Episode 6: Dreaming Elsewhere with Davionne Gooden

What’s it like making a video game? Even better question: what’s it like writing a video game? Filmmaker, photographer, and game maker Davionne Gooden swings by the Land of Enthusia and talks about his game She Dreams Elsewhere, “a surreal adventure RPG about dreams and the extent to which they mirror reality. You play as Thalia, an anxiety-ridden, comatose woman who delves into her dreams and confronts her inner nightmares in order to finally wake up… It’s a deeply personal narrative dealing with real-world themes such as mental health and self-identity combined with strategic turn-based combat, mind-bending levels, and a surreal, visually-striking world ripe for exploration.”

Davionne gives us a look inside his process into writing, what his inspirations are, and how great (and challenging) it is to make a game that has all the homies in it. He also compares filmmaking with game making and how the two are both very similar and very different at the same time.

Be sure to try the demo of She Dreams Elsewhere on Steam and Itch.io. The game is slated to be released in 2021 on Steam, PC/Mac, Xbox, and Switch, (but that’s really up to Davionne, who mentions this five-year project was supposed to only take five months).

He also shouts-out Jared Hutley and the Cleveland Game Devs.