Stay Awake Among the Sleep

[Andy Chalk]

Stay Awake Among the Sleep

​

Among the Sleep is an upcoming horror game played from the first-person perspective of a two-year-old.

The first gameplay trailer for Among the Sleep hit the tubes a couple of days ago, and it looks fantastic. The entire premise of the game is great, really: You play as a two-year-old child whose perception of reality isn't fully formed, which leaves you susceptible to all sorts of strange experiences when your parents put you to bed and turn out the lights.

It comes across as a horror game in the gameplay trailer, like a sort of Pixar-esque Amnesia [http://www.amazon.com/Amnesia-The-Dark-Descent-Pc/dp/B004FZ9822/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338490081&sr=8-1], but the official description makes it sound a little more ambiguous. "Being played in first person, the game let its players immerse themselves in a child's limitless imagination," it says. "In the borderland between dream and reality, surreal creatures and diverse environments will present you with both physical and mental obstacles that challenge your creativity."

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Despite what's seen in the video, the developers said crawling will be an optional form of locomotion for the most part, to reach low places or hide from danger. There will also be no guns, and although that should probably go without saying, apparently a few "silly people" thought this might be some kind of first-person shooter.

I'm actually not a horror fan and every scary game I play makes me swear off the genre forever, but Among the Sleep looks potentially brilliant and I'm really looking forward to giving it a go. Alas, it won't happen any time soon, as the developers say it won't be ready to go until sometime in 2013, but for now you can catch up and follow along at krillbite.com [http://www.krillbite.com/ats/].

Thanks to Caliostro [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/Caliostro] for the tip.


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[RaikuFA]

Heard about this on Podtoid. Looking forward to it.

 

[RoyalWelsh]

This does look really really interesting, worth keeping an eye on for sure.

 

[Cenobite85]

What system is this being released on? I'm interested.

 

[Sixcess]

That's a really ingenious idea. If the game lives up to the concept it could be brilliant.

Nice to see some developers aren't afraid to innovate.

And if it is a horror game then it could be absolutely terrifying. Compared to a two year old even the protagonist of Amnesia would be Doomguy.

 

[TilMorrow]

Although I find it to curious concept and think it sounds rather interesting, I'm debating whether the developers will actually reach any further than the screen looking dodgy and jump scares that are shown in the trailer. Additionally, the concept doesn't really suggest any goal to the game other than a night's wander around a house to try and get a scare from a child's view. Pointless in other words. I'd have to wait and hear some info about the game before I make any concrete decisions though. I also hope they change the name. 'Among the Sleep' sounds more silly than horrific.

 

[Scarim Coral]

This look really good! I love the atmosphere feel to it. I did wonder simply having a child in the house seen small and limited however I did saw that image at the field in the sun. I guess maybe magic portal could be involve or is it all in the child head?
Also if the game was anymore realistic I can totally see some kind of scream and wetting your pant mode which could ruin it.

 

[mygocarp]

This looks very intriguing. I sure hope any horror elements aren't too prominent, as I can't play horror games for the life of me.

 

[Arakasi]

This looks good, I hope I don't get Dead Islanded though.

 

[Furioso]

And the most terrifying section will be when you open your parents bedroom to find them... together...

In all seriousness though, I love the idea, but I do have some questions. Namely, will there be an objective? How could you even make an objective for this? I assume the monsters are people (unless something supernatural really is going on) so if you get caught do they turn back into Mom or Dad? Does this only take place in the house or does the family move or something at some point?

 

[LadyDeadly]

After watching the trailer, I must admit im a bit spooked. personally im very jumpy when it comes to walking round in the dark and i think i might get nightmares.
Cant wait for it to come out!!

 

[Right Hook]

Too little to get a good picture of this but it looks like it could be really great and really scary.

 

[shrekfan246]

If they really run with the whole "young child and his/her imagination" thing there's really no limits to the kinds of scary/fantastic things they could do in this game. I don't know about the other people around here, but my mind was always imagining creepy things lurking in the shadows when I was younger.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

That's one hardcore toddler.

I dunno. There's a lot of ways they could get this wrong, but if somehow they manage to pull it off... could be very interesting indeed.

 

[Bernzz]

That's one hardcore toddler.

Agreed. The dark scared the shit out of me, that kid's got balls.

This looks like midget Amnesia, and the lights flickering makes me remember wandering around in the first F.E.A.R. I'd give it a go, but I probably wouldn't finish it. Just like Amnesia.

[sub][sub][sub]Don't judge me.[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[Zhukov]

Wow. That's a bloody awesome idea. Colour me highly interested.

Heh, I wonder if there will be a 'cry for mum and dad' button.

 

[TJC]

a horror game that's scary without being bloody and gory?
Why yes, I do find this very interesting.
Quite curious to see how they will implement the teddy bear because I know for a fact that mine saved my 2-year-old ass from all sorts of monsters and nightmares.

 

[TeapartyTokyo]

This looks really interesting! It's for Mac and PC, far as I've heard. My recent Amnesia-trauma fresh in memory I dare say I won't be playing this alone by myself, though ^^;