Vanessa’s Nightmare is a psychological action-adventure game where players delve into the mind of Vanessa, a 27-year-old editor for a prominent blogging website, who struggles to maintain control over her life amidst overwhelming stressors and temptations. After a particularly trying week, Vanessa finds herself slipping into her old ways of coping, awakening trapped within her own twisted mind—a place where her deepest fears and darkest desires have taken physical form.
The game begins in The Conscience, Vanessa’s mental battleground, where core and lesser values—such as Self-Control, Discipline, and Moderation—are represented by glowing pillars. These pillars are the foundation of Vanessa’s well-being, but they have been corrupted and swapped with their antitheses by Ephrasia, a seductive demon who embodies excess, gluttony, and indulgence. Ephrasia’s goal is to plunge Vanessa into a life of excess, leading to her ultimate downfall.
Players must guide Vanessa through haunting, nightmare-like versions of her past memories—such as a debaucherous college party or a luxurious vacation—each warped by Ephrasia’s influence. Armed with a mystical warhammer gifted by Soul—the rational entity in charge of the values of Vanessa’s conscience (along with Heart, the half of Vanessa that embodies emotions and desires)—players will battle grotesque enemies born from Vanessa’s fears, including sentient food, corrupted memories, and monstrous versions of people from her past.
Throughout the journey, players will need to reclaim the stolen core values and restore the pillars within The Conscience to bring Vanessa back from the brink of self-destruction. However, the path is fraught with danger. Vanessa’s long-repressed urges resurface, making her susceptible to the temptations of overindulgence, which players must carefully manage. If the player can’t restore the values before Vanessa awakens in real life, she will be damned to a life of gluttony.
Mechanics (not an exhaustive list):
No health system; the game is weight-based. Players must manage Vanessa’s weight as enemies try to fatten her up to immobility
9 unique weapons to combat adversaries
Collectibles, from weapons and values (that hold perks) to pieces of story
Puzzles that feature weight management and tactics
Gameplay:
Left-to-right progression side-scroller (similar to The Last Stand zombie games)
Jumping, walking, crouching, melee, climbing
7 planned levels, numerous bosses and a final boss
Platform:
As of right now, we are looking into using Unity as our platform.
WORK IN PROGRESS: This is a passion project and has no deadline and no urgency. I will update when appropriate, but otherwise plan on keeping things causal and sparse.
If you are interested in working on the game, please DM me.
I appreciate the acknowledgement; I’ve worked my ass off with my homies the past 2 weeks haha!