Dream of Tomorrow looks ahead to Steam release

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Upcoming hand-drawn adventure to donate part of proceeds to charitable anti-bullying-organization

Bullying is a scourge that touches far too many children, and learning to deal with it is a necessary part of growing up. This is certainly true of the young star of Dream of Tomorrow, an upcoming hand-drawn adventure about finding hope and moving forward, from indie German developer Abenteuerpakete. 

Lena is not like the other children. Raised by her grandparents, she's a "sensitive, creative and helpful person who is not interested in things like trends and fashion," as they have little bearing on her everyday life. But being different means that she's continually picked on, and "hardly a day goes by where Lena is not bullied in some way." Rather than despair in the trials of today, however, Lena finds hope in dreaming of the possibilities of tomorrow, with a little help from her trusty lizard sidekick who serves as her faithful companion. 

Dream of Tomorrow is presented in a bright, cartoony art style inspired by Daedalic's Edna & Harvey series, an influence most noticeable in Lena's oversized bespectacled eyes but no (usually) visible nose or mouth. The young protagonist will travel through various locations in her small harbour city, like the local record store, the quaint town square, and even the quarterdeck of a wooden ship, as well as the enjoy comforts of home and not enjoy the far less comfortable school environs. In her effort to find out why she's being harassed and what she can do to stop it, Lena encounters many "different people with vastly different backgrounds" who have also been impacted by bullying in their lives. All of them are fully voiced, with one of the actors being none other than the legendary Al Lowe. To progress, players must complete a variety of minigames, find objects that Lena's lizard pal will "eat" but display on his elongated tongue when called upon, and solve puzzles, all while keeping a close eye out for her tormentors. 

The game was successfully Kickstarted back in 2021, and the developers report that they're still working hard to finish it. There is no target release date just yet, but Dream of Tomorrow is being developed for Windows PC and is now available for wishlisting on Steam. Once finished, parts of all sales proceeds will be donated to a charitable anti-bullying organization, with further details to be announced later.