An indie game based on Winsor McCay's groundbreaking comic strip.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
October Update: We're going to MAGfest! Plus, a new backer build & Cleveland Gaming Classic
5 months ago
– Tue, Oct 07, 2025 at 07:39:55 AM
Hey Dreamers! Adrian here!
In August, we released a new in-production build for our high tier backers, with promise of a new build of the game available for all backers in the coming weeks. We're excited to announce that a build for all backers is now available. If you've backed the game at any level, you should have received an email or see a separate update for a link to that build, along with a survey for feedback/bug reports.
Apart from our latest build, we have an exciting announcement plus an update from our last convention showing!
We're Going (Back) to Super MAGfest!
After a year hiatus, we're excited to announce that we're coming back to Super MAGfest in 2026!
It's always a huge honor to be invited to the MAGfest Indie Video Game Showcase, and we can't wait to show attendees the progress the game will have made in the next three months before the show. So if you want to check out Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends while getting to chat with us, and also get to see a whole bunch of other amazing indie games, concerts, and more, and you can make it to National Harbor, MD on January 8th-11th, get your badge at the Super MAGfest website!
Little Nemo @ Cleveland Gaming Classic!
In September, we also got to show the game to attendees of Cleveland Gaming Classic, Ohio's largest gaming event.
The showcase takes place every September in Cleveland, and has started to pick up a really great following over the past few years. As usual, we had a booth at the event and were able to see a lot of folks come out and try the latest build (which is the same one that backers just received.) The game ran great and received a super-warm response from the crowd!
This isn't from our booth, but the basement setup really took us back, and was just so COOL!
Nemo and the gang get their upgrades from our own Art Deco versions of Chozo statues now, with toys giving you the upgrade. Boy, that stuffed squirrel looks familiar...
We were also honored to accept the award for best sound design at the show!
Thanks to everyone we saw at the show who played the game and hung out with us over the weekend, we really appreciate it!
Level Introductions
While we have been focused primarily on system-level features and bug fixes for our public builds, Chris and Max have been working on level introductions for each of our game's four worlds. Check out the current progress on the first 2 levels!
We've had the idea for these title introductions for a long time now, and getting to see them actualized for the first time is really exciting!
Conclusion
That's it for now! Backers, we really hope you enjoy the new demo we've released. We look forward to your feedback, and to sharing more progress in the coming months as we get the game ready for our return to MAGfest in 2026! As always, be sure to wishlist the game on Steam if you haven't yet, and happy dreaming!
Until next time, Dreamers!
~ Adrian
Backer update: NEW BUILD for backers!
5 months ago
– Tue, Oct 07, 2025 at 07:38:55 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
NEW Backer demo incoming soon! Plus, Post-GDEX report, and Cleveland Classics dates!
5 months ago
– Wed, Sep 10, 2025 at 02:28:38 PM
Hey Dreamers, Adrian here.
Recently, we released a new build to our high level backers. Since then, we've been testing the game both internally and externally, fixing the most egregious bugs and smoothing over a lot of the experience. There's still a couple of issues we want to iron out, but soon, all backers will receive an email with a link to a new backer-exclusive demo!
We're really excited for more of our supporters to get access to the game, as this build far better represents our vision of the complete experience more so than our previously released demos. Testing this will be an important step in pushing towards a new Steam demo and our long-awaited Early Access launch, so we can't wait to get it into your hands.
What to Expect
New Level - The City Rooftops
Nemo runs toward a red Momerath in our new City Rooftop level.
Our introductory stage, the City Rooftops, will be available to all of our backers for the first time! The beginning of his adventure has Nemo leaping from building to building, chasing down his bed in order to catch a ride to Slumberland.
Story Sequences
Nemo and Peony find his bed atop the city.
For the past couple of months, we've been perfecting NemoScript, a custom scripting language that among other things, allows anyone on the team to create cutscenes with little coding experience. NemoScript is even written to include some of Winsor McCay's comic idioms in the scripting language itself. Because of this, we've been able to include most of the cutscenes players will experience throughout the game's first three major sequences. This includes the first motion comic at the start of the game! While none of these sequences are finalized, backers will be able to experience the first parts of Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends' story for the first time!
Explore Nemo's House
Nemo standing in his dining room, with some familiar photos hanging on the wall!
After finishing the Night Sky level, players will be able to now also explore Nemo's House! This interstitial stage serves as the game's hub, where players must solve puzzles to access new worlds, while also being able to access the places they've previously visited. While they won't be accessible in this build, players will be able to access other features such as the kitchen, music player and more in the future!
Befuddle Hall Challenge Courses
Nemo runs toward danger in Befuddle Hall!
By searching around different levels and talking to new NPCs, players will gain access to the Befuddle Hall challenge courses. These bonus areas will test the player in various platforming, puzzle and combat challenges throughout the game. Please note this feature is still very early, but it will be a fundamental part of the game!
Fast Travel with Bosco & Mysto
Mysto will build Bosco Stations for Nemo to fast travel within the level!
