted Items This is more of a wild thing that appeared in my head some times ago, but I'm planning to make it that certain items of the same use to convert depending on the Dreamscape. For example, an Item that gives +200 HP would be called Energy Drink in the Manor, Potion in World of Ethelia, Bandage in the Gray City, and Dream Shard in The Other Side. Certain Character Tweaks Due to the rushed nature of the entry game, I haven't calibrated the characters fully. Now though, I can finally give them deeper characterization. Also, some characters that were just placeholders I made in the entry version would be fleshed out more. Two of the greater examples are Claris and the Descended Lost Star; I think I could really expand their character more. Also, Descended Lost Star will finally show a human form in the final game. The Yellow Flowers We Saw Yesterday... THIS one has been grinding my gear recently, about the Yellow Flowers I used as plot device. The problem is, there are bound to be Undertale comparisons, probably even that-thing-I-don't-want-to-talk-about, even though I haven't even known Undertale when I made the game. The reason I chose yellow flower is because of the symbolism and the distinct color. Accompanied with white lilies that symbolizes death (can be seen in the Manor area), they make such eerie and mysterious atmosphere. The yellow flowers are everywhere in the game, right on certain spots, as if chasing the protagonist even in their dreams. It's also the favorite of the protagonist's sister, one of the key character of the game, who likes the color yellow. I know that yellow flowers has also been used as symbolism in some other games, such as Ib (Marry's yellow rose), and that I shouldn't be afraid of terror if I know I'm using my own thoughts, but still, I feel iffy. It's still floating now, but IF I do ditch the yellow flower theme, I'm going to use Forget-me-not instead, although that way I'll probably going to have to rewrite a lot of plot points, lore and characters. Well, I think that's all that I can say now. If you have any comment, please share the below! Until next time, ciao! (Geez, I forgot my usual closing phrase, but I don't even bother finding a reference)

Often in my dreams I tend to run into the same basic dream idea again and again. Usually these dreams are connected in subtle or obvious ways with other, to the point where it almost could be said a lot of them exist in almost the same continuity. Well unless I dreamed that I remember it too anyway, sometimes it's hard to tell? But I am pretty sure I have had this kind of dream I just had before many times. The basic idea behind this particular dream is that of a smallish world that behaved almost like an online game or virtual world, or maybe even a web site or forum. It's rules were often managed and it's land created and maintained by an administrator who had nearly godlike power to do whatever they liked, and usually lived in a tall tower overlooking everything. Some administrators were good, but a number were selfish and only interested in using their power for their own amusement. Some were human and some were closer to AI programs. The twist was, more or less, that often times hardly anyone inside the world, often not even the administrator, was aware that their world was not all their was to reality, that their was an outside world beyond it. Often their would would literally just be contained in some large computer system in the outside world. The odd thing though is that their world isn't really "virtual" so to speak. There world is an actual real/physical place (as much as a dream can be said to be anyway) that they retreated to that is simply controlled by technology. Why people decided to transport themselves inside such a space (sometimes with no obvious way back) depends. Some times the outside world is dead or dying and these custom pocket dimensions are all that is left. Sometimes they were just convinced it would be a cool game to play. Often a common plot was the need to replace a selfish and/or incompetent administrator with a new one, requiring people to sneak in the tower where the administrator holds up, often the last place with obvious links to the outside world, and either through some loophole or backdoor, or sometimes escaping the virtual world entirely and interacting with the real one, over throwing the old one (note: I have had this dream since forever and I don't mean to imply distrust of administrators in general, much less the ones here). Outside the simulation often partly takes the form of some apartment somewhere filled with computer systems and wires running on automatic, or sometimes strange outer dimensions after the fall of man, if it is accessible at all. This particular outside for the one I just dreamed during my nap was larger and more industrialized though, and there was this huge subplot of harvesting animal brains, testing them for self awareness or interesting mental quirks, and using them to do something related to a dreamworld. Wetware computers? Making a better an artificial administrator? I am not sure. I kind of woke up soon after that.

