Visit a wonderfully peculiar dog's dream in a heroic attempt to save your owner in this beautiful pixel art puzzle platformer.
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We're live! Balthazar's Dream Q&A
About this project
A kid named Dustin goes into a coma after being hit by an ice cream truck. His injuries are serious and there is virtually no hope of him waking up.
His dog sleeps by his side, dreaming of strange and mysterious lands filled with canine wonders. It is Balthazar - Dustin's best friend and there is no way in the world he will move even an inch away from his owner.
In his dream Balthazar senses a presence of two entities. Recognizing one as Dustin he uses his nose to follow him, while the other presence lurks menacingly in the darkness. Balthazar is sure that it is here to take the boy away.
With a loud bark Balthazar embarks on a quest to save his owner, venturing through the dreamscape with love and determination only a dog can possess.
Balthazar's Dream is a platformer game in which you control a dog. In order to save your pal you will have to platform your way through several dreamlike levels packed with puzzles and perils.
Being a dog has consequences. Your attention span is limited and represented by a 'smarts bar' in the game. Various objects (squirrels, toys, baths) exhaust your focus. If you run out of smarts you'll lose control.
Vacuum cleaners will make you run away in panic. Toy balls will make you chase them frantically. In order to proceed further into the dream, you will have to use your dog psyche to your advantage. For example you can jump further when you get scared or run faster while chasing a squirrel.
There are many ways to die in our game. The Dream is filled with objects lethal to dogs - grapes, chocolate... even Canadian legislation!
We plan the levels of our game to be diverse. As you progress you will be constantly introduced to new gameplay mechanics, dog themed tools and hazards. We've even envisioned an entire level in which you fly on a frisbee!
Enemies will try to hinder your progress and jumping on their head will only make them more angry! Fortunately Balthazar is smart enough to use tools. Roll a rubber ball into a cat's face! Put a stick between the mailman's bike spokes. Knock out raccoons with a dog disc!
Balthazar's Dream will also be filled with classic platformer elements such as bouncy objects, moving/falling platforms and climbable ropes.
We love boss fights. There will be several in our game and we promise that they will be as fun as they will be challenging. You'll have an opportunity to dodge the Fat Cat's butt, engage in a highway chase with the Mailman and finally to defeat the Evil Presence with your love.
- 4 levels with different gameplay mechanics
- cute pixel art cutscenes
- 8 track soundtrack
- 3 bosses
- 10 distinct enemies
- tons of beautiful pixel art objects
- a variety of dog tools (frisbee, stick, ball, squaky bone)
- 3 hours of gameplay
- 2 difficulty levels
- dialogue driven narrative
- challenging puzzles
We are fortunate enough to work with Taylor Ambrosio Wood, an amazingly talented and versatile composer. If we succeed and raise enough funds for our game, you will be able to enjoy an eight track soundtrack.
Stay a while and listen:
Sawa Bialczynska is in charge in our (one person strong) art department. She has invented a new style she dubbed pigcel art (while working on Pigsodus) and is constantly learning new ways to deliver beautiful, cute graphics.
Our game studio is tiny. Just three people and a dog. For now. It is our dream to become Studio Ghibli of video games and Balthazar's Dream is the first step.
Connect with us:
Send an email to peter(at)psilocybegames.com to join.
Why Kickstarter?
It is our dream to make games. We would like to do it full time. In order to support ourselves and buy some food for Balthazar we turned to crowdfunding. Additionally we would like the community to participate in the development process - we already got so many wonderful ideas from our players - so Kickstarter seems like an ideal place to fulfill our dream!
Special Thanks!
Risks and challenges
Game development is a difficult process. There might be delays. That's why we're asking for the minimum amount of funds we need to complete the minimal scope of the game. If we raise more, we'll add more features and we'll require a bit more time to complete the product.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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Yes. The scope of the game is small and we've already done some groundwork. It is the minimal amount of money we need to work on the game full time for three months.