Dream Chronicles (series)

Over the course of 2005, Miguel Tartaj, KatGames' CEO and lead game designer, shared the game idea with two potential partners but according to him "it didn't go anywhere". Tartaj wanted to find a publisher who could provide his team with creative input and non-development support. He also needed a partner whom his team trusted and had a track record of successfully navigating the casual games market. Tartaj first met PlayFirst's creative director Kenny Dinkin and Director of Publishing Craig Bocks at Casual Connect Amsterdam in 2006. He was impressed by their dedication to creativity and innovation and could immediately sense that they shared his vision to make this unique game a reality.[2] KatGames eventually signed an agreement to PlayFirst on what came to be known in June 2007 as Dream Chronicles.

Tartaj shared: "We knew that an adventure game like Dream Chronicles was going to be unique for our team and unique for the casual games industry. In a world where swapping colored gems in a match 3 game, or juggling tasks in a time management game is the norm, the iterative nature of a story-based game like Dream Chronicles was going to require a much higher degree of flexibility throughout the game's design and development process. Each new scene involved unique graphics, puzzles, and story elements, so we knew that it wouldn't all be 'figured out' up front. I prefer to work more iteratively and put pieces together to try things out as we go along. PlayFirst's willingness to accept this fact was something that I appreciated in terms of my work style. Not only being able to work this way, but to also be supported in doing it was a great advantage for my team. We truly were able to 'dream' as we went along."[3]

After the success of the original Dream Chronicles, KatGames devoted their time to making the Dream Chronicles series, which is supported by PlayFirst and other third-party developers. KatGames team designed the concepts, artworks and gameplay while partners worked on visual effects, music, story and marketing.

Dream Chronicles was inspired largely by the work of Antonio Gaudi and the Art Nouveau movement.[4]

The first four people listed below are the main characters, the rest are recurring characters. In the Dream Chronicles series, characters normally appear in cut-scenes, but there are some exceptions: Fidget appears in person in the last scene of both Dream Chronicles and Dream Chronicles 2, and Lilith appears in the 24th scene of The Chosen Child.

