Narcolepsy Themed Game (Exploring Deeper Meanings within Games)

After watching the video on Brenda Romero's train, Mark suggested we try designing a game with deeper meaning perhaps based on social or global issues or something that has a special meaning for us. I started looking at global issues such as global isolation but any ideas I had were pretty poor. I started to look at disorders after such as Dyslexia as its something that I could relate to more, I had some Ideas for some puzzle based games but none I was enthusiastic about. 

Then I started to think about games that would put the players through the experience of a Narcoleptic. I am Narcoleptic and know that very few people manage to take it seriously when I explain to them what it is, some say they wish they had it, so that they could get to sleep easy or use it as an excuse. I understand there is a comical side to Narcolepsy but for those with more severe cases you must imagine that its as if they are trapped in there own body. Narcolepsy has a sistering condition called Catalepsy which is where one loses the control of their muscles either randomly or more often when triggered by strong emotions such as fright, excitation or in my case laughter.

For those who don't know what it is Narcolepsy is heres some knowledge : (from Wikipedia) There are two main characteristics of narcolepsy: excessive daytime sleepiness and abnormal REM sleep. The first, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), occurs even after adequate night time sleep. A person with narcolepsy is likely to become drowsy or fall asleep, often at inappropriate times and places, or just be very tired throughout the day. Narcoleptics are not able to experience the amount of restorative deep sleep that healthy people experience – they are not "over-sleeping". In fact, narcoleptics live their entire lives in a constant state of extreme sleep deprivation. Daytime naps may occur with little warning and may be physically irresistible. Vivid dreams may be experienced on a constant or regular basis, even during very brief naps. A second prominent symptom of narcolepsy is abnormal REM sleep. Narcoleptics are unique in that they enter into the REM phase of sleep in the beginnings of sleep, even when sleeping during the day. 

• Associated features include: sleep paralysis; disrupted major sleep episode; Vivid dreams, hypnagogic hallucinations; automatic behaviours, complaints of excessive sleepiness or sudden muscle weakness

Initial Narcolepsy Game (based on EDS)

My Initial idea was to have a game in which you would play a school boy as Narcolepsy develops during puberty/ teenage-hood and this is the time when it can be most stressful and freighting especially if you have not been diagnosed. The screen would show you facing the front of the class, the screen would then black out. (Annoyingly I never notice falling asleep or if I do its already to late) In game you would wake in a dream world, you would have to make your way through the level in order to wake up. You would have objectives in each the dream & real world, Stimuli such as scary or funny would cause catalepsy in which the screen would shake and blur, you would have to tap rapidly to try and re-gain control of your muscles to try and stay in the real world longer.

Second Narcolepsy Idea (based on hypnagogic hallucinations)

This idea is for the players to experience the hallucinatory symptoms of Narcolepsy. You would wake up in bed unable to move (sleep paralysis) surrounded by strange creatures among a normal bedroom environment. Convince yourself there not real by getting to the bathroom to wash your face ( This is what I did). Problem is you never make it to the bathroom, each time its in sight at the end of the corridor something takes you a different route. Then you would wake up in the bed again, like a dream within a dream and try get down the again. Unfortunately this idea was pretty vague and I couldn't think of how to make it into a playable working game, with clear goals and objective.