Omori

[+ Archeia 160]

[KICKSTARTER][WEBSITE] [FACEBOOK] [TWITTER] [RMN]

 

***

 

 
A surreal, exploration, horror RPG.
Travel between new (old) worlds and uncover new (old) mysteries with your new (old) friends! ♥
 
OMORI is a surreal psychological horror RPGmaker game.
You must travel between two worlds, both welcoming, both concealing the same secrets.
Meet new (old) people, fight new (old) enemies, explore your own memories,
and uncover some hidden truths along the way (although you wish you hadn't). 
When the time comes, you can only choose one. 
 
Which world is more real? You decide, I guess.
 
***
 

 
Welcome to WHITE SPACE. Your name is OMORI and you've been living here for as long as you can remember. Everything is bright white; there aren't any walls. A black lightbulb hangs from the ceiling… wherever it is. There's a floor but it's always cold. The warmest thing here is probably your laptop. You don't mind though. You have a blanket, a laptop, a cat, a sketchbook, and a tissue box. You have everything you need. 
 
You are usually upset. Everyone annoys you, you think you are ugly, you don't know where you came from, you don't know where you are going, and you're too tired to care. 
 
On good days, your neighbors invite you over for a visit. "How can they have fun with someone as horrible as me?" You miss them now. When will they come again? Maybe today will be a good day! 
 
Or maybe today is a day for sleeping. 
 
But...Sometimes you're reminded you used to have another friend-- someone really important. 
 
Somewhere in the back of your head, you have an inkling feeling that you weren't always like this. You weren't always living in WHITE SPACE. 
 
The truth is... 
 
Your story is already over. 
You just have to remember it. 
 

***

 

 

OMOCAT is an illustrator known for a variety of work that ranges from very personal art and comics (Pretty Boy!!) to fanart of various video games and anime to some [/size]kickass shirt and crewneck designs. Aside from being an artist, she runs her own online store and is currently working on OMORI (this), a project that has been on her mind since the start of her career.
 

PEDRO SILVA is a musician and, as soon as this project comes to fruition, a composer from San Juan Bautista, CA. Their main project "Slime Girls" combines the feelings of an eternal summer seen only through your TV screen with earnest punk rock energy and heavy influence from various eras of J-Pop. With OMORI, that same emphasis on affecting vibes and lilting emotions you can't quite place will be presented not through the lens of pop music but through the unique medium that only a video game can provide. Drawing from a lifelong influence of VGM always close to the heart, together with OMOCAT's impassioned vision and Jami's ability to synthesize sentiment into song, they hope to create an experience you'll treasure.
 

JAMI CARIGNAN (Heads Up! Hot Dogs, Wonder Momo: Typhoon Booster) is a composer and performing musician from Los Angeles, CA. As their performing artist persona, “Space Boyfriendâ€, Jami blends pop music with the emotional imperfection of punk rock and Japanese silver-age idol music to create an experience that pushes forward into the future with the ideals of youth and hope. Drawing inspiration from games like EarthBound/MOTHER, Animal Crossing, Persona, and Umihara Kawase, Jami, along with Pedro, hopes to express an earnest and sentimental connection with the themes of OMORI to create an unforgettable and lastingly meaningful experience with the help of your heart.
 

ARCHEIA programs. OMORI is in good hands. She would also like to thank Yami, Galv, Modern Algebra and, Fomar for withstanding her barrage of questions.
 

GINO helps.

 

***

 

• DIRECTED, WRITTEN, and ILLUSTRATED by the artist OMOCAT.
• ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK by SLIME GIRLS and SPACE BOYFRIEND.
• 8+ DUNGEONS to explore and 60+ UNIQUE NPCs to meet and get to know.
• THE JUKEBOX QUEST (A side-quest where the player can collect tracks from different musicians/bands to play in the Jukebox at Gino's Diner).
• Ability to choose your gender and name every member of your party.
• A traditional turn-based battle system with untraditional statuses and states based off real human emotions and conditions.
• WAVES OF UNRELENTING NOSTALGIA.
• A bunch of (un)necessary detail.
• Memorable characters…?
• Really long gameplay.
• A room full of cats.

***

 

 

Edited April 30, 2014 by Archeia

[Euphoria 147]

Looks trippy and fun

[SpookyMothman 361]

Oh my gosh! This is adorable!

 

When I saw the word "horror", I was skeptical. I like horror games, but they all seem very much alike. This, though... I gotta say, I'm very surprised and excited to see more. I definitely see the Earthbound/Mother and Yume Nikki inspirations, and they're all games that I love, so I'll be keeping a close eye on this.

[«Skeith» 12]

At first glance, it looked like a happy game, then i read "surreal psychological horror", and everything changed xD This, as well, remembers me of Earthbound and Yume nikki. I actually consider these kind of games more disturbing that most of horror games of today, games that mess up your head and stuff (At least that was what i feel when playing yume nikki), so i am looking forward to this, it really looks amazing.

[+ Retired 274]

3 words to describe - Surreal, Retro, Awesome

 

Great trailer too.