• Faye is a mortal woman who is the main protagonist of the first Faye's Journey trilogy. Waking up from a dream, Faye realizes everyone in Village of Wish is falling into a magical sleep spell and her family has already vanished. Faye embarks on a dangerously lonely quest to rescue her husband Fidget, her daughter Lyra and can finally save them. On the quest, Faye explores many secrets about her in-law family: their identities, their fairy roots and a lots of Dream Realm's mysteries. According to her husband, Faye is a smart and strong and persistent woman, who never gives up hopes and always tries hard to get her family back to their old peaceful days. Though being the main character, Faye hasn't appeared yet in person because you play as her point of view. She is briefly seen sitting in the gondola in The Chosen Child.
• Lilith is the Fairy Queen of Dreams, the daughter of the Fairy King of Darkness and Fairy Queen of Night, which is both good and bad. She is the main antagonist of the first Faye's Journey trilogy. Lilith was betrothed to Fidget before he married Faye and is determined to claim Fidget as her husband. She repeatedly abducts Fidget, as she believes marrying him will make her powers stronger. Lilith also casts an enchanting sleep spell on everyone in Village of Wish to make sure that her plans go smooth and no one can disturb her bringing Fidget back to the Land of Fairies forever. She first appears only in cut-scenes. Lilith finally appears in person in The Chosen Child to reveal Lyra's fate with Faye and seems like she's hatching other evil plans in the future.
• Fidget is the beloved teacher in the Village of Wish and the son of parents highly placed in the fairy world. His parents broke from fairy tradition and married out of love. Considered outcasts, they settled in the mortal town of Wish. He was raised as a mortal though born a fairy. As Fidget grows older, his parents tell him of his roots and teach him the Way of the Fairy. Fidget is well educated by his parents, both in things of his mortal world and things of the fairy world. He followed in his parents' footsteps and fled an arranged fairy marriage to Lilith to follow his heart. The secret of his fairy roots was once safe, until Lilith snatched him away. Already being aware of Lilith's evil plans, Fidget tried to protect his family but when things goes wrong, Lilith abducts and brings him to the Dream Realm. She finally releases Fidget at the end of Dream Chronicles 2, unfortunately she sends him into a crystal ball. Fidget has appeared in all Dream Chronicles games, also plays as Faye's guider in the original Dream Chronicles. He only appears at the end of the first game, the beginning and the end of the second game and along with Faye in the third one as her helper.
• Lyra is the half-fairy, half-mortal daughter of Faye and Fidget. Lyra falls into Lilith's sleep spell like any other person in Village of Wish in the original game and then Lilith kidnapped her too before she releases Fidget. Lyra is believed to be the Chosen Child who is prophesied to replace the missing Fairy Lord. Her destiny is revealed at the end of The Chosen Child. Lyra plays a minor role and only appears three times in each Faye's Journey trilogy's game. But in the second series, she replaces her mother Faye as the central character.
• Aeval, Fairy Queen of Flora, is Fidget's mother and Faye's mother-in-law. She fell in love with Tangle, and they escaped to the Mortal Realm together. Aeval not only talks to plants; they talk to her. There are plants throughout the Mortal and Fairy Realms, they can communicate with each other through their root systems, through fallen leaves captured by the wind fairies, and through pollen and seeds carried by the water fairies. All these plants ultimately communicate with Aeval. If there is trouble far away, the plants are able to transmit this information to Aeval. Her best friend is actually a carnivorous plant named Herbert. She and her plants try to help Faye to find Fidget in Dream Chronicles 2 and is not mentioned much in this installment.
• Tangle, Fairy King of Knowledge, is Fidget's father and Faye's father-in-law. He and Aeval escaped to the Mortal Realm together to make sure that their children will be brought up naturally and humanly. As Fairy King of Knowledge, reading books is his "endless pursuit", said Fidget. Tangle was the Dream Librarian's most devoted student, and is almost as knowledgeable as her. Tangle has the advantage of knowing more of mortal life, having lived in the mortal world for so long, but the Dream Librarian knows more of the Fairy Ways. Tangle did not appear in the first series but he plays as Lyra's guide in The Book of Air. Like his wife, Aeval, he's only mentioned and plays a minor role in the first trilogy. In The Book of Water, Lilith attacked the Family a few days before Lyra came back. Lilith was searching for a book called The Book of Water when she attacked. While distracting them, Fidget opened up a portal to Barge City and threw the book there to protect it. Since Fairies cannot destroy each other, Lilith ordered her 10-year-old half-fairy, half-mortal son, Kenrick, to kill Tangle, and he did. Tangle is the first character to die in the series.
• Merrow is a fairy who left the Fairy Realm to pursue the study of science without the interference of magic. This angered Lilith's mother, who stripped him of his fairy powers. When Tangle and Aeval escaped with baby Fidget, Merrow helped them. In gratitude, Aeval gave him the ability to communicate with plants. Though he is eccentric, he is knowledgeable, and knows secret passages into the Fairy Realm. Only he can guide a mortal there. In Dream Chronicles 2, he - as an insect-eating plant – helps Faye to reach the Tower of Dreams and then disappears strangely.
• Dream Librarian holds all knowledge, history, and wisdom, and uses it to create countless volumes of books in her enormous library. She has, or can find, the answers to every question involving the Fairy Realm. Because of her vast knowledge, she is the primary advisor to the Fairy Lord. Lilith once reveals that Dream Librarian believes that Lyra was the Chosen Child and that she is actually the one who tries to separate Faye and Fidget. This character hasn't appeared yet, she's only mentioned by Lilith and through Dream Jewels' secrets in Dream Chronicles 2.

KatGames design a mystical world of realistic fantasy where mortal and fairy realms collide for the Dream Chronicles series, which no casual game developer has done before. In every game, players have to travel back-and-forth between 2 realms and gradually discover the history of each location. The series is set in an illustrated fantasy world with a floral/woodsy theme to many items, from architecture to furniture. The early games in the series follow the adventures of Faye as she tries to rescue her daughter Lyra. Beginning with the fourth game, The Book of Air, Lyra becomes the protagonist in a new series of adventures that charts a new direction for the franchise, although the essential style of puzzles (primarily hidden object games) and gameplay remain consistent. There are many notable locations in the series:[5]

