Help Frank, a burnt out indie game developer, rediscover his love for video games while struggling to release his debut title. Reprogram objects, fix bugs and solve coding puzzles as you journey through the story of One Dreamer.
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I think this game works best when it takes itself lightheartedly, which is why the last segment is the best part imo (sadly this part is only like an hour long). Exploring and fixing bugs in a much more lively world is much more appealing to me as a video game than the forced, linear story that was being told up to that point. Really hated the abusive and suicidal undertones the game was portraying simply for shock value.
This review contains spoilers
Well... this is my first game review. So the quality will certainly be highly amateurish. (Sorry for the bad English too)
I never expected in my life a game to touch me so much like this. When I was recommended to play One Dreamer, I didn't have much expectations... and I waited a long time to actually play it. But I'm very happy that I was wrong, the game in its first few minutes already managed to capture all my interest in continuing to play...
The game tells the story of an indie game developer named Frank. A programmer who suffered from severe burnout, and the game takes place between old memories and the formation of his friendship with Luna. Explaining the entire relationship between these two characters; and the entire journey of creating their first major indie game. "ProxyLife" MMO rpg with the premise of being a virtual world for escapism for players from the pains of reality and all its cruelty. showing the beginning of its rise and decline, then being resumed in the present time, where Frank tries to keep the promise he made to his partner: "ProxyLife will be a success".
Speaking of its technical part; The game immediately draws attention for its incredible graphics, and for its enchanting art in the eyes of the players, where they take pixel art to a new level. Its mechanics are certainly quite fun for anyone who is a programmer or gamedev. Borrowing the C-Sharp language, and with a lot of creativity, the game uses pseudo-puzzles, changing codes and variables to progress during the game... (still seeming complicated for those who are new to programming; even those who have never If you know a little about programming logic, you can play and have a lot of fun...)
The game also deserves applause for its soundtrack, which I will make a point of buying and helping the developers get the recognition they deserve... Because this game was definitely an experience that I will never forget...
My dream as a child was always to be a gamedev, I started little by little, but as I grew up and problems came into my life... I left that dream aside... I remember seeing the documentary "Indie Game The Movie" , and being inspired, but at the same time very scared... because I thought... "what if it's not worth it?", "what if you fail like so many others?", "what will happen when you don't have nothing more?"
Little by little, my desire to be an indie gamedev was forgotten within me, and I never programmed or studied anything again for years...
But. This game changed my whole outlook on being a developer, and on being an indie game creator. Maybe I didn't understand IGTM, but this game made me understand. The entire plot, the entire story, each moment of this game, left me in ecstasy because this game touched the bottom of my soul... being an indie GameDev is painful, Reality is Cruel. But wouldn't that be the art of creating an indie game? despite many difficulties, stress, burnouts, depressions and moments where you just want to give up... the art of Creating always manages to move you forward... the feeling of creating and putting your whole being into something, your whole personality , your problems, desires, ambitions and thoughts and being able to express all of this in an interactive way like a video game is something-- incredible.
Jumbo always said "Reality is cruel" Frank always said "Reality is cruel"... and in fact, it really is. but it's the feeling of creating and wanting to touch and change this picture for someone else or even for yourself that makes Indie Games so special... the reality has always been terrible, but in a beautiful way the art of Creating, It always makes us overcome all the weight that is thrown at us.
The game manages to deal with such complex and sensitive topics in an almost masterful way. the process of depression, high stress, defeat, hopelessness, sadness and pain is simply shown in a human way that few games do. the entire trajectory of Frank's mind and his memories and the way he tries to deal with the constant stress of failing, and having his dreams crushed again; It's simply something fascinating. Frank's dream and obsession is something that many creators in any field of art identify with, the feeling that you need to make this project a success, or everything will be in vain, Frank's feeling is passed on to the player , the game puts the player in the shoes of Frank.
The final message of this game is beautiful, exceptionally beautiful. the ending is like a reminder to any other artist who is going through a process of failure, a reminder of: "keep creating. even if you fail, do your best, reality is cruel and it will remind you of that many times, but never lose your dream, your dream of creating something; for yourself or for someone, or to communicate with a certain type of people. reality is horrible, but it's the art and the dream of making it better for you or someone that makes you bear all this."
