LSD: Dream Emulator
LSD: Dream Emulator is an exploration video game developed by OutSide Directors Company and published by Asmik Ace Entertainment for the Playstation. The concept for the game was based on Asmik Aces employee Hiroko Nishikawa's dream diary, which she kept for over a decade. The dream diary was later released as a book called Lovely Sweet Dream.
The game received a limited release in Japan on October 22, 1998. Released alongside it was the music CD LSD and Remixes. The game received a D rating from CERO.
The game was later re-released on the Japanese Playstation Store on August 11, 2010 under the PS1 Classics section, for ¥617.
LSD: Dream Emulator has gained a cult following because of its surreal contents.
Gameplay
The game takes place in a first-person perspective in a 3D surreal environment. The player's "goal" is to explore said environments. The controls are tank controls; the player can move forwards or backwards, turn, strafe, run, look up and behind.
The game is played in short sequences or "dreams". The initial location of each dream is randomized. The player can access other environments by bumping into objects or going through tunnels, a mechanic named "linking". Bumping into certain special objects, like animal and people, will result in a "stranger" dream.
The environments are usually the same, like a Japanese village or a house, but they may be populated by random objects and the default textures swapped with other textures.
Each dream can be about 10 minutes long, then the player will "wake up". However, if the player falls off a pit or a hole, the dream will be cut short.
After a dream, another "day" passes in-game, and the dream is marked in a graph. The graph rates the dreams in relation to it being an Upper, Downer, Static or Dynamic dream. The more the player plays the game, the textures of the environments change more often. Also, there's the possibility of encountering Shadow/Grey Man, which will remove the ability of recalling the dream in Flashback.
After a certain number of days, the Flashback option will appear. It allows the player to play an abbreviated version of the last dream they played.
Sometimes, a video or dream journal excerpt may take the place of a regular dream.