Hello dearest of Dreamers!
As you may recall, last month was about getting the first several hours of the game in proper working order, up through the end of the Mushroom Forest environment. This month, we turned our attention back to Jack Frost's Ice Palace to give it the same level of treatment that the early areas received. This included a lot of work on lock puzzle mechanisms that will be applied to the game as a whole, as well as gameplay elements that will let Nemo reach the Ice Palace itself.
The Nightmares are taking over!
Those of you who have played the demo know that the Nightmare Fiends start taking over Slumberland slowly - having a mysterious green wisp of negative energy conjure monsters and bring out the darkness within even friendly characters.
In addition to our ever-expanding collection of enemy characters, we also wanted to give a sense of how the Fiends' influence was affecting Slumberland. In doing so, we also wanted a way to enhance the exploratory nature of the game and usher players towards side-quests and other adventure content.
Cue up this nightmare miasma, which is going to act as a blocking mechanism within the levels. We have alluded to a mechanic that we call "Figments" before. The idea is that when Nemo and friends do a good turn for characters in Slumberland, they receive Figments in return. Those Figments were always planned as a part of a Mario 64-esque lock system (collect so many Figments to be able to take down barriers), and here are the barriers. By making the barriers this creepy sludge, we can make the nightmares feel more pervasive throughout the game world, while achieving some gameplay goals.
This Nightmare goop that has taken over parts of the game can be dispelled by collecting set amounts of Figments, which will power through the negative energy and restore areas of Slumberland.
The goop, or miasma, or sludge (we don't really have an official name for it...) is just a 2D terrain object with some sprites and a particle effect added on for flavor. We've even made it so that creepy eyeballs look at you when you get close!
Here's a non-final prototype of what that door will look like:
Speaking of creepy eyeballs, here's another doorway...
This one is a little different: it's a "skill gate" (i.e. a doorway that players have to use a particular skill or move to pass) that requires players to use Nemo's new Reflect ability to pass. Reflect is a power that lets Nemo (specifically Nemo) deflect enemy projectiles back at them if he can hit them with his sword. It is going to be the basis of a few enemy encounters in the game, so we wanted to make a doorway that trains players to use it. The door's eye fires shots slowly at the player, which they can reflect back to the eyeball.
Here's another look at a prototype of the door (still a work in progress):
When they do hit it...
Animating this stuff is fun...
Getting to ice
Before we show off some of what's going on in the Ice level, we have to first get players there. Part of this involves a puzzle in the house that requires lighting a creepy furnace in the basement.
To reach the Ice Palace, Nemo will have to enter the ice box, but it's frozen solid! He will need to light the furnace to heat up the house. When he goes downstairs, he finds the furnace itself frozen over.
From there, he has to collect a candle and some paper to light the furnace, and some wood to keep it going. He also has to cut the wood into pieces small enough to fit into the furnace itself. All of this can be done by exploring Nemo's house and finding the proper items.
For those that love a good Winsor McCay deep cut, the furnace itself is based on the one from this Dream of the Rarebit Fiend comic, which is also the source of one of our Nightmare Fiend characters, Thanatos. We'll let you wonder if there will be any links between him and the furnace...
As toasty as the house gets though, it doesn't seem that all of the ice will melt...the ice over the kitchen's dumb waiter seems as strong as the ice in Jack Frost's palace itself! It might take something as strong as the sun to melt that...
"By the way..."
Speaking of the Ice Palace, we've started implementing our "Flip Chase" sequence - nightmares and ice cutters have taken over Jack Frost's home, and he and his subjects all say it has something to do with a green guy in a top hat! Could it be? Could Flip taken up with nightmares? Nemo and Peony are on the case, but have to catch him first.
Folks who love the NES game will get a little shoutout here, as Flip will say one of the very small number of lines he got in that game (once again work in progress - please ignore the dummy Flip in the scene)...
While our game can't be a remake of the Capcom game (and honestly, with all of these awesome things from the comic - there are lots of ways it can be very much its own thing), we are excited to put in more moments like this for eagle-eyed Nemo fans!
A different kind of Fiend...
One more game thing - we've added cheese to the game! Here's a quick video of collecting it in our testing room.
What's it for? We've got to leave some surprises, but I'm sure it'll be a gateway to some rare items...
Nemo in the museum and other showcases
Finally, we're happy to announce that Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends has been invited to be a part of the Free Play: Innovative Ohio Game Design exhibition at the Cleveland Institute of Art's Reinberger Gallery. This is a huge honor, as we will be shown alongside aweome indie games like the Peabody Award-winning We Are OFK, Studio Zevere's She Dreams Elsewhere, and some other amazing projects! The exhibition runs from November 7th through February 8th. More info can be found at:
https://www.cia.edu/exhibitions/free-play-innovative-ohio-game-design/
We've mentioned this in previous posts, but the game will also be a part of the 2026 MAGFest Indie Videogame Showcase (MIVS) during Super MAGFest, happening January 8-11 in National Harbor, MD. Come see the game in action there - our goal is going to be to have something for those waiting for their Early Access copies around that time. More info on MAGFest at:
Speaking of MAGFest - we've also got updates on our musical guests, MAGFest veterans Mega Ran and KMurdock! They'll be MC'ing a parade in Slumberland when Little Nemo and crew arrive. Here's an initial look at their sprites:
Whew! That was a lot. As always - we're speeding onward as fast as we can, like an out of control running bed, to get this game into your hands while working to make it as awesome as it possibly can be. Look forward to some additional news soon on physical items, as we've gotten some designs nailed down and will be moving items into production.
Cheers and many thanks,
Chris and Team Nemo