‘One Dreamer’ – A Touching Programming Puzzles About Game Dev Dreams
One Dreamer follows a burnt-out developer through their grueling efforts to make a game, changing the source code of the world to chase their dreams.
Frank is trying to release his debut title, but he’s in rough shape. He’s lost his love for the craft of making games. Even so, there’s still a part of him that wants to chase the dream. It’s just going to be really hard to do that, given the reality of his situation. Still, maybe if you can clean up the problem in front of you, then you’ll be one step closer to what you want. If you can unravel this puzzle, then you’re further than you were before. This game is about taking those tiny steps even when they feel impossible. It can feel pretty bleak, as the game aims to realistically capture how hard the journey is. But you just have to keep pushing.
The game allows you to work with code that is complex, but still not quite at the level of real coding (as far as a non-developer like me knows, at least). It involves clicking on the correct option from some available information, all of which is inspired by C#. It took a fair effort to get used to thinking in this fashion to solve the programming puzzles and programs, but you do start to feel out the logic behind it. With many of the possible answers available through clicking on the right answer, the games does offer some guidance to get you to the solution. You’re not just guessing and trying to learn a whole programming language. Even so, it captures that sense of complexity that I assume comes from learning programming.
One Dreamer teaches an appreciation for the efforts that developers have put into creating your favorite games. At its core, it captures the sheer will and determination that goes into making games, and if only for that reason, it’s something anyone who appreciates the medium should play.
One Dreamer is available now on itch.io, GOG, and Steam.