• The Village of Wish: This is the tiny town of Wish, where Faye lives with her husband Fidget, her daughter Lyra and Fidget's parents, Tangle and Aeval. It’s an insular place, far from cities and civilization. The town is surrounded by tall walls, not to keep the residents inside, for they have no desire to leave the safety and warmth of their community. The walls are there to keep the outside world outside, and are secured with complex weighted locks first seen in Dream Chronicles. The streets are cobbled, lined with colorful dwellings and stores. Beyond the walls of Wish lie lush forests and winding roads that, eventually, lead to other larger towns. But the folk of Wish have little desire to visit those distant places. Their homes are secure in their beloved village where, they believe, no harm can come to them. Before Faye, no one had left this village in many years. This is where Faye to start her journey for the first time.
• Lilith's Mansion: This is Lilith's temporary home. In the original Dream Chronicles, she executed her plans to kidnap Fidget from this location.
• The Forgotten Prison: There are 3 chambers in this prison. Fairies that fought the elements of nature were imprisoned here. This is where Faye to start her journey for the second time.
• The Ancient's Place: This is the birthplace of the fairy race. Fairies have kept its location secret from mortals for thousands of years. It is protected by an impenetrable force field, making it an ideal spot for Lilith to imprison a mortal like Faye in Dream Chronicles 2.
• The Mortal Maze: This is the tunnel that leads from the fairy realm to the mortal realm.
• Merrow's Cottage: Merrow's cottage was once a sanctuary for fairies escaping into the mortal realm.
• The Tower of Dreams: It holds all the knowledge, wisdom, history, and insights of the fairies. Because of the value of its contents, it is guarded by five ancient Fairy Knights and each floor is protected by ingenious locks. The upper floor is where dreams can be made and watched. In Dream Chronicles 2, Merrow believes that Lilith is holding Fidget and Lyra on that floor. The Eternal Maze lies near this tower.
• The Eternal Maze: As a final safeguard so that no mortal could ever enter or leave the Ancients' Place, the fairies created an underground maze with no light and no map. Unfortunately, this made fairy passage almost impossible as well, and so some of the fairies created a map to help them find their way between realms.
• The Treehouse Village: The people of this village believe that strange occurrences will befall them if they don't live high in tree tops. This is where Faye to start her journey for the third and final time. This is also a part of the green belt that runs through the fairy world. It is all part of Aeval’s plant network. Though others may doubt it, Aeval always knew that the trees saw and remembered everything. Over time they have been used to hide treasures and secrets. In The Book of Air, someone within the fairy world has turned the trees to gold, keeping them from “speaking” with Aeval. The trees are being used to protect a key – the very key the Clockmaker needs to fix his Time Synchronization Machine. Lyra must help the trees in order for the trees to help Lyra.
• The Nexus Gateway: This is the transportation hub that fairies use to travel quickly from the fairy realm to the mortal realm. In The Chosen Child, players can travel to 6 locations from here: The Treehouse Village, the Herbalist's House, the Observatory, the Village of Wish (Faye's House), the Underwater Retreat, the Eternal Maze.
• The Observatory: The magic telescope is used to convert constellations into molds. Molds are used in the Forge to create Dream Jewels to open new places in the Nexus Gateway.
• The Herbalist's House: The herbalist is a mortal who acquired fairy knowledge and experimented with potions from various plants. Known for his expertise in potion-making, the Herbalist has recipes for very powerful magical concoctions.
• The Underwater Retreat: Expectant Fairy Mothers travel to this spa-like retreat to rest and restore their magical powers. In The Chosen Child, after releasing Fidget, Lilith decides to go there to restore as she's pregnant. But she still sends notes, instructions, a crystal ball to help Faye unite with Lyra.
• The Clockmaker's House: This is a distant frozen tundra from where the Clockmaker, a powerful if solitary fairy, synchronizes time both in the mortal and fairy worlds. The low temperatures at the Clockmaker's House are useful for slowing any clocks that might consider racing ahead. The eternal snow keeps the Clockmaker’s parts pristine. No plants grow in his frozen wasteland but long ago Aeval brought him flowers from a more hospitable clime, and their image is now pressed into various pieces throughout the Clockmaker’s domain.
• The Wind Music Island: This is the place where fairies created the first music, using the instruments that can be found there. Mortal music, it is said, is born when mortals hear bits of fairy music while they sleep. In the distance, looming ominously, it's the Tower of Dreams, where Faye searched for Fidget in Dream Chronicles 2. Before the fairies moved on from Wind Music Island, they created a stone instrument band—musical instruments of stone that played music on their own so that the music would continue forever.
• The Water Collector: This is the basis of the infrastructure for fairy civilization. Here water is collected, purified, and dispersed. For many years Aeval took a proprietary interest in the Water Collector, to be certain all plants were adequately nourished. There is a system inside the cottage which tests not only the purity of the water, but the amount of elements within each measure of water. Water from different sources carries different properties, which are utilized by fairies responsible for different aspects of the world.
• The Barge City: This is an enchanting fishing village built over the water, well south of the Village of Wish, is the home of many fishermen and merchants, and where houses float on water, connected by wooden boardwalks.
• The Obelisk: This imposing structure holds a magical figurine inside used in The Book of Water, but it is not easy to access or open. This is also a very arid and quiet place, in the middle of the desert, but people must still live in those houses carved into the rocks.
• The Crater of Time: This barren area holds the seven magic symbols needed to stop the Eternal Storm spell in The Book of Water. They are locked inside seven mysterious caves.