[Tsarmina 2,612]

Glad to see you working on (another as well ^^) game Archeia! ^^ Horror isn't really my genre, but I have to admit this doesn't look bluntly scary--it seems more like a subtle horror surrealism thing. Cute art, too

[+ Archeia 160]

Thanks a lot you guys! It means a lot.

We're glad that the Earthbound vibes were good.

 

Here's some updates

 

 

 

Hello, everyone!

 

Only 24 days left for the OMORI Kickstarter! So much has happened, yet so little time has passed since the launch. As mysterious as this Kickstarter is, I would like take some time to let you know the origin and background of OMORI.

 

 

OMORI started out as a very personal project. He was a character that I created to help me cope with my problems during a confusing part of my life. I posted his character on a blog with a white background, which eventually became what the game calls WHITE SPACE. Drawing him did help me, but the more I posted, the more I felt that he needed to leave the space he was confined in. He needed to get out. So as ironic as it was, I created a story for him to explore and be a part of.

 

I tried drawing a graphic novel, but while I was drafting the chapters, the story's path seemed too linear. I wanted the audience to be able to explore outside of the pages, and the more I drafted, the more I felt that a graphic novel wouldn't be the best medium to tell this story. I wanted the story to be fully interactive, and I wanted the audience to be able to make choices. All my ideas were coming to me in the form of gameplay. I needed to make OMORI a video game.

 

On a whim, I bought RPGMaker VX Ace for me and my friends (it was on sale), and we started working on the project. The next day, I called up my friends (Space Boyfriend and Slime Girls) with something like "Wanna do something crazy?" and invited them to become a part of this project. They were really excited, and I was really hyped up about the whole thing too, because something that I previously thought to be impossible suddenly became possible.

 

Early on in development, I came up with the idea of the Jukebox Quest and began looking for musicians to include in the soundtrack. While on my search, I heard "My Time" by Bo En and immediately felt it's connection to the game I was trying to make. I contacted him about it, and it eventually became the accompanying music to the OMORI trailer.

 

The OMORI trailer was a crazy feat in itself. I planned out the entire trailer, drew all the animations by hand, took all the photos, and edited the whole video frame by frame as a giant .gif in Photoshop. Planning aside, I finished the video within a month. It was exhilarating, but also straining. I realized that the workload from OMORI would put too much stress on my body and mind considering my other projects and the timeframe that I had planned to release it. Just in time, I met an amazing and experienced RPGMaker VXAce programmer and specialist, Archeia who is now the main programmer and developer of the game; and through her I have met many other amazing people to help me with the creation of OMORI.

 

It is very important to me that this game is made in RPGMaker. Not only am I a fan of RPGMaker games, but I also want to promote this platform that supports and provides the tools for DIY storytelling and game-making. For this reason, I am also keeping the game development team as small as possible. It's more work for us, but I believe the end-product will be beyond worth it.

 

Having gone through art school, I've always felt that games were viewed as money-making products instead of art; but just because it is commercial doesn't mean that it's not good: in fact, I would argue the exact opposite. Games do everything that art is supposed to do and beyond. It mixes visuals, writing, music and sound, storytelling, and interaction and puts it all in one package. Games are so successful at what it does that there is a whole culture (and then cultures within cultures) based on them. As creating games becomes easier in the future, I want to get across the idea that game-making is an art medium. I am creating an art piece called OMORI and my medium is a video game. This game is going to be about my expression, and with the help of the OMORI team, it will become realized. I can't wait to show you all the final result of our labor of love.

 

Thanks to this Kickstarter, OMORI has gained so much support. To everyone who's donated at least $1, I give my undying gratitude. In addition, I've also revealed the next two stretch goals and will be revealing the rest hopefully very soon. Here are the details:

 

$30,000 Expanded Intro and Cutscenes. I will be creating more animation pieces like the ones from the OMORI trailer and inserting them in game. (SMASHED!)

 

$50,000 A Mac port of the game will be distributed to all $15+ backers along with the PC Version of the game. You will essentially be receiving two copies of the game. (SMASHED!)

 

$65,000 Mini-Games will be playable through in-game arcade machines. In the world of OMORI, there is a diner called GINO's. In the hallway of this diner is an old arcade machine, and although it's broken now, it will be playable after a certain point in the game. However, I found that there was another good opportunity to include more fun retro Mini-Games within this game. If this goal is reached, we will be including more arcade machines (I won't tell you where because spoilers) that will each have their own mini-game... because that would be awesome and also crazy.

 

 

$80,000 Extended side-quests in the game (like there weren't enough already). We currently have over 60 NPC's in just one side of the OMORI game, and we plan for the player to have the opportunity to become immersed in each of their lives. Therefore, it is very important that we have enough quests to establish this connection between players and NPC's. If this stretch goal is reached, we will be adding more daily quests, some extra (kind of scary) mini-bosses, and at least two major (hard to find) side quest strings that involve multiple people in the town and may spawn some alternate endings... We will be hiring an extra programmer as well. 

