LSD (video game)

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LSD
Developer(s)	Asmik Ace Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Asmik Ace Entertainment
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release date	JPN October 22, 1998
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Input methods	PlayStation controller

LSD is a video game released in Japan in 1998 for the Sony PlayStation video game console and is one of three products (the others being a music CD and a book) based on a diary of dreams that a staff member at Asmik Ace Entertainment had been keeping for a decade. It has a small cult following and is recognized as being genuinely disturbing at times.

[edit] Gameplay

In this game, the player simply navigates a dream world. There is no action or experience points, nor is there any clear goal. The idea is simply to walk around and enjoy things in a dream environment. There are many bizarre environments in this world, and one way to travel through them is by foot. However, if you bump into walls or other objects in the game, you will be instantaneously transported to another environment, the system of which is called "linking". Bumping into people, animals, or special objects usually gives a stranger dream.

Each dream lasts 10 minutes, and the player wakes up automatically from the dream at that time. However, if the player falls off a cliff in the dream, then the player may wake up immediately. There is also a graph that appears at the end of each dream that keeps track of the player's state of mind. Depending on that state, the next dream may start differently.

While you walk through an environment, the surroundings may suddenly change. For example, eyes may suddenly appear all over a wall and stare at you. Even if you visit the same place twice, it may look quite different. You may also encounter very strange creatures while roaming around, including a celestial nymph flying through the air, a wild horse running through the prairie, or a huge man filling up an entire room.

The number of "days" are kept track of. As you progress, the pattern on walls and the form of the player may transmute. Occasionally the player may come across a man in a suit and hat. He is possibly the only thing resembling an antagonist, and erases the memory of the dream.

Presently, the game is difficult to procure, and it sells for high prices at some Japanese auction sites.

[edit] Audio

There are over 500 patterns of background music in the game. These are called patterns, not tunes, because they all share the same musical score, but are played in different tones.

Some of the music was made by Ken Ishii, a Japanese techno DJ and producer who also have made a track for the game Rez.