![]() Most outright threats are hidden away, making the experience more sinister overall. This is very in-line with the ideas of isolation and trepidation that seem to follow Madotsuki, even in her dreams she is still an outlier navigating a world that doesn’t care about her at best, and seeks to harm her at worst. Most NPCs are at the very least off-putting, and Madotsuki is largely ignored by the ones that are not actively hostile or menacing. To support this idea connecting the loneliness of withdrawn or marginalized people between Yume Nikki and its players, it is important to look at the cruel and hostile world present in Yume Nikki. Yume Nikki strangely encapsulates this experience in some ways, and it is easy to see the ways that early net denizens were able to find if not comfort then at least understanding within this winding world of corridors and isolation. There was certainly a type of journey to find the connection that one craved. Your people were hidden away in forums, message boards, or other tiny groups scattered across a larger Internet. Before the advent of cell phones, social media, and platforms like Discord that are able to bridge social gaps with ease, the Internet required a more sleuthy approach to find community. Regardless of the way that one expresses themselves online, the earlier Internet was a much lonelier place by comparison to the world of today. Through this, aided by the vagueness of Yume Nikki itself, it is easy to understand why those of us who lived in the digital world completely independent of the real world were able to closely relate with Madotsuki, who ultimately becomes something of an icon for more isolated internet dwellers overall.Īnother Madotsuki one may stumble upon in the dream, hiding in a closet. Most users were instead under monikers and usernames that allowed a bit of anonymity, and in that anonymity, a more personal experience. In the earlier incarnations of the Internet, rarely was one tied to their real world identity as is the case now. It is hard to describe exactly how it paralleled the internet by today’s standards because of how drastically the internet has changed over the past decade, understanding the nature of the early 2000s Internet is integral to understanding the cultural impact that Yume Nikki had because the two are linked in the way that allowed it to proliferate so many different circles and affect so many different people in a time where we were less connected. Yume Nikki specifically connects people across the internet because of the thematic isolation. Madotsuki with the “Eye Palm” effect equipped. Collecting these Effects is the only stated goal of the game and the only way to reach the ending is by dropping all 24 in the dream door room, however, for most the experience is not boiled down to achieving this goal and is instead the journey that it incurs. Some are helpful and even necessary to collect other Effects, however, some are totally useless - parallel to the nature of dreams. Inside of the dreams, one will find “Effects”, items that trigger a change in Madotsuki’s appearance and sometimes give her an ability. From there are 12 doors to choose from initially, with many, many interlocking passages and secrets inside. When entering the dream, one may finally open the door to the apartment. Madotsuki, the protagonist, is unwilling to leave her room while awake (an important distinction, she simply shakes her head when one tries to exit) and the majority of the game can only be experienced by getting in bed and falling asleep to enter the dream state. Yume Nikki is not a linear story, it is fittingly similar to a restless night’s dream: inherently meaningful, but never meant to be entirely understood.įrom what we are given, however, Yume Nikki is believed to be the story of a hikikomori, with reoccurring themes of mental illness and trauma hidden amongst the surrealism. There is an official “ending”, but it really seems to be only a singular point plotted within Yume Nikki, offering little explanation for the rest of the world. Yume Nikki will never be any more complete than it is now, and we are left only to wonder about the intention, themes, and imagery that appears within it. ![]() The first thing I should clarify is that no one truly knows what Yume Nikki means. Madotsuki in her room, in the real world.
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