 

 

$100,000 Japanese localization! Thank you for all your support, Japan! We never expected to get this reaction overseas. We are pleasantly surprised and super grateful. As a big thank-you, we've added this. If this stretch goal is reached, OMORI will be getting a Japanese translation. You will be able to choose which language of the game you would like in the survey after the Kickstarter.

 

$125,000 An OMORI Game Artbook and Walkthrough that will reveal all the game's secrets (there are a lot) and include concept work and groundwork behind OMORI will be available by adding $35 to your REWARDS Tier. A survey will be conducted after the Kickstarter in order to make sure you get your desired prizes. As an added bonus, all $55+ backers will receive the OMORI Game walkthrough in PDF format including the two copies of the game, the wallpaper, the OST, and the pin set.

 

 

That's it for now. The next goals are the big ones, the best ones, and the hardest to reach. I will be revealing them as soon as we reach the next stretch goal of $65,000. (And yes, it's what you've all been waiting for.)

 

Stay tuned!

 

- OMOCAT

 

Edited May 13, 2014 by Archeia

[Jonnie91 1,149]

This is my kinda game...Backed exceptionally hard Beautiful work  

[Tarq 746]

That's quite the trailer you've got there and those last few lines of the story summary have seduced me.

Let me know if you ever need a playtester.

[+ Archeia 160]

Thank you everyone! I have some updates and more on the Omori Kickstarter page! <3

 

Hi, everyone!

 

I took some gameplay snippets from the OMORI demo and put together an OMORI Gameplay video; it’s the happiest and cutest side from OMORI but the best horror games start out the happiest, don’t they? ^o^/

 

A little bit on the horror aspect of the game: The game will get pretty scary at times; there initially won't be many pop-ups. The game is probably be considered more “messed up†than “scaryâ€. However, there are some alternate endings in the game that can spawn from your actions… and those can get a little freaky. Basically, if something scary happens to you, you asked for it. ^o^/

 

Anyway! Check out the video, show your friends, family, and your pets, we have 17 hours left to go! Let’s try to hit the Nintendo 3DS stretch goal!!

 

 

 

We've already passed the next stretch goal: The OMORI Walkthrough/Artbook (one book) is now available to all backers by pledging an extra $35 above your tier! (i.e. Pledging $15 for the game + $35 for the walkthrough/artbook = $50 pledge). Also, if you are international you will NOT need to pay extra to ship your book. It's on us!! We will be surveying everyone after the Kickstarter to ensure that you receive the prizes that you are pledging for.

 

 

 

In addition, a PDF version of the book will now be given as a bonus to EVERYONE who pledges over $55. Congratulations!!

 

I noticed that a lot of people were asking about the artbook and walkthrough so I'd thought I would clear some things up.

 

1) The OMORI artbook and walkthrough is compiled into one book.

 

2) The art will be spread along the walkthrough pages, and the groundwork + concept work will have it's own section at the back of the book.

 

3) Artwork includes concept work, old versions of sprites/monsters/other things, graphic novel pages from the (unfinished) OMORI graphic novel, draft work for the posters and any other promotional material, the art from the game trailer / in-game cutscenes, and more!

 

4) The book is expected to be approx. 100-125 pages.

 

5) The PDF version of the walkthrough which you can get by donating at least $55 comes with the art portion of the book as well. You can donate as little at $36 to just get the walkthrough/artbook without purchasing the game.

 

 

We've reached the Japanese localization stretch goal!! We added this goal due to the unexpected and overwhelmingly positive reception this game received in Japan, and now it has been fulfilled! The game will now be translated into Japanese.

 

We are still not sure if we are going to have two separate versions of the game or have a language option in-game, so we will be taking a survey at the end of the Kickstarter to ensure you get the language you want.

 

Let me know if you have any more questions! I'll be answering through the comments all today over at the kickstarter page. Good luck, everyone! I won't be sleeping tonight!

 

- OMOCAT

 

 

[Faye V. 52]

I just wanted to leave my opinion here because this game is somewhat attractive, if that is the correct word.

Before all, i must admit that this is not (at all) my type of game, but i can think i can make aside that detail and make a critique of... well, what is available to see at this time.

 

The story is intriguing and nothing close to a cliché, which is good but also delicate. When a game is too far from the standard it tends to have two reactions: i like this game and i don't like this game. Of course, that occurs in every game, we either like it or not (obviously) but it happens more in this kind of game because you can't like (for example) Zelda because you don't like the graphics or the gameplay or whatever but when it comes to these kind of games it becomes "i don't like this game because i don't like it how it is" and that is a general aspect. I'm the living example of that

 

Now, as the story is intriguing and good and everything, it is all matter of how the story is developed through the game. It's easy to state a concept of a game like "I want to make this and that" the problem is making that real. And not only real, but well made. What i'm trying to say is that it's interesting how you could develop all of these concept in Omori. I would play the game only for that.

 

Putting aside that, i gotta say that your graphics (even if i don't like them) are really, really good. It captures pretty well the ambiance you want to give to Omori, and that is good. The reason i don't like them is that they're too damn colorful for me xD

 

Anything else? I think that's all. Good project, nice graphics, good ambiance (for what you want to do) and well done.