Run at Festival X, 2015.

Inspired by the psychological/existential space thrillers of yore (Solaris, 2001, etc.), ODyLE is an intimate and surreal look at the strain of human bonding and conflicting (mis)perceptions. It deals with themes of family, love, work, loss, and hope. The game consists of a series of scenes in and out of the ODyLE dream state, beginning with a gathering of scientists and their family members in celebration of the upcoming test. Characters will explore their shared memories through dreamlike (and often nightmarish) reproductions of reality, gradually recovering their memories of the real world. Players have control over the pacing and sequencing of scenes, allowing for a huge variety of narrative pathways.

ODyLE (The Omniscient Dynamic Lucid-dreaming Environment - pronounced "Odd-ill") is a computer simulation system designed to counteract the damaging psychological effects of deep stasis in prolonged space travel. After years of planning, design, failure, and triumph, it is ready for its first fully operational test run. ODyLE allows a number of users to experience a shared dream, interacting much as they would in real life and keeping the neural pathways crucial for healthy social interaction working. The shared dream is created from an amalgam of its users' perceptions of the world, including spaces, memories, and people. Inspired by the psychological/existential space thrillers of yore (Solaris, 2001, etc.), ODyLE is an intimate and surreal look at the strain of human bonding and conflicting (mis)perceptions. It deals with themes of family, love, work, loss, and hope. The game consists of a series of scenes in and out of the ODyLE dream state, beginning with a gathering of scientists and their family members in celebration of the upcoming test. Characters will explore their shared memories through dreamlike (and often nightmarish) reproductions of reality, gradually recovering their memories of the real world. Players have control over the pacing and sequencing of scenes, allowing for a huge variety of narrative pathways. Please note - all characters in this game are written as gender neutral, and thus any combination of romantic orientations in present and past relationships is possible, and casting will not accommodate requests in this area (though some characters have no romantic relationships). If this makes you uncomfortable, I recommend against playing. Due to a generally adult tone, this game is for players age 16 and older. Content Warnings – ODyLE contains mentions (and possible enactments) of emotional abuse, child abuse and neglect, and eating disorder. Because of the small cast, these topics cannot be completely avoided by any player.