“LCD DREAM ESCALATOR” by Michael Savage-Benoist, Nicholas Black & Mike Crawford.
“What am I going to do with all this money[?] Some rats appear to be bigger than others! I hear bubbling.”
The sonorous name “LCD DREAM ESCALATOR” obviously admits that the three-member team was inspired in places by “LSD: Dream Emulator” when developing this atmospheric dream game. And why not? Picking up on the perceived instability of dream worlds and how they are interwoven with each other is an ideal starting point for a submission to the forty-ninth Ludum Dare with its theme of “Unstable”.
As in the cult classic, in “LCD DREAM ESCALATOR” we get from one surrealistic scenario to the next by touching certain objects. However, the paths are static in nature and do not change, which allows players to take the same one again. It is important to keep in mind that one setting can lead to not just one, but several others. Dream A can thus lead to dream B, C and D, while dream B is linked to C and E and dream E, on the other hand, is simply a redirection to dream D. The lucid walk thus becomes a fantastic discovery tour of a unique labyrinth.
Hidden among oversized shrimp and rats is a bundle of money that leads to a note and error messages. Dancing airplane wreckage is framed by glitching columns to stand up to twenty sword blades. The one who always wanted to be the very best stares into the abyss where the suits are already waiting. And do not forget: Only those who have seen every room of “LCD DREAM ESCALATOR” will be given a proper send-off. [PLAY]
