Lucid Dreamer (Demo Version)

Lucid Dreamer is a romance visual novel coded in Ren'Py geared towards teens and young adults. It aims to inspire and entertain with a story centered on personal growth and genuine interpersonal connection. Readers will experience the story from Kaname's perspective and will be able to make choices that affect the outcome of his story. The gameplay consists of deciding which branching story path Kaname will take. There are two distinct romance routes in Lucid Dreamer. 

The overall message emphasizes growth and acceptance, both of oneself and others. Tolerance, ambition, hope, courage, and overcoming negative emotions are essential concepts in the characters' interactions. Framing negativity in a hopeful or uplifting way is part of the design philosophy and, thus, the overarching tone of the project.

Kaname, a somewhat gifted but introverted high school student, summons the courage to ask out one of his good friends - who is also the president of the student body and the most popular girl in school, with no time for a relationship.

After she turns him down, Kaname finds his rejection was overheard and the entire school is talking about it by the time the opening ceremony is finished. Frustrated and embarrassed, he leaves school and begins dividing his time between half-hearted efforts to pursue a manga career and playing a retro dating sim.

Kaname shuts himself off from the world, allowing only his closest friend, Chiharu Suzuki, to see him. He puts on a good front for her sake, but she knows he is more deeply troubled than he lets on. She wants to help, but doesn't know how, so she lets him have his space.

His solitude is interrupted by the arrival of Mayumi Ito, the bubbly pop idol featured on the cover of the classic game 'Nights of Bittersweet Memories'. Emerging from her digital world and manifesting into ours, she is determined to finally see her own true ending.

While Kaname vows to help Mayumi with debugging her game, she tries to help him regain the confidence he showed her in his many playthroughs. But Mayumi isn’t the only one who cares about Kaname’s future. 

"Are you sure about this?"

Kaname Nakamura is a second-year high school student and the main protagonist of Lucid Dreamer. In earlier school years, he was a notable basketball player often favored by his peers and those he kept close. Despite expectations of continuing his basketball career, Kaname gives up his opportunity to pursue his passion for drawing manga. While Kaname showcases excellent prowess in the arts he seeks, he can often overthink situations, which causes him to spiral. After being rejected, Kaname hopes to restore his sense of self-worth and feel that he has a place in society again. 

"C'mon! Lighten up already!" 

Mayumi Ito, a renowned pop idol, is a sentient fictional character from a 90s dating sim. She's also one of the two main love interests in Lucid Dreamer. In her world, Nights of Bittersweet Memories, she falls in love with her bodyguard, Kaname's player character. Having never gotten a chance to experience her own true ending due to a bug in her game,  Mayumi seeks to correct the error in her digital world by entering ours. However, the bug persists in our world, giving Mayumi a limited amount of time to help her beloved Kaname. She aims to restore his faith in himself and solve the mystery of her game's fatal flaw.

"Don't lose hope. I'll be there for you." 

Chiharu Suzuki, a second-year, is a childhood friend of Kaname and one of Lucid Dreamer's two love interests, along with Mayumi Ito. She is stoic and reserved and rarely speaks her mind, often finding it difficult to express herself with words. Seeing Kaname succumbing to depression reminds Chiharu of her powerlessness when her father passed away. She wants to help him, but juggling her responsibilities and school takes most of her time. She is determined to do well at the annual Taito Ward Kendo tournament and wants Kaname to return to school for her sake as well as his.

"I hope we can still be friends." 

Fumiko Hisakawa is a third-year and the council president at Kaname's high school. Externally, she is calm and intense, commanding respect from those who see her in action. Coming from a family of politicians, she is remarkably talented as an organizer. While a part of her does enjoy the attention and respect she receives, underneath her mask is a passionate and sometimes eccentric manga writer. Having become friends with Kaname and Chiharu in junior high and written manga together, she now finds herself too busy with responsibilities to spend much time on relationships. Still, she is focused on self-improvement and wants her social life to be easier.

"You're still the same. You haven't changed!"

Takashi Akai, a third-year, is the school's top athlete and the region's #1 basketball player. He enjoys moderate popularity despite being somewhat abrasive and dismissive, thanks to his consistent displays of skill. He likes to assume the appearance of a rebellious character, but this masks a deep loyalty to his school and peers. Holding a grudge against Kaname for the last two years, Takashi has failed to make Kaname feel ashamed for abandoning the basketball team. He is unchallenged in athletics and sees Kaname as a waste of potential; for him, their old rivalry never ended. He wants to settle things with Kaname for good and see him humbled...

Lucid Dreamer, is available to listen to on:
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music

Vocals and Lyrics by Phoebe
Composition and Mixing by Feris Music
Guitar by DrMobius

Lucid Dreamer Dev Team:

- Director and Producer: Isaiah Grigsby
- Narrative Designer: Gabriel Foxx Martinez
- Editors: Ian McCarthy, HitheroNihil
- Character Artist: Sayuui
- Background Artists: Zylinder, Quandial
- UI/Logo Artist: Khoai Designs
- Programmer: DragoonHP
- Video Editor: Hilly
- Composers: Jan Hehr, Feris
- Vocalist:  Phoebe

Lucid Dreamer © 2024 Grigs Studios. All rights reserved.