dreamer

This game is a submission to Neo-Twiny Jam 2025 and explores the themes of technology and how we envision our relationship with it.

Gameplay
The driving gameplay mechanic is simple. A line of text appears: “It is 2050.” You then hover over each word until you find a link that provides more exposition about the year 2050.

2050 A.D. - the year of the Moros Program’s deployment into the cyberverse! An AI built to fit all of your needs - to love and care for you! An assistant to human-kind and to be kind to humans!

Would you like to read more?

The game then asks if you want to know more… but the Moros Program isn’t having it. That information is classified (for you, at least). When you click on the phrase “Would you like to read more?”, the game “reboots” and takes you back to the beginning, but this time there is additional text with “It is 2050.” You then find the hidden link in the new text, and the cycle starts again, expanding the game’s narrative.

REBOOT SEQUENCE…

It is 2050.

The Moros Program is watching us daily.

I thought that this was straightforward and set a good outline for the game, especially since it’s so short.

Story
We get our typical cyberpunk dystopian themes: A.I. being inserted into everyday life, an (I assume corporate) entity that watches over everything and wants to be your best friend, censorship, and a Resistance fighting against it all.

In other words, 2025 doesn’t seem like a fun time (and it’s scary to think that 2050 isn’t that far off). To summarize, the Moros Program is run by the mysterious Administration. It takes the stance that A.I. will lead to the betterment of humanity. Now that the Program has taken over the digital landscape, its impact is far-reaching. But if the Administration only has humanity’s bet interests in mind, why is it so opposed to transparency?

Despite this bleak premise, dreamer contains a ray of optimism. There is the sense that no matter how much Moros tries to keep things hidden, people will always seek to find a way around it. To pursue information even as the Administration tries to make it inaccessible. To dream of a better existence. Every time you reboot, you learn more about this possibility. The game ends with (Spoiler - click to show) a plea to join the resistance and live above the norm set by the Administration’s Moros Program. And while it does not go into too much detail, it seems to explore the distinction between wanting to take action and actually taking action.

Visual elements
There is minimal flair in this game, but what flair it does use creates a distinctive cyberpunk vibe that pairs well with the game’s themes. Its appearance consists of a black screen with white text, while hovering over links makes the text turn blue and highlights it with an electric purple colour for a splash of edginess. It’s also easy to engage with the game. The text is organized neatly on the screen and it appropriately uses fade-in/fade-out text effects to give it polish without dragging out the gameplay. A little bit of flair goes a long way.

Conclusion
I enjoyed the cyberpunk themes in dreamer and was impressed with how the game makes good use of the Twiny Jam’s word-limit rule. While I would welcome more backstory on the (Spoiler - click to show) Resistance, it definitely feels like a complete game.