When players enter a room or any location for the first time, Faye/Lyra makes some entry statement to set players on the right track. Almost all the objects in the room can be described to players by Faye/Lyra, players just need to click on them and they’ll have a statement with a probable hint. Clicking items place them in your inventory at the bottom of the screen. Once there, players can use them on other objects and combine them to solve the various conundrums encountered. However, unlike most hard-core adventures, players never lug around any unnecessary inventory items here. All the items players collect can be used only within the location players found them in, but not in future puzzles. Solve the poser at hand and players unlock the door to the next location.[6] But start from Dream Chronicles 2, the objects that players find may be used in a scene other than the one they found it in. Objects will stay in inventory until players need to use them. All objects that players are able to pick up will serve a purpose, whether they are used in that scene or not. A lot of times in this game the pieces players pick up may only be used as they get to the next scene. Some items may not become visible in a scene right away, players must perform other tasks first before they become visible.[7]

Each Dream Chronicles game consists of a series of puzzles that the players, as Faye/Lyra must solve to reach the next chapter. Most involve searching for and making use of hidden objects, while others are logic puzzles. The players are required to do is collect a lot of items from the scenes or areas and put them back where they belonged. The whole game covers a wide range of game types, including adventure/role-playing, jigsaw, seek-and-find, Simon-style memory, word unscrambling, sliding, ask-and-answer... and even has a few mazes. Players are given hints as to how to proceed, and some brief instructions, but they need to work out what is actually required themselves.[8] Every puzzle or item in each Dream Chronicles game is blended well with context and Dream Realm-themed story. The game is separated into many segments and there is a cut-scene between these ones. Cut-scenes in the Dream Chronicles series are often cinematic-like, wide-screen briefs, which tells the story as Faye/Lyra's point of view. Only a few characters appears directly in these.

Throughout each game, the players find various colored/transparent gems. These are Dream Pieces, gems that make up the unique Dream Jewels collection. Each Dream Chronicles game has its own different Dream Jewels collection with different names, shapes and usages. Completion of Dream Jewels is necessary to complete each game in the series. In the original Dream Chronicles, 8 Dream Jewels give a lot of detailed information about fairies and their roles in Dream Realm. In Dream Chronicles 2, 15 Dream Jewels answer and explain many dark secrets about Lilith, Lyra and Dream Realm. While in The Chosen Child, 10 Dream Jewels are used to open new areas. Finally, in The Book of Air, Dream Jewels come with special powers. Overall, finding and completing Dream Jewels also adds to the player's score at the end of the game. There are numerous Dream Pieces molding some exact numbers of Dream Jewels to complete in each Dream Chronicles game.[6] Dream Jewels collection is a unique element of Dream Chronicles, which differs this series from any other casual games on the market. Though often being credited for borrowing Myst concepts but, in fact, Dream Chronicles is one of the earliest casual game series which has adventure elements combining with hidden object proportions.

Along with new designs, backgrounds, music, story-line and puzzles, KatGames add on every Dream Chronicles sequels a lots of twists to make sure that any new feature they added brought depth and enhanced what people already love about the Dream Chronicles experience and didn’t feel "tacked on" or unnecessary.[9] The gameplays in Dream Chronicles sequels are quite the same traditional with the original Dream Chronicles but they're more involved than it. In Dream Chronicles 2, in order to solve puzzles, players can go back-and-forth among relative scenes in a separate area. While in The Chosen Child, players can travel to any of 7 areas in game by using nexus gateway. And in The Book of Air, players totally control their traveling by using Fidget's airship to explore the Dream Realm.

At the end of each game, player earns a high score, mostly based on how quick players can solve the puzzles and how fast they finish the game but in each installment has its different extra count. In the original Dream Chronicles, players only need to find and complete the Dream Jewels collection to earn high score, along with solving puzzles quickly. In Dream Chronicles 2, they have to solve Dream Jewels' secrets to do this. And in The Chosen Child, they have to find extra gold nuggets.

The series is mainly designed and developed by KatGames and released first by their direct publisher PlayFirst.

