DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT – A PRESS KIT

What is DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT?
Development Images
What are people saying about DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT?
Credits

RELEASE DATE

MAY 29TH, 2019

ITCH.IO

OCT. 2020

STEAM

WHAT IS “DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT”?

A 2D point-and-click game, DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT is a visual novel-inspired game based on elements of community, witchcraft, and ancestry. As the player, you navigate the story as the spirit, an entity summoned by a community of witches who are in the middle of handing out judgement, which they leave up to you to decide. Having no memories of the world of the living, you must gather as much information as possible before making your decision. The witches themselves cannot see or hear you — for those who are not given the responsibility of speaking with spirits cannot approach them. DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT is a collection of honest conversations between individuals belonging to the same community, and the heartache that comes with doubt and brewing tensions.

BACKGROUND

DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT is inspired by Paraguayan folklore, particularly stories of Guarani, and afro-Paraguayan origins, in honor of Santo Aveiro-Ojeda’s (creator) family tree. The goal is for the world of DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT to occur in a place of fantasy while having nuanced expressions of culture through the characters and their expression. The game originally began as a simple prototype of conversations between forest animals, before the idea was expanded to represent people belonging to a distinct culture, maintaining community a core theme of the story. As this concept grew, Santo decided it would be best to work together with other artists in order to explore its full potential. In the development of this game, one of the main goals is to prioritize the work of marginalized communities, particularly racialized communities, as a way of honoring the cast of characters, the story, and have anti-oppression practices within a development pipeline. This project is made possible by support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.

And so then the refining of DON’T WAKE THE NIGHT began, with magic, honesty, and love…

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN THIS GAME?

Interact with objects in the environment by clicking and watching the reactions of each character
Eavesdrop on conversations and pick up on keywords that will show expanded, information
Make a decision that will forever change a community you do not belong to