Game Info

While I Wake is a game I worked on in collaboration with BroodyGaming over on itchio!

Once again, an entry to the Horror RPG Maker gamejam, this time for the 8th one's theme: Realm of Nightmares!: Outgoing LINK

I did the sprite art, character busts and title screen, as well as the little cursor! BroodyGaming handled all the hard work in the engine, and our pal RavenBlueIndigo helped with some of the tracks.



Made in about a month, BroodyGaming and I brainstormed for a while about just what kind of narrative we wanted to go with. We thought about making a game with a child as the protagonist, as an inspiration came about with the theme "Realm of Nightmares" sparked conversation about the old film, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.

That film shows the dreams/nightmare(s) of a young boy who, eventually, has a hard time distinguishing reality from the dreams he's a part of. Quite scary for what was touted as a childrens film, as I recall!

Going with a young girl instead of a boy, we both were aware of the lack of female/fem presenting protagonists in a lot of games lately, and felt like we could both relate to what would eventually in the real meat of the game- dealing with undiagnosed neurological disorders.

In this case, the main character, Poppy, shows signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, as evident in her repeated actions throughout the game.



The game focuses on the main character, Poppy, not quite realizing why her mother and brother haven't come home yet. After hearing some scary sounds on tv the night before, Poppy goes to sleep and wanders around her "dream" home. We see here her initial struggle with making things that appear "wrong" (furniture and the like being rotated) and tries to "fix" them, over and over.

The following days are her figuring out that her mother and little brother aren't coming home due to an unforseen tragedy, but I hope you'll play the game to figure it out.

Though the game has tragic, sad elements, we hope we also were able to convey the complex nature that comes with OCD, and not to glorify it's effects that it has on people.

Being neurodivergent myself, I feel a need to properly communicate that aspect- a young girl who is undiagnosed, showing "strange" quirks, little signs that point to her being a bit "different" than other children at her age (7 years in the game).

You'll notice Poppy doesn't speak in the game for the most part, and this was intentional. Poppy, like a lot of children who are neurodivergent, has a hard time expressing herself with words. She might mumble or make gestures that aren't shown in the game proper, but her father is always very supportive and seems to understand her, even when it comes to coping "tics" or stimming behavior to self-sooth.



BroodyGaming did a phenomenal job with the game, putting everything together in the engine and making all the puzzles from scratch! She also made the little animations in the game, like the bubbles that pop up above Poppy's head (how she communicates). She also made all the tiles, household artwork, and the outside art! all art besides the sprites and bust images/title screen were made by BroodyGaming, basically!

There are tons of little bits that may not be fully visible in the game itself- but we talked extensively about representation, how a child might deal with tragedy, how a parent navigates the world with a child with OCD, whether he knows of it fully or not- it's all there, and I hope you can see what I mean if you give this little game a try.

I feel so, so lucky and happy to have been a part of this sweet but ultimately sad game! I have a pension for sad/sorrow/tragedy it seems, and BroodyGaming does as well! Haha... I hope you'll check out more of her games over on her itchio, linked above.

Please be well, and remember that you're not alone, even if it might feel like it at times. Broody gaming has linked in the game and game page proper:

Friends for Survival are a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt charitable, non-profit bereavement outreach organization available to those who are grieving a sudden death of family or friends.

If you or someone you know is dealing with the loss of a friend/family member, please look into the link above or reach out to those around you. Be safe. And thank you ❤