Among the Sleep is a first person horror adventure, in which you play a two year old child.
We’re live streaming the final hours on this link! Join in, and lets count down together :)
We’ll be answering questions, playing some video-games, and Jory Prum, our magnificent dialogue recorder from the States, is even here in Norway joining us!
We made it! Thanks so much to everyone who helped in one way or another :D
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You can now partake in the Kickstarter using PayPal! Every paypal-backer will be offered their Add-ons through an e-mail survey, after the campaign.
Download the Playable Alpha below:
Stretch goals!
Whoop! :D You lovely people keep supporting, and might want to know how we'd spend any additional money?
We are very satisfied with the existing design of Among the Sleep, but there are numerous things that we‘d like to be able to offer you on the side of the game itself. Like a proper Oculus Rift implementation, and an in-game Commentary Track.
DLC elaboration: We’ve also been so inspired by all your input and feedback during the last weeks, that we’d love to spend some time and develop a secret DLC in collaboration with our wonderful backers after release! This will be a separate story / part of the game, that we naturally will release for free once it's done. All of you with access to the backer-forums would be invited to join in the creative process. The possibilities are endless!
Oculus Rift support confirmed »
Images of rewards can be found at this link. More images coming soon!
We’ve decided to add rewards to some tiers - thats right, free stuff! Have a look at the matrix below for specifics.
Fresh speedpaint video showing one of Karoline Aske's concepts being created.
We also just published these concepts, that show how diverse environments we're aiming for in Among the Sleep.
We've received tons of questions during the last week, and have answered the most popular ones in this video. In between our blabbering, you'll also find a lot of concepts and sketches from the development - some of which have never been shared before!
And before somebody asks, yes we're rather tired - but who can sleep during awesome days like these!
More updates »
What happens when you mix a child's perspective and imagination, with the surreal nature of dreams? Quite a lot, I guess, but we think one of those things is an interesting premise for a horror adventure.
The game is heavily based on atmosphere and exploration, and using the two year old child’s perspective. For example you’ll be able to see your own body at all times, and you will have to interact with the environment to find places to hide from dangers.
Our gameplay prototype from last summer:
Fresh environment teaser:
The teasers we have published are captured entirely in-game.
There might be threats hiding in every shadow, but there’s no traditional combat. Instead, players will actively have to find places to hide, and avoid confrontation to survive. For example in cupboards and under furniture.
We’re aiming to include some puzzle and adventure elements as well, but our main focus lies on exploration, atmosphere and horror.
More screenshots »
We've done a lot of experimenting with environmental interaction, so for instance you’ll be able to push, pull and climb objects to reach places, open and close doors, make a staircase out of drawers, peek around corners, carry and place small objects, and the list goes on.
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. We aim to include the surrealistic theme of dreams and children's imagination, both as a setting and an active part of the game.
More concept art »
While travelling through diverse environments inspired by our dreams and driven by the endless imagination of the child, you will have to search for comfort and safety. Will you find your parents?
If this Kickstarter is successful, we’ll be able to finish the game already during Q4 this year, for PC, Mac and Linux.
Follow the project on:
Facebook » Twitter » Youtube » Project home page »
The amazing amount of positive feedback around the web has been a driving motivational force for us during development.
Krillbite Studio, the independent developer behind Among the Sleep, came to be during our studies of interactive digital art about two years ago. As a creative collective of friends, we started our current project Among the Sleep as our thesis project, and we decided to continue working on it after graduating.
We love this medium, and want to craft unique and interesting experiences to drive it forward. This means that we experiment all the time, for instance by making and releasing creative side projects for free.
We're now at the point in development where we have finished the core gameplay, but there is still a lot of production, as well as a ton of polishing and testing left to do. We want to take our time and make the game as good as possible.
