• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Neverending Nightmares - horror game by Retro/Grade dev [KS ends today]

M

More_Badass

Member
I first heard about Neverending Nightmares from this compelling Polygon article about Gilgenbach's struggle with both OCD and Retro/Grade's commerical failure.

Now the game is on Greenlight and Kickstarter; also a demo is available.

Teaser Trailer
Greenlight
Kickstarter

Neverending Nightmares is a psychological horror game inspired by the real horror of my battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. It features a truly interactive narrative structure allowing you to shape the outcome of the game. It will take the psychological horror genre in a new direction by eschewing many traditions that don’t contribute to creating an immersive horrifying experience such as limited save points, item collection/ammo hoarding, and puzzle solving.
Click to expand...

637x358.resizedimage


637x358.resizedimage


The gameplay focus is on exploration. Horror is amplified by vulnerability, so you won't be picking up guns and shooting monsters.
Click to expand...

Stealth will play a big part of the game...Instead, we are planning something more along the lines of Amnesia: The Dark Descent where enemies are invulnerable, and you must hide to survive.
Click to expand...

Every aspect of the game reveals more about the psychological state of the main character, Adam, and ties back to the idea of creating the feelings I've struggled with as someone with mental illness.
Click to expand...
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
Downloading demo now, that's a great idea I've seen in recent Kickstarters.

BTW, the Polygon article is a must-read. This is do or die now for the developer.
 
Dacvak

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
It sounds like this dude is going to literally kill himself if this doesn't get funded. D:

I don't want to sound cruel, but these "personal projects" not only don't interest me, but they usually end up as mediocre games. I think it's just because it fundamentally goes against the rule of "making something everyone will enjoy", vs "making something I will enjoy." While that has worked for some devs in the past, I've seen it fail for many more indie devs. Either way, hopefully this ends up getting funded and is a solid product.
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
seems interesting and while i dont really like the art-design, it's pretty creepy and gets the job done.
 
T

Thaumaturgic Tomato

Member
I only have the imagery to go by, but this is the kind of stuff the industry needs. Eff gritty realism. That is dull. This stylization is fantastic. The industry needs more stylization. So many games can swap textures with a different game and barely change in appearance. I love seeing images that look like one person sat in front of a canvas and painted an impossible world for me to experience.

More stylization, big devs. Hope this game succeeds. Looks like an adult version of Reading Rainbow.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Dacvak said:
It sounds like this dude is going to literally kill himself if this doesn't get funded. D:

I don't want to sound cruel, but these "personal projects" not only don't interest me, but they usually end up as mediocre games. I think it's just because it fundamentally goes against the rule of "making something everyone will enjoy", vs "making something I will enjoy." While that has worked for some devs in the past, I've seen it fail for many more indie devs. Either way, hopefully this ends up getting funded and is a solid product.
Click to expand...
When I read that article, all I could I think of was The Crow. A cult classic graphic novel born out of the author's own tragedy and suffering. Maybe Neverending Nightmare will be gaming's Crow?
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
More_Badass said:
When I read that article, all I could I think of was The Crow. A cult classic graphic novel born out of the author's own tragedy and suffering. Maybe Neverending Nightmare will be gaming's Crow?
Click to expand...

it doesn't need to be. the personal background of the game will make sure it will be a very interesting/unique title. and you can't really have enough of those.
 
Dacvak

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
I think the concept is pretty good, and I don't even mind the art style (though I'm certainly not in love with it). However, the animation just looks silly. The way the characters are walking and some of the cutscenes make it look like a bad Flash movie, or something I'd see on Adult Swim. Hopefully that becomes more subtle, because it sort of takes the horror out of it for me.

Seriously, look at the way the main character walks. Someone make a gif.
 
K

~Kinggi~

Banned
Wait, retro/grade is that Steam shooter that people were pimping during the Steam sale. Remember the dev posting here about it. I bought one. Might back this, will look into it. Reminds me of the drawings from those 'Scary Stories' books as a kid.
 
D

Dascu

Member
Estimated 2015 release on PC? Ugh. Not sure if I like this Ouya exclusivity deal.

Game looks and sounds fascinating though.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
Just played the demo. It's only 15-20 min long. Holy shit was that terrifying. The soundscape alone had me tense. Had literally chills down my spine walking down corridors. There were about four moments and they all made me jump.

It's also doing what seems to be the nightmare version of Inception where you're not sure which layer of dream world/reality you're in.

GO PLAY THE DEMO

iYS1EWE8uFxTG.gif


Is that a Slender Man?
ibonKjro0CIsPA.jpg
 
Nabs

Nabs

Member
Great art style. I voted for it on Greenlight.

I'll probably pick up Retro/Grade during the next sale. It wouldn't be a bad idea to maybe discount it for the month to help fund development.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Messofanego said:
Just played the demo. It's only 15-20 min long. Holy shit was that terrifying. The soundscape alone had me tense. Had literally chills down my spine walking down corridors. There were about four moments and they all made me jump.

It's also doing what seems to be the nightmare version of Inception where you're not sure which layer of dream world/reality you're in.