I thank this game, and its creators, for being able to lift me up and remind me to keep following my dreams, despite all the weight of reality. Sorry for the bad review, I still need practice... but I just felt like I needed to talk about how special this game is. One Dreamer will always have a place inside my soul. I hope one day to create something that inspires other people to create and make art or just help people in a bad time.
Thanks
I never expected in my life a game to touch me so much like this. When I was recommended to play One Dreamer, I didn't have much expectations... and I waited a long time to actually play it. But I'm very happy that I was wrong, the game in its first few minutes already managed to capture all my interest in continuing to play...
The game tells the story of an indie game developer named Frank. A programmer who suffered from severe burnout, and the game takes place between old memories and the formation of his friendship with Luna. Explaining the entire relationship between these two characters; and the entire journey of creating their first major indie game. "ProxyLife" MMO rpg with the premise of being a virtual world for escapism for players from the pains of reality and all its cruelty. showing the beginning of its rise and decline, then being resumed in the present time, where Frank tries to keep the promise he made to his partner: "ProxyLife will be a success".
Speaking of its technical part; The game immediately draws attention for its incredible graphics, and for its enchanting art in the eyes of the players, where they take pixel art to a new level. Its mechanics are certainly quite fun for anyone who is a programmer or gamedev. Borrowing the C-Sharp language, and with a lot of creativity, the game uses pseudo-puzzles, changing codes and variables to progress during the game... (still seeming complicated for those who are new to programming; even those who have never If you know a little about programming logic, you can play and have a lot of fun...)
The game also deserves applause for its soundtrack, which I will make a point of buying and helping the developers get the recognition they deserve... Because this game was definitely an experience that I will never forget...
My dream as a child was always to be a gamedev, I started little by little, but as I grew up and problems came into my life... I left that dream aside... I remember seeing the documentary "Indie Game The Movie" , and being inspired, but at the same time very scared... because I thought... "what if it's not worth it?", "what if you fail like so many others?", "what will happen when you don't have nothing more?"
Little by little, my desire to be an indie gamedev was forgotten within me, and I never programmed or studied anything again for years...
But. This game changed my whole outlook on being a developer, and on being an indie game creator. Maybe I didn't understand IGTM, but this game made me understand. The entire plot, the entire story, each moment of this game, left me in ecstasy because this game touched the bottom of my soul... being an indie GameDev is painful, Reality is Cruel. But wouldn't that be the art of creating an indie game? despite many difficulties, stress, burnouts, depressions and moments where you just want to give up... the art of Creating always manages to move you forward... the feeling of creating and putting your whole being into something, your whole personality , your problems, desires, ambitions and thoughts and being able to express all of this in an interactive way like a video game is something-- incredible.
Jumbo always said "Reality is cruel" Frank always said "Reality is cruel"... and in fact, it really is. but it's the feeling of creating and wanting to touch and change this picture for someone else or even for yourself that makes Indie Games so special... the reality has always been terrible, but in a beautiful way the art of Creating, It always makes us overcome all the weight that is thrown at us.
The game manages to deal with such complex and sensitive topics in an almost masterful way. the process of depression, high stress, defeat, hopelessness, sadness and pain is simply shown in a human way that few games do. the entire trajectory of Frank's mind and his memories and the way he tries to deal with the constant stress of failing, and having his dreams crushed again; It's simply something fascinating. Frank's dream and obsession is something that many creators in any field of art identify with, the feeling that you need to make this project a success, or everything will be in vain, Frank's feeling is passed on to the player , the game puts the player in the shoes of Frank.
The final message of this game is beautiful, exceptionally beautiful. the ending is like a reminder to any other artist who is going through a process of failure, a reminder of: "keep creating. even if you fail, do your best, reality is cruel and it will remind you of that many times, but never lose your dream, your dream of creating something; for yourself or for someone, or to communicate with a certain type of people. reality is horrible, but it's the art and the dream of making it better for you or someone that makes you bear all this."
I thank this game, and its creators, for being able to lift me up and remind me to keep following my dreams, despite all the weight of reality. Sorry for the bad review, I still need practice... but I just felt like I needed to talk about how special this game is. One Dreamer will always have a place inside my soul. I hope one day to create something that inspires other people to create and make art or just help people in a bad time.
Thanks