The only obstacle we see going forward, is that everyone at Krillbite still work part time jobs on the side to survive while developing Among The Sleep. This inhibits our focus and productivity on the game, and we don’t want to lower our expectations to the quality of the finished game, or delay the release. We hope this Kickstarter will help us deliver the best possible experience we can, within a reasonable timeframe. Another reason to use Kickstarter is our wish to stay independent, and free from the creative boundaries of a publisher.
We've found that $200.000 is the amount we need to quit our part-time jobs, and continue working all hours of the day on finishing Among the Sleep.
If we are fortunate enough to receive more than our goal, what would we spend it on?
We are very satisfied with the existing design of Among the Sleep, but there are numerous things that we‘d like to be able to offer you on the side of the game itself.
Like we mentioned in the Oculus Update Video, we’ll be including a basic implementation either way, but we’d really like to spend some time optimizing and exploring some amazing possibilities with the technology.
We’d also very much like to include a proper in-game Commentary Track, so that you can hear our thoughts, anecdotes and other stories from the development of Among the Sleep should you choose.
You'll find a ton of rewards to your right, including copies of the game, OST, Boxed limited edition, Art book, T-shirts, Alpha testing, your name in the credits a Skype conference with the team and a Personal plush-Teddy, handmade by us at Krillbite!
Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
At the moment, our biggest challenge is that all of us work part time jobs to finance Among the Sleep. As such we loose a lot of time and focus that we would rather spend making the game as great as possible.
Other challenges might be the unforeseen obstacles we have to overcome during development. But we'll keep you in the loop and commit to deliver Among the Sleep as promised!
Demographic is something we still have to figure out. We have confirmed the game to be available in English & Norwegian. What other languages it will be available in, is something we have to judge based on your feedback. Maybe some of you might help us as well?
QA (Quality Assurance) is always an important part of any production. This is something we will take seriously, by using the gigantic base of testers that have already applied. Also, some backers will be offered to help ensure the quality of the game through beta-testing. This will let you test the game early on, while providing valuable feedback to us!
Other than that, the occasional asteroid or meteor might make problems.
We promise to keep you in the loop and up to date on all matters of the final production through blog updates, forums, video content, dev diaries, iama and whatnot! :)
FAQ
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We estimate minimum 4 hours of gameplay in the finished game, though this might change in the continued development. We’re quite critical to the quality of what makes it into the game, and we don’t want any unnecessary filler content. Also, we are a small team of indie developers with limited resources! What we lack in playtime, we hope to substitute with quality and creativity :)
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The child must find his way through dark and mysterious environments while searching for safety and comfort, which is ultimately to be reunited with your family.
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On a thematic level, death works very vaguely in Among the Sleep. But short answer: yes, you will be able to die. We don’t think there are any controversial aspects implicit in this though, which we’ve elaborated on in http://krillbite.com/blog/10/on-among-the-sleep-controversy-and-the-role-of-videogames/.
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You will meet creatures that pose real threats to you, but the game will not feature any traditional combat. You will have to avoid confrontation, by using the environment to find places to hide.
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We want as many people to be able to play Among the Sleep as possible. It will definitely be released for PC, MAC & Linux, and we are in dialogues about a possible console release as well. We're aiming for both Steam and GOG amongst others, and in addition we will be offering a completely DRM-free version through paypal / amazon from our own website.
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Mostly! Please have a look at our Rewards Matrix for specifics: http://www.krillbite.com/ats/g/ATS_RewardsAddons_Matrix.png
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Yes! Check the Add-on section above if you would like to pick and choose the rewards of your choice.
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Basic implementation of the Oculus Rift will be present in Among the Sleep! If we reach our stretch goal at 25k$ we will also have a more proper implementation of the Rift, with stuff like optimizing and exploring some amazing possibilities with the technology.
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All contributions goes directly to the development of Among the Sleep. We're just lucky that the indie game community in Norway is a small and close community, and the wonderful people at Red Thread Games (working on the amazing Dreamfall) were kind enough to help us out with the practicalities surrounding an Amazon account.