So yeah, Maki here! (Yes, I forgot the catch phrase the first time, it's edited now. What a sin.) So, while writing for a certain paperwork, I moved on from just lucid dream into sleep paralysis (aka that awesome tingly feeling in the middle of the night where you get to date a creepy girl with burnt face on your bed), and I re-discovered about the Mare of the Scandinavian mythologies. And an inspiration takes me into making a game, or at least a story, involving it. I'm not really a fan of the whole "SLEEP PARALYSIS IS DANGEROUS IT'S FROM WICKED GHOSTS AND DEMONS OMG" reaction, I hate it in fact. Unfortunately, 99% people in my country is still trapped in that old way of thinking. That's why I always try to portray SP (and lucid dreaming) in a more realistic, acid-trippy, surreal way in my stories and games (Like Instances of Clarity). And this one is no exception, but more "serious business"; I'd like to incorporate some elements that inspired me from a certain role play I joined some times ago, which is pretty fun. So yeah, it's just me blabbering about dream-based game again, Creator Thumbprint, indeed! XD ~Maki13

Dead Dreams Developed, Written, Evented, and So On by Gun Sage ***DISCLAIMER: This game is considered NC-17, Mature, or whatever. I will not include foul language or anything of that sort in the description, but the final product is DEFINITELY NOT recommended for children. Just a heads up. For anyone wanting more specifics on things you may find in the game, there's foul language, mild sexual content, torture, animal cruelty, sexual assault, and all kinds of non-PC content. You have been warned.*** STORY GAMEPLAY UPDATES DEMO MOVIES PLAYABLE DEMO Not yet! I want to work a few more kinks out and make it more presentable for potential beta testers. I know, I could just release it as is and see what I get, but I would like to have the presentation geared toward beta testing first. CREDITS RPG Maker VX Ace engine, default RTP, music, and sounds are all copyright KADOKAWA, Degica. Futuristic Tiles DLC is copyright Degica. Game Character Hub is copyright Sebastien Bini, Degica. All other endeavors (writing, animations, character design, etc.) unless otherwise specified at a later time are all copyright me. FEEDBACK I wants it! Seriously, positive, negative, or otherwise. This isn't my first game idea, but it is one that I've spent a good time thinking about and a lot of time, especially lately, working on. I have a tendency to concentrate on a lot of backend stuff, so don't worry if you don't hear from me for days because more than likely I'm wrestling with complex formulas and equations to make magic happen.

So here I'll post about my entry for Indie in a Week, I Demand Clarity! (Working Title) *I would only share some information about the game here XD The game would be centered around the protagonist, either Amatsuki (Male) or Mikadzuki (Female), which the player can choose. The protagonist is a lucid dreamer, and one of the main mechanic of the game would be going to bed to traverse between different dream visualizations. Inside a dream, the player would try to "clear" the stage, which opens up new visualization if done. Along the way, the player could get some dream characters as party members and would discover that there's actually something slipped among the dreams... Some of the Features: (|=|) Optional Party Members You are not alone! You could try to find a dream character that might join you in your journey through the fabricated world. (|=|) Stat Allocation System Distribute Stat Points once you Leveled-Up! (|=|) Press Turn Battle System Turns are counted per characters, instead of per party. Actions are also immediately executed. (|=|) MegaTen-Level Bosses Non-"standard" Boss design, but be prepared to see the next point. (|=|) Non-Standard Game Over No, you won't be treated with a piano tune with "Game Over" written in the middle of the screen. (|=|) Different Settings Traverse various dream worlds, from a haunted manor to a bleak city, from a fantasy kingdom to a bizarre mirror world. (|=|) Secret Scenes Discover hints about the background of the protagonist and the dream characters... What is actually happening behind this? Post your theories in the comment section. As per usual, contents are subject to change.