An Unfinished Action Roguelike
In 2024, we worked on a co-op 3D isometric roguelike set in the ever-changing realms of the players' dreaming minds. This is its story.
An Unfinished Action Roguelike
In 2024, we worked on a co-op 3D isometric roguelike set in the ever-changing realms of the players' dreaming minds. This is its story.
Pre-alpha gameplay footage from late 2024
As players embody their Dreamer 🌙, they struggle for control against the forces of The Shadow, navigating procedurally generated dream-worlds ✨ that adapt to their choices.
Each run offers a unique journey through the Inner World đź’, blending intense hack-n-slash gameplay with moments of introspection and self-realization.
Four forces govern the dreaming mind
Experience
Growth through struggle
Health
The will to persist
Teammates
Strength in numbers
Lucidity
Clarity of the dreaming mind
These ethereal icons—soft, organic, dreamlike—represented the forces that shaped each run. Every resource carried meaning beyond mere numbers, reflecting the psychological journey of the Dreamer.
Environments born from the subconscious
The cosmic and physical order of Elsewhere is a manifestation of contemporary dream theory, largely influenced by the work of Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, and Ann Faraday.
Their theories about why we dream and the meaning of common experiences and symbols found in dreams inform Elsewhere's internal logic.
You are the Dreamer navigating your own subconscious
Within the psyche, the player is the representation of the conscious mind. The Ego is responsible for one's sense of identity and individuality. It is the part of the psyche that interacts with the external world—it persists when we are awake and has true agency.
In the narrative of the game, the player is an Ego that is strong enough to remain conscious while dreaming, which allows them to access a portal to Elsewhere and serves as the narrative justification for the game's unique mechanics.
Every dreamer is unique—your appearance should be too
The customization system let players mix and match different patterns, colors, and accessories to create a Dreamer that felt truly their own.
In a place where fantasy shapes reality, the truly powerful are those able to exist within the minds of many
Archetypes are the forms that spring eternal from our subconscious mind and are thought to be universally held amongst humans. In Jung, there are 12, but his pantheon is just a jumping off point.
In Elsewhere, the Archetypes hold similar influence and power to the Greek Pantheon. They have no single physical form and are rarely embodied, but they have their own realms, denizens, and characteristics.
The Lover represents love in its many forms—interpersonal, aesthetic, and natural. Their realm is a palatial greenhouse of unknown depths where they nurture and cultivate a variety of exotic species. Inside, players may find labyrinths, jungles, specimen collections, and elaborate topiaries. The greenhouse can be a bastion or cage, depending on your perspective. Its inhabitants can be soft and sweet or venomous and wild in equal measure.
The Shadow represents the unconscious aspects of the personality that the conscious ego does not identify with. Players struggle for control against the forces of The Shadow, the primary antagonist that manifests as a dark reflection of the self—complete with horns, a serpent arm, and an ornate dress of purple and black.
The Ruler represents control, leadership, and the establishment of order. A regal sun-faced figure draped in flowing red and gold, The Ruler commands presence with their radiant mane and royal bearing. Their realm is one of structure and hierarchy, where everything has its place and purpose.
The Creative represents artistic vision, imagination, and the power to bring new things into being. An ethereal figure of folded paper and fire-tinged wings, The Creative dances between inspiration and chaos. Their realm is ever-shifting, a place where ideas take physical form and nothing stays the same for long.
The Sage represents knowledge, truth, and the pursuit of understanding. A towering figure constructed from moss-covered stones and ancient tiles, The Sage carries a lantern to illuminate the darkness of ignorance. They guard scrolls of forgotten lore and tablets inscribed with the language of dreams. Their realm is a vast library where memories crystallize into books and every answer breeds new questions.
A card-based upgrade system for every run
Between encounters, players chose cards to shape their build. The system encouraged experimentation—stack synergies, embrace risk, or play it safe. Every run told a different story through the cards you chose.
Generative dialogue that responds to your journey
Supergiant's Hades shipped with over 21,000 lines of hand-written dialogue—a monumental achievement that took years to craft. We asked: what if a small team could create that depth of narrative reactivity using generative AI?
ChatDMT was our internal tool for generating contextual dialogue trees. It understood the player's emotional state, their progress, which Archetypes they'd encountered—and produced branching conversations that felt handcrafted. A small team could now push fresh narrative content at a pace previously impossible.
A live multiplayer playtest from early 2025
Seven minutes of co-op chaos—real players, real teamwork, real dreams. Watch as a party navigates the Ephemera together, coordinating attacks and reviving fallen teammates in the ever-shifting dreamscape.
"Some games are finished. Some are remembered. This one lives on in the dreams of those who made it."
For one brief, shining moment, Elsewhere lit up Broadway
"The Multiplayer Rogue-Like of Your Dreams"
Nico Graves*
Noah Falstein, Scott Hartsman
* Moved on from Elsewhere—with gratitude for shaping our world