GO PLAY THE DEMO

iYS1EWE8uFxTG.gif


Is that a Slender Man?
ibonKjro0CIsPA.jpg
Click to expand...
Is that your GIF? Could I use it in my blog post (The Watchlist: Neverending Nightmares)?
 
E

elfinke

Member
Messofanego said:
Just played the demo. It's only 15-20 min long. Holy shit was that terrifying. The soundscape alone had me tense. Had literally chills down my spine walking down corridors. There were about four moments and they all made me jump.

It's also doing what seems to be the nightmare version of Inception where you're not sure which layer of dream world/reality you're in.

GO PLAY THE DEMO

[/IMG]http://i.minus.com/iYS1EWE8uFxTG.gif[/IMG]

Is that a Slender Man?
[/IMG]http://i.minus.com/ibonKjro0CIsPA.jpg[/IMG]
Click to expand...

Looks and sounds great. Will download after work and give a bash.

Thanks for the heads up!
 
H

Hofmann

Member
Messofanego said:
Just played the demo. It's only 15-20 min long. Holy shit was that terrifying. The soundscape alone had me tense. Had literally chills down my spine walking down corridors. There were about four moments and they all made me jump.


GO PLAY THE DEMO
Click to expand...

I was going to play it, but considering what you wrote I think I'll pass.
Well, maybe I'll give it a try tomorrow when it's bright outside.
 
O

Overboost

Member
Backed this on Kickstarter after playing the demo. The main character's walk animation definitely needs work and the demo itself is
fairly uneventful
, but Matt's story reminds me too much of the saga surrounding Dust: An Elesian Tail (developer blew all of his money, four years of his life, and nearly lost his mind and his marriage to make the game he wanted to make). Also, the audio is really, really effective.

Happy to pitch in my cash to help make this game a reality.
 
S

Syf

Banned
Wow, I dunno if I've ever seen a game like this. Loving these indie horror concepts coming along through Greenlight. Voted for it.
 
N

NinjamicWZ

Banned
I dig it. Reminds me of those Scary Stories books from when I was a kid. I respect what he's doing as an expression, as well.
 
indigo-cyclops

indigo-cyclops

Member
~Kinggi~ said:
Wait, retro/grade is that Steam shooter that people were pimping during the Steam sale. Remember the dev posting here about it. I bought one. Might back this, will look into it. Reminds me of the drawings from those 'Scary Stories' books as a kid.
Click to expand...

tumblr_m5libuYj7d1qlruf2o1_500.gif

the-thing.jpg
Click to expand...

Not even close; however, this does look/sound very interesting. I will check it out.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
~Kinggi~ said:
Wait, retro/grade is that Steam shooter that people were pimping during the Steam sale. Remember the dev posting here about it. I bought one. Might back this, will look into it. Reminds me of the drawings from those 'Scary Stories' books as a kid.
Click to expand...
Oh god...oh god...that Scary Stories art is nightmare inducing. Loved those books as a kid but that art still freaks me out
 
O

Overboost

Member
Hey, 170 backers on the first day. Not too bad. Hopefully his story continues to get picked up by more outlets... I wanna see this succeed.
 
S

S1kkZ

Member
Overboost said:
Hey, 170 backers on the first day. Not too bad. Hopefully his story continues to get picked up by more outlets... I wanna see this succeed.
Click to expand...

yep. demo is cool and the final game should be pretty interesting. i just wish they would use less frames (yes, less) for the main characters walking animation. they could make it look more like an animated comic/motion comic.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
For some reason, I was going through the backers and found Robert Bowling (former Infinity Ward), Brian Fargo (this guy loves kickstarter), Thomas Grip (Frictional Games), Justin McElroy (former Joystiq, now Polygon) Michael McWhertor (former Kotaku, now Polygon), and Rob Manuel (former G4TV, now Gametrailers' Indie Game Manual).

Just found that interesting.
 
C

Carl

Member
Damn, really like the concept of this. Gonna have to keep an eye on it and possibly back it at some stage :)
 
T

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
The name of his new game certainly represents his commercial experience with the old one.
 
K

kerotan_eater

Banned
I've got Retro/Grade, for PS+ and it was fun but I'm just not into music games all that much. His new game honestly looks way more like my cup of tea, I'm more of a single-player guy anyway so I will definitely purchase this myself if reviews are spot on.
 
Sub_Level

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
I can't help but think of Bobby from King of the Hill with that face. Looks interesting tho.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Psychological horror game KARMA: The Dark World to be published by Wired Productions for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC
News Trailer
8
603
_Idea_of_Evil_ replied
Game Grumps announces narrative-driven psychological horror game Homebody for consoles, PC
Trailer Indie
15
1K
jaysius replied
Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass: Persona 5 Royal, Gunfire Reborn, Phantom Abyss, and More
News Platform
2
719
Dr.Morris79 replied
Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass: Persona 5 Royal, Gunfire Reborn, Phantom Abyss, and More
2
55
3K
Roberts replied
Retro Games Returned #2: Silent Hill (1999)
Retro
25
6K
xrnzaaas replied
Top Bottom