Idea Info Name: Visions of the Dream Diver: The First Illusion Index: Primary Category: RPG Submitted: 7/21/2003 9:07:42 PM Written By: DrmDiver1983

Story: The entire world is afraid to sleep. Many who had surrendered to slumber quite simply did not wake up. With the casualties of the sleeping death rising the world over, the exhausted populace demands that something be done to find out exactly what is killing perfectly healthy people while they sleep.
          Out of nowhere apparently, a warrior calling itself the Dream Diver appears and claims to be able to stop the rash of deaths.But the only way it can do so, is if someone dares to dream, so that it may enter their fantasies and fears, their hopes and terrors, and their hearts and minds.
           You are Nakiss of Kontiki, werecat warrior of the tribe Kontiki. You are the Dream Diver.

Visions of the Dream Diver (VoDD) takes place in a world where magic and technology coexist.You will have to use your power to enter dreams to ascertain the truth as to what's killing innocent people whose only crime was resting. Your main goal in the game is to defeat creatures called Nightmares, which are the things killing people. Each specific group of people has a Nightmare specific to them. For instance, the young's greatest fear is called the Nightmare of Age, and it is a grizzly old specter. And the old fear the Nightmare of Oblivion, a shadowy form that may or may not really exist. You will face the Nightmare of Technology, an unstoppable cybernetic beast, and the Nightmare of Magic, an insane wizard. You will fight the Nightmare of the Profane, an angelic creature, and the Nightmare of the Pious, a demon. You will even face the Nightmare of Nightmares, a thing that keeps even the Nightmares themselves from a peaceful night's slumber. Finally, you will face the Nightmare of the Dream Diver, who is none other than Nakiss herself.

Nakiss will be armed with a short sword and a 50 caliber pistol. She also comes equipped with a hookshot and is an adept martial artist.

She will also learn a variety of magic attacks such as the fiery Inferno and unholy Soul Eraser. Fighting will be done in a style similar to the N64 Zelda games, where you could lock on to an enemy and circle around it. However, since Nakiss does not use a shield, you will have to parry and dodge incoming attacks. You can also lock onto switches, townspeople, animals and key objects, like doors and traps.

Nakiss' being a werecat means that you will be able to change to her feline form. While in this form, she is faster, stronger and more agile. However, she cannot use her standard weapons, cast spells, or talk with people.

Dungeons (called Visions for the game's purposes) take place in people's dreams. You will have to find someone from each particular group (young, old, pious, profane, etc.) who is willing to risk dying by falling asleep and dreaming. If you are unable to complete a Vision, that person dies, and you must find another who dares to dream.

Enemies in the Visions, besides the Nightmares, consists of figments of the imagination and beings brought on by the dreamer's worst fear.  For example, enemies in the Vision of the Young will be senile little monsters, since the young fear getting old. Ailing creatures will attack you in the Vision of the Old. Enemies in the Vision of the Pious will be demons. Heavily armed angels will try to stop you in the Vision of the Profane. Enemies in the Vision of Technology could be malfunctioning electronic equipment, and tiny magicians may pull murderous rabbits out of their hats in the Vision of Magic.

Visions will also be themed around the worst fear of their specific group. In the Vision of the Profane, for instance, Nakiss will invade a poetic paradise (since the profane fear the holy); where as the Vision of the Pious will take place in a hell-like environment (the pious fear evil). The Vision of the Young takes place in a demented nursing home (the fear of the young being age), and the Vision of the Old in a rotting graveyard (the old fear death). The Vision of Technology is experienced on a dilapidated space station (the fear of technology being catastrophic failure), and the Vision of Magic at an evil carnival(the fear of magic being its own dark side).

Each nightmare is weak to the spell Nakiss learns from another. The spell Soul Eraser is best put to use against the Nightmare of the Pious, from whom Nakiss learns Inferno, useful against the Nightmare of Oblivion. Oblivion teaches you the spell Thunderstruck, which fells the Nightmare of Technology. Technology teaches you the spell, Laser Cannon, to which the Nightmare of Magic is weak. Magic teaches you Event Horizon, which will prove useful against the Nightmare of Age. Age will teach you the spell, Pray, which commands the Nightmare of the Profane. The Nightmare of Nightmares (which is immune to magic) will teach you a spell called Deity, which will slow down time for everyone but you, and will boost your strength and agility to remarkable levels. Obviously, Deity will be most useful against the Nightmare of the Dream Diver.

Puzzles are solved by paying attention to your surroundings, as most dreams are repressed memories. You must help the dreamer cope with their memories in order to delve deeper into their mind, and find the Nightmare torturing them. This can be as simple as putting a piece of their memories in the proper place, or as complex as destroying the memory altogether. Once you find the Nightmare, you will have to find some way of destroying it. All will eventually fall to simply hacking and shooting, but they all have a weakness to a particular spell or attack (see above).

You dont face the first six Nightmares in any particular order. So if you fail to defeat the Nightmare of Technology the first time, you can go try to kill the Nightmare of the Pious, and come back to Technology later. Once the first six Nightmares are destroyed, you must enter the dreams of a Nightmare to defeat their Nightmare. Even then the Nightmares are not totally destroyed. As you go along, Nakiss herself will begin to have more and more trouble sleeping. She must then enter her own dreams and defeat her Nightmare: a duel to the death with herself.

Even in the Overworld, you are not safe from attack. The Overworld is home to a great many creatures who would love to have you for dinner, and some think that you are responsible for the sleeping deaths. While in the Overworld you will be able to hone your fighting skills on these creatures and whatever aims to harm you. Be careful when fighting citizens of the Overworld, because if you start killing them it will be harder to find people willing to dream.

Admittedly its an odd idea for a game, but I think it's got potential. As always, your input is more than welcome. Send it to DrmDiver1983@aol.com