Developer Log #3

On this week's developer log, I’m going to talk about Emily. Those who have played Dreams of Reality will know her as the daughter of yourself, as the main character, and your wife Louise.
 

Fair warning, there will be mild to extreme spoilers for chapter one ahead. If you have not yet completed chapter one, I suggest you do so before continuing to read this post.

There will also be some speculation around chapter two although I endeavour to not spoil any specific plot points.

With that said, let’s move onto some details about Emily:

BIO:

Emily is a 17-year-old college student. Like a lot of teens her age, she is struggling with the decisions she needs to make for university. This is a crucial time in a young adult’s life. The decisions she makes now can have a real bearing on what career she ends up with.

Emily has influences from both parents - an appreciation of art from Louise and creativity from the main character. These come together and are borne out through Emily’s love of photography.

It’s important to understand that, although Emily has a close relationship with her parents, notably her father, she does have a slightly rebellious side, which is showcased by her changing hair and darker more ‘goth’-like outfits.

Emily’s model is probably around 85-90% ‘out-of-the-box’. It was one of the first HD ones I picked up. I chose the model due to its younger appearance - she is 17 after all. I also went with the initial hairstyle as it helped give the overall effect of looking like a teenager.

CHARACTER:

As chapter one progresses, Emily’s hairstyle changes as does her attitude towards others. The first addition is to add some red colouring, although this is not as noticeable until much later in the game. She then changes the style and adds a more defined colour to her hair. This is intended to show a maturing over time, as her decisions about her future resolve into firm choices, so does her appearance until she emerges as a young adult, ready to take on new challenges that she may face.

Her attitude is also shown to have changed through her interactions with Sebastian when they first meet. Quite clearly something has annoyed her. She is quite hostile to his conversation, perhaps something happened inside the house that has, yet, not been divulged?

Emily’s skin complexion was a conscious choice, no one’s perfect, the rashes are a testament to her age and late stage puberty. Going forward into chapter two your memories of her will regress as you will remember only the best parts, this means a more child-like appearance and a clear complexion. As you continue through the game, the perfect image you have of your daughter will change as the depths of insanity increase.

Many will think that Emily’s story arc ended with the car crash. However, her presence is not gone from the game. She will be a feature going forward, but perhaps only as a memory.

The change of hairstyle and outfit help show a maturing of age.

STORY:

It is difficult to write a character with enough screen time that will cause you to care about them so that their death is meaningful. It’s intended to be shocking, right from the get-go, the words about fate and its intervention should have you slightly on edge. Nothing was hidden, Chekov’s Gun (the car) was introduced early, and went off as required.

I know that Emily’s story struck a chord with some of you, I’m glad that it did and that her memory will continue. I also know that some did not gel with her character at all – that’s totally fine. Dreams of Reality has a lot more to offer. Its central premise is the effect tragedy has on you and your family, but there’s a lot more going on that you have only just begun to scratch the surface of.

There are some elements to Emily’s story that are yet, untold. However, I remind you all to read the first lines of the synopsis, there will be no resurrection, or divine intervention. There has never been one, Emily passed away.

Thanks for reading, and as always, stay safe.

Cenc