For the first time, backers will be able to access Bosco Stations and fast travel around the Night Sky and Forest maps! Just give Mysto a small bit of your candy stash, and unlock the ability to move between Bosco stations. These will also serve as checkpoints for players who have lost all of their lives, returning them to the last Bosco Station visited.
And more!
In addition to these major upgrades, there have been changes made to level design, item progression, game feel and more to all areas of the game, including those from previous demos. We'll also be sending out a feedback and bug report form along with the build, so please be sure to let us know your thoughts there once you've had a chance to play the game!
GDEX 2025 Report
Once again, the team visited GDEX in Columbus, Ohio to meet with other regional developers and test the game. Along the way, we met with some of you in the backer community and were able to talk about the game. This was also an important opportunity for the team to jam on some new fixes and features, including adding our version of a "Chozo Statue" for when Nemo and friends find new upgrades, as well as level design and game feel tweaks.
The Nemo cabinet made a return to GDEX, now running on a Steam Deck (which ran the game beautifully!)
Chris, in the team's hotel room, using his hand as a reference as he draws an item-giving statue
Max editing the game in real time on our booth's mini-bed as people play the demo
We even fixed a pretty mean game save bug so that the overall experience can be a lot smoother. Chris also finally bought a boxed copy of the Little Nemo the Dream Master game for NES, which was an important part of everyone on the team learning about Little Nemo and Winsor McCay's art in the first place!
Cleveland Gaming Classic
We'll also be bringing the new build of the game to Cleveland Gaming Classic next weekend! If you live or will be in the Cleveland, Ohio region from September 19th to the 21st, come say hi to us at the show and play the game with the developers! And if you haven't yet, visit http://www.gamecleveland.com for tickets!
Conclusion
That's all for this update! If you haven't already, please be sure to wishlist Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends on our Steam page, and keep an eye on your email box for when the demo goes live! Again, there will be a feedback and bug report form alongside the build as well. Your feedback is important to us, so please be sure to fill it out when you've checked out the game!
Until next time, Dreamers!
~ Adrian
Message from King Morpheus: Get your pajamas ready - the latest testing demo is here!
6 months ago
– Sat, Aug 16, 2025 at 10:27:19 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Late July/Early August update: New demo for testing-tier backers, new cutscenes, refinements, and features!
7 months ago
– Wed, Aug 06, 2025 at 06:01:24 AM
Hello dear Dreamers!
Thank you for your patience with this month's update. We are in the process of finalizing a new backer demo that we will be rolling out in stages to everyone. The first backers who will see it in the next few days are those in the higher tiers that include game testing, then in the next few weeks, to everyone. All of this is building up to a season of festival submissions, and more important for you all, finally entering Steam Early Access!
To give you a sense of everything we've been working on, here are just a few new things you'll see and that we have been working on this month:
Nemo's house
This is a big one for us: previous demos included some levels that you can choose between, notably the Night Sky and Mushroom Forest. Since those are the most "camera ready" levels, we will still have those primarily included as the explorable Slumberland areas of the demo, but now instead of selecting them from a menu accessed by hopping into bed, you must solve puzzles between levels and access the levels from portals around the house. After consulting with some narrative designer friends of ours, we thought this would both keep the house an interesting part of the overall gameplay and be more narratively interesting than using the bed for absolutely everything.
Featured in the demo is an early version of a puzzle where Nemo has to collect seeds from plants around the house and put them into the proper place in the garden. We'll likely continue refining it as we go along. Please note that art for some of the puzzle areas is still being added, so folks interested in what games look like during development can enjoy looking at the in-progress artwork in the meantime.
The magic of game development!
Bosco quick travel
This is still in an early state, but we currently have an early working version of Bosco the Dragon as a quick travel system. First, you find the Slumberland court magician and civil engineer, Mysto, and she asks for a candy donation to fund building a platform in a location. Afterward, this platform can be a place that you can quick travel to (and eventually start the level from.) Mysto is a character that we included in art from the Kickstarter campaign, and are excited to get working in the project.
Mysto
Intro and cutscenes
Another big push the past few weeks has been bringing together the game intro and cutscenes to tie the whole game together. With these, you'll really be able to get a sense of Nemo and friends' world.
We don't want to spoil everything, but the world is imbued with much more story than before, and a sense of danger as you see the damage that nightmares are starting to do.
We've also refined the intro level on the city rooftops, which will be playable in the demo. Notably, it includes our version of Winsor McCay's walking bed comic from 1908, having players (and Peony) chase the bed through Nemo's town.
Line art for the bed napping on rooftops and being startled by Nemo when he approaches in the city rooftop chase sequence
One more thing...
That's just a bit of what we've been doing, but we want to let folks see things in the demo as we roll it out to the different tiers. But before we go, we wanted to share this awesome animatic for our upcoming trailer/animated intro to the game, by the awesome Studio StarCharm:
We're really excited about this one, and having yet another avenue to share more of the game's world.
That's it for now. Stay tuned for the incoming demo updates - within the next day or so for testing-tier backers, and later this month for everyone else.
