#NRMPresents 'Among The Sleep.' Horror Through The Eyes Of A Child
Among the Sleep is an upcoming game that puts you in the role of a two-year-old child. Recently launched on Kickstarter, it uses the amazing surreal nature of childhood imagination and dreams, alongside the helplessness of being at such an age to create an interesting premise for a horror adventure.
Players will tumble out of their cot and explore the world through a perspective we've never really seen before, but are oh-so used to from our own childhood. The game is heavily based on creating this sense of perspective, while building a tense atmosphere that follows you throughout the house. One significant example of this is the Krillbite studio's choice to give you the ability to see your own body at all times.
With no traditional combat (babies with weapons would be kind of strange, come to think of it), players will have to actively find hiding places in order to avoid confrontation and survive.
"We have many goals with Among the Sleep, one for instance being our desire to tell a compelling story both through an interesting storyline and through metaphor, relating to what actually evokes this fear and confusion in the child," Krillbite studios write on their Kickstarter project page. "We aim to include the surrealistic theme of dreams and children's imagination, both as a setting and an active part of the game."
Currently live on Kickstarter, it has already gained over $72,453 as of writing this (8AM on April 22nd). This definitely speaks volume as to the interest in something that is quite the departure from what you'd expect in a horror game.
The normal recipe for indie horror is evoking the feeling of helplessness (a la Penumbra, Amnesia, Slender), to which their is probably no more helpless feeling than being a child in a horror game. All-in-all it's looking like a fantastic original premise.
