冬眠（hibernation）

About This Game

What kind of work is this?
“Dormancy” is a unique survival game where players are summoned to a frozen dream. In this dormant realm, mysteries and challenges abound, and only by bravely confronting them can one hope to uncover the truth.

The player is summoned to the frozen dreamlike space by a mysterious force. It is desolate and cold, with ruins all around. The player encounters enigmatic stone statues and is informed that they were brought to this place by mistake. The statues express the hope that the player will leave quickly, as the place is very dangerous for them and it’s not where they belong.

If the player insists on exploring this dreamlike space, they need to constantly monitor attributes such as health, stamina, hunger, coldness, and magic power. Players can maintain their survival by collecting supplies, cooking food, or purchasing medicine.

When the player’s hunger reaches a critical level, they will be unable to automatically regenerate health and magic. In extreme hunger, stamina will not be sufficient for running or launching attacks, and their health will continuously deplete until death. Additionally, in extremely cold environments, the player needs to consume warming medicine or stay close to a bonfire for warmth, or else they will freeze, movement will be restricted, hunger will worsen, stamina will rapidly decrease, eventually leading to death.

Jumping from a high place is also very likely to be fatal (I often die this way too).

Players can obtain equipment in the wilderness or enhance various attributes through forging, thereby better adapting to the current environment, aiding them in surviving and exploring in this world, uncovering hidden truths.

Players can also learn various magic spells to combat the creatures in the dreamlike world. These magical skills have proficiency levels, and their power increases with more usage.

Players can piece together the truth of this world by conversing with stone statues or examining items to gather fragmented information. In the Chinese version, dialogues mostly employ classical literary language, requiring players to read carefully. The archaic language imbues the game with a profound and ancient atmosphere, enhancing player immersion.

It should be specially noted that this game cannot be saved! Saying it three times, this game cannot be saved! Cannot be saved! Cannot be saved!”

Most games wouldn’t adopt such a crazy design, and major companies wouldn’t dare take this risk. However, I have a reason to design it this way. Furthermore, this game is positioned as an indie game, so we can try out this idea and take the risk. It’s okay to fail.

The title of this game is “Hibernation – Frozen Dreams,” which brings players into a frozen dream. In reality, when we dream, everything in the dream appears very real, but upon waking up, everything in the dream immediately disappears. Life is also as illusory as a dream; when one departs, everything will vanish, leaving behind only the rich experiences within the dream. This game attempts to convey this idea. It can be said that it is not just a game, but more like a real and accessible dream, a frozen, tangible dream.

Due to the inability to save, many features in the game have been adjusted accordingly. For example, players do not necessarily have to defeat the BOSS to progress. Why must one defeat the BOSS to proceed? In certain areas, specific attributes are required to advance. Players can enhance their attributes by forging equipment or find special gear nearby, usually not far away, which can be worn to progress.

You can choose to speedrun… It’s easy to complete, but understanding the game deeply is more challenging. Players don’t have to fight to quickly finish, but you can also gradually level up and challenge various BOSSes. However, doing so will bring immense pressure to players because if they die, all their efforts will be in vain, and this is the important experience we want to convey to players.

When players first enter the game, they will see a passage in classical Chinese, which can be translated into vernacular Chinese as: “When I doubt the existence of all things, I do not need to doubt the existence of my own thoughts, because at this moment the only thing I can confirm is the existence of my thoughts.” This is actually a famous quote by Descartes (“I think, therefore I am”), which is the only valid proof of human existence to date. Therefore, I want to introduce this concept into the game to guide players to contemplate and experience issues related to dreams and existence. Thus, this game can also be described as a philosophical game.

How to play the work more economically?
You can purchase it when it’s on sale.
Most of the revenue generated from PC sales will be reinvested into the development of our next project.

What should I do if I don’t like this story?
You can post a negative review in the STEAM comment section and submit a refund request to STEAM customer service. The entire process can be completed within a few minutes, and STEAM customer service will approve your refund request.

Thank you for reading my story.