Download Open Beta Version Now at cesullivangames.com/sodi
(As of 3:30 AM CST 12/5/2013, everything should work. Sorry if you tried earlier and the download link was broken!)
In Story of Dream Infinite, you’ll play as Micah, a 14 year old girl who is a little bit too "drawn into" the world of her video game...
After Micah’s portable game console is confiscated by her English teacher (to the amusement of her classmates), she falls asleep in class. Upon opening her eyes, she finds herself in a world similar to the one from the RPG she had been playing. She also finds that her traveling partner looks a lot like Ethyn, the condescending over-achiever who sits next to her in class, and that the land is ruled by an evil sorceress who looks a lot like her English teacher.
You’ll have to use Micah’s newly discovered magical powers to flee from the sorceress’s minions (for some reason, they seem to think she issued some sort of challenge to the sorceress). Along the way, you’ll join up with an entrepreneurial white mage, meet the potato people, fight an anthropomorphic cat…just your typical jaunt through an alternate universe. You can also try to win the affections of Micah’s companions, but that part is entirely up to you!
The game is currently in Open Beta. The full PC/Mac/Linux versions of the game will also be free to download.
Characters
Name: MicahAge: 14
Star Sign: Aries
Favorite Subjects: Art, Athletics
Interests/Hobbies: Drawing, Video Games, Manga
Family: Micah's mother is an artist who is always working on some kind of weird video project or kinetic sculpture--usually in the living room of their home. Micah really isn't sure what her father does, but when he's not working from home, sometimes he wears a tie to work. Micah doesn't have any siblings.
Name: Ethyn
Age: 14
Star Sign: Capricorn
Favorite Subjects: Debate, Theater
Interests/Hobbies: Writing, Indie Films, Video Games
Family: Ethyn's parents are both lawyers, and they aren't home that much, which means that most days, he's stuck staying at home with his younger sister, who's still in middle school. Which is fine with him--he'd rather sit at home and write a short story or watch a movie than actually go anywhere, anyway.
Name: Jessie
Age: 14
Star Sign: Libra
Favorite Subjects: Computer Science, Choir
Interests/Hobbies: Ball Jointed Dolls, Crafts/Knitting, Visual Novels
Family: Jessie's mother directs the music program at her family's church and occasionally sings in the chorus of a local opera company, but currently, she's on maternity leave while pregnant with her fifth child. Meanwhile, Jessie's father is overseas, working on a documentary. As might be expected, Jessie ends up helping her mother out quite a bit around the house, but since she's actually only the second oldest, she's still able to find quite a bit of time to herself.
Name: Ms. Fields
Age: 28
Star sign: Taurus
Occupation: High School English Teacher
Interests/Hobbies: Classic Literature, Poetry, and her "Secret Hobby"
Family: She probably has parents and siblings somewhere. However, she isn't married or in a serious relationship yet, so she lives alone. She can't seem to meet anyone who shares her interests (not that she's really been looking). She does have a cat, who doesn't seem to like anyone but her.
Screenshots/Video
Okay, so here's the deal...This is going to be my first published visual novel. This actually began as a project for a graduate course in interactive narrative.
I decided to do my own artwork, this being my first visual novel and all. I feel like I should prove myself by making at least one VN on my own before I try to get outside help, which is something that Aya from Sake Visual advises at her Anime Fest panel (I've been a couple of times in the past few years; it's what pointed me towards Ren'py and the English visual novel community in the first place). Anyway, I'm actually having fun with it, and I think I might be getting a little better at, you know, drawing and stuff ;P
So, this is what I'd like to know right now...
Does this sound interesting to you? Would you play this? Does my artwork totally turn you off? Do you need more information?
(Would you like to read my dev blog? My dev blog would love it if you did. It gets very lonely sometimes. It's located here: http://www.storyofdreaminfinite.wordpress.com. You can also find it on Planet EVN.)