The first set of Dream Chronicles trilogy

Since the first release in June 2007, the series has garnered mostly positive reviews from game critics for its visuals, audio, dream-themed story, characters, and puzzles.[6][8][13][14]

Gamezebo, a casual game review site, rated the original Dream Chronicles 5/5 stars. Chuck Miller praised: "It's best described as a casual cousin to epic, hard-core adventures like Myst and Uru. A mix of fantasy and reality, its hypnotic dreamland engages you in a larger-than-life quest, a mystery that needs to be solved one puzzle at a time as the story unfolds around you. [...] Dream Chronicles has all the necessary ingredients of an exceptional game, one that lives up to its marketing hype. Art Nouveau graphics are beautifully rendered, an ethereal soundtrack helps bring the world to life, its engaging narrative draws you into the story and diverse puzzles of varying difficulty keep play interesting and challenging. [...] In short, solving Dream Chronicles's mysteries is a thoroughly enjoyable experience."[6] Dream Chronicles was honored as one of the best casual games of 2007 in the annual Top Games list by Gamezebo's editors, and won a "Zeebys" award for People’s Choice for the "Best Hidden Object & Adventure Game of 2007"[15] as well placing at number one in 2007 customer favorites[16] by Big Fish Games.

The two sequels, Dream Chronicles 2 and The Chosen Child, enjoyed the same success on many major casual game charts and accolades from critics.

Awem Studio praised Dream Chronicles 2: "The artwork is gorgeously dreamy and it adds some special coloring to the entire atmosphere of mystery and enigma and is a true feature of Dream Chronicles games. ... The visual and sound aspects are greatly satisfying and create a real Dream World. Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze is one of those games that will be engraved in your memory and win over your heart."[17] In July 2009, Dream Chronicles 2 was honored with 2 awards by RealArcade, "Top Adventure Game of 2008" and "Best World Design", in their first Great Games Awards.[18]

John Bardinelli of Jay Is Games said in his review of The Chosen Child: "The latest installment in the Dream Chronicles series ... [is] as breathtakingly brilliant as everyone would expect. A little bit of hidden object finding, a little bit of puzzle solving, and a whole lot of adventuring can be found in this superb sequel, along with some of the most gorgeous scenery you've seen since looking out your own window (assuming you live in a fantasy world with fairies, fountains, and vibrant gardens). ... These [Dream Chronicles] titles just keep getting better and better. It's a perfect blend of object finding and adventure gameplay, and the puzzles are constructed so cleverly you might even giggle when you think of the solution. And I swear you'll melt from the combination of the gorgeous visuals and enchanting music."[19] In late 2009, The Chosen Child was placed at number two 2009 customer favorites by Big Fish Games.[20]

Criticism generally focuses on the first and forth games, for their short length. Gamezebo's Erin Bell once stated: "The length is disappointing when compared to other adventure games, even while acknowledging the attention to detail that care that KatGames put into every scene and puzzle."[14]

As of July 2009, the first three games had been downloaded more than 30 million times.[21]

The second trilogy Lyra's Destiny, started with The Book of Air. Though the game proved to be another commercial success, it garnered many lukewarm reviews, which criticized it for not matching the standards of the previous games. Some reviews praised its Dream Chronicles-trademarked high-quality production values and tricky gameplay,[22][23] while negative reviews focused on its very short length (only 16 main scenes, shorter than the original Dream Chronicles) and some repetitive puzzles.[24]

As PlayFirst had initially announced and The Book of Water's final scenes implied, there would be a sequel called Dream Chronicles: The Book of Fire to be released. But soon after The Book of Water was released, since July 2011, PlayFirst cancelled releasing casual games on PC/Mac platforms in order to focus on its growing mobile gaming market.[1] Because PlayFirst hold Dream Chronicles trademarks, KatGames must have their approval in order to develop a new sequel, thus KatGames had to move on with other projects. Due to that cancellation, The Book of Fire will not be developed and released, and The Book of Water was the last collaboration between PlayFirst and KatGames. Furthermore, due to that early cancellation, the game's development time was cut short to fit PlayFirst's game schedule. KatGames had to reuse several previous games' scenes, background music, and sound effects. The animation was not designed in 3D as KatGames did in previous games. Some puzzles were also cut short and lacked difficulty towards the end; and even the same voice-over was used for both Lyra and Faye; thus overall making The Book of Water felt unfinished and simplistic.

• Dream Chronicles on PlayFirst
• Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze on PlayFirst
• Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child on PlayFirst
• Dream Chronicles: The Book of Air on PlayFirst
• Dream Chronicles: The Book of Water on PlayFirst