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We have run a few tests! The system requirements below might be subject to change during the remaining development, but it should paint you a picture of what to expect:
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO 2.4 GHz / AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHz
Memory: 3 GB (32 bit OS) 4GB (64 bit OS)
Video Card: 512 MB or more, DirectX 9-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 3.0 -
We'll definitely continue to work on Among the Sleep even if the campaign fails, but it would mean a long delay of release - we'd have to finance it another way, and part time jobs are time consuming! In addition we would have to cut some content from the game as well :/ We have some great plans for Among the Sleep, so neither of these is something we would like. We're crossing our fingers!
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The $100-dollar tier alpha is a bigger and more extensive test we'll be running this summer. But we're also considering to publish the short early alpha-version to the public during the campaign, but it's quite some work for us and we've not nailed the details yet. Stay tuned!
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PACIFIER - You get access to our exclusive backer forum. You also receive a backer wallpaper, and the heartfelt thanks from the Krillbite team!
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NEWBORN - Our early bird tier! Receive a digital copy of Among the Sleep. You also get access to our exclusive backer forums.
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SLEEPYHEAD - So you missed the early bird? Don’t despair! This tier gives you a digital copy of Among the Sleep, along with a beautiful high-resolution SLEEPYHEAD wallpaper since you're so cute. You also get access to our exclusive backer forums.
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LULLABY - Receive a digital copy of Among the Sleep and the game’s soundtrack, as well as access to our exclusive backer forums.
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PLAYMATE - Receive TWO digital copies of Among the Sleep, and have a copy to share! In addition you'll get access to the backer forums, and the heartfelt thanks from the Krillbite team.
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BABY - Receive a digital copy of Among the Sleep, along with a digital printable poster and digital card signed by the team! You also gain access to our exclusive backer forums.
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TODDLER - Receive a digital copy of Among the Sleep, along with a digital poster, art book, soundtrack - signed by the team! Of course, you also gain access to our exclusive backer forums.
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WONDERCHILD - Receive a digital copy of Among the Sleep and access to the exclusive alpha test, expected late summer, along with all previous reward tiers.
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GRANDPARENT - For old fashioned people, receive a limited boxed edition of Among the Sleep! You also get access to the exclusive alpha test expected late this summer and the backer forums.
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CAREGIVER - Receive a physical art book, and a digital copy of Among the Sleep! Plus you'll also get your name in the Special Thanks credits. In addition you get access to the exclusive alpha test, expected late summer, and the backer forums.
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SOULMATE - Receive a copy of Among the Sleep! You also get an awesome T-shirt, a physical copy of the art book signed by everyone at the team and a personal handwritten message! Plus you'll also get your name in the Special Thanks credits. In addition you get access to the exclusive alpha test expected late this summer, and the backer forums.
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BABYSITTER - Get a drawing of yourself along with us on our homepage and receive a Skype-conference with the team. Get your name in credits. You also get your picture on the wall of fame in our office, so that we are reminded of your beautiful face every day. You also get access to the exclusive alpha test, expected late summer, and the backer forums, along with your name in the Special Thanks credits!
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TEDDY - Receive a personal plush Teddy bear, handmade by us at Krillbite, and a Skype-conference with the team if you wish! You also get the soundtrack, a physical boxed copy of the game, art book and a t-shirt. You also get access to the exclusive alpha test, expected late summer. Your name will also appear in the super Special Thanks in credits and have your picture on the hall of fame wall in our office, so that we are reminded of your beautiful face every day.
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PARENT - You have our eternal undying gratitude, and get your name as Executive Producer in the beginning of the game. You also get a day at the Krillbite office (travel not included), with exclusive testing of Among the Sleep and dinner with the team. If you cant come, we can arrange the dinner during GDC in the US next year. You also receive a physical boxed copy, t-shirt and art book. In addition we'll hang your picture on the hall of fame wall in our office, so that we are reminded of your beautiful face every day.
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