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Descendent of the Prophet, more commonly known by its production name Cold Dream was a video game created by Wildguys Productions and developed on the Gamemaker platform by Jarod Francis in collaboration with Tama Koti, who helped with programming.
Development of the game continued throughout 2012 until development issues and a split in creative control eventually led to the game's demise in early 2013. Regardless, Cold Dream is considered to be a symbol of revivalisation of post-Generation III Wildguys.
Planned to be a 2D shooter/platformer, Cold Dream itself was a test demo, which allowed the player to control Jay as he heads to school.
Development[]
The photo drawn by J Francis led to the creation of Generation IV.
Around 2010, the lead creators of Wildguys began pursuing the revival of Wildguys after a one and a half year period of stagnancy, which followed the end of Generation III. This revivalisation began primarily after one of the developers drew a picture of the main WG cast. It was then decided that unlike previous generations, this new generation would revolve around a linear story. N Shcheglov would develop this story through Brickster Storm and its sequels, while J Francis would develop a video game based on the events of the novels.
Screenshot from the Beta 0.1 version of Cold Dream.
Production on the video game, which was given the production name "Cold Dream" began in early 2011, with J Francis using the 'lite' version of the Game Maker software to produce the game. The first pre-alpha test demo of the game was planned to show how Jay goes to school and the events leading up to him meeting Nik on Pigeon Mountain.
Slow development on the game eventually led to J Francis bringing on his friend Tama Koti, better known as TK , who had a working knowledge on game development and programming. Jay became head of creative control and design while TK focused on creating the game.
Build 1[]
Comparison of the classroom between Build 1 and 2.
The development team's hard work led to substantial progress on the demo. By late 2011, Cold Dream had working dialogue and a semi-working boss battle although Jay's sprite animations had not yet been implemented. The player could kick and punch using the J and K keys but only one object is able to be destroyed, which is Jay's bed. The NPC sprites are reminscent of the standard Generation III drawing style.
Build 2[]
Upon the release of Cold Dream Version 2.1, working shooting mechanics were implemented and could be accessed via the training level. The second build had an updated menu with working settings, credits and a not yet implemented save system. Unlike the first build, upon starting a new game the player is asked if they wish to enter the training room, which is an empty level allowing the player to shoot a gun and walk around. There is also a dummy which cannot be accessed due to a fall which traps the player.
Version 2 starts with a cutscene of Jay in bed sleeping, who is awoken by his alarm clock. The player then controls Jay as he walks through his house picking up miscellaneous items much like the first build. When the player exits the house they are greeted with another cutscene of Jay walking to school. Once he arrives in class he sits down in his classroom. This was as far as Version 2 ever reached in terms of plot.
Version 2.4, the last known version of Cold Dream has an updated menu with different main menu music.
Split in Development and Demise[]
The game's training room. Pressing F would result in the game crashing.
With substantial progress being made on the main demo, both developers each had different ideas for the future of the game. J Francis wanted to develop a more original story-based video game with shooting mechanics while TK preferred adding more classic RPG elements similar to that of Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. These creative differences led to a rift which opened in the game's development cycle. J Francis left the project around February of 2013 following the release of Version 2.1. This is regarded to be the game's official end, although TK continued work until Version 2.4, the most recent remaining version of the game.
Discovery of source files[]
On the 30th of June 2016, N Shcheglov found Cold Dream's original source files on one of his unused USB drives. The discovery contained the production files for two pre-Build 1 versions of Cold Dream, Beta 0.1 and another, which is identical to Beta 0.1 except for the last part, which ends with Jay sitting in an empty classroom with a red poster proclaiming "Want to be a Nazi?" with a swastika printed on it. An additional executable file was also found with the source files but it appears to be corrupted and will not run.
Beta 0.1 is essentially an unrefined version of Build 1, without a background and the intro house scene. Upon reaching the class, the player will be greeted with a "Coming Soon" screen featuring different characters. It is the earliest version of Cold Dream to date.
Plot[]
The plot of the game revolves around the events that led to Jay meeting Nik. The game starts with Jay waking up in his bedroom. The player takes control of Jay and is able to explore his room. Clicking on the TV teaches the player how to interact with the game world. When the player climbs the stairs to the table, clicking on the waffles shows a screen displaying a note from Jay's mother.
Cold Dream's infamous boss fight.
Aside from the waffles and the TV, the room has nothing aside from a backpack Jay picks up automatically. Leaving the room leads to the outside of the house. Outside, Jay's dad's car is parked and touching it will cause it to trigger the car alarm. If the player walks straight into the car, the player model will get stuck between the car and ground. The player then must proceed for three levels until they reach the primary school. Inside they can interact with one of Jay's friends who warns him that he is late. Once Jay arrives in class the player is unable to move the character but can interact with his class mates, who are a goth emo kid, a girl, a nerd and TJ. Clicking on Jay triggers the cutscene, in which Jay is scolded and sent to detention by his teacher for not listening. Following this is a boss fight where Jay beats up his history teacher. The teacher shoots out a continous string of rulers until the player defeats the teacher by using first a punch than a kick.
Once the teacher is defeated, the player spawns in a gym, where a basket ball spawns. However due to a physics glitch the ball gains momentum everytime it hits a surface eventually reaching a speed so fast it escapes from the game level. Once the player exits the gym they exit the school and sit on a bench. Jay recollects how much trouble he will be in when he gets home. After two boys exit the school, a fiery object hits Pigeon Mountain and the credits come up.
Characters[]
Jay[]
Jay is the only playable character and is controlled by standard PC controls. WASD to move and space to jump. His sprite is unanimated giving the impression that he is hovering as he walks.
History Teacher[]
The history teacher is the only non-playable character that Jay properly interacts with. Her visual appearance is similar to that of Igor, a past WG character from the Gen I comic The Lab.
Planned Features[]
Cold Dream had many planned features, making it a very ambitious project at the time.
Cold Dream's unmade story mode was meant to take place during the events of the Brickster Storm novel and was to include elements from various story arcs throughout Gen 3 and 4.
Cold Dream was also meant to have a multiplayer and cooperative mode, which would allow players to battle in team or free for all battles from a selection of different maps and heroes in the WG universe. The co-operative mode was also meant to have different campaigns including one for the History Collection, allowing players to take control of TJ and Jason as they travelled through time.
There was also a DLC pack planned mainly as a joke, which would invert the sprites turning male characters into females and vice versa.
Legacy & Sequels[]
A concept map from Cold Dream 2
Although the game's demise left a bad taste in the future of any WG games, it is considered to be a symbol of Generation IV and is the only working Wildguys game to have ever been created.
In the years after Cold Dream, several potential sequels have been suggested. In 2014, Cold Dream 2 was announced and was to be set in Generation V, being a companion game to Bryckster Storm. Work on the demo began in 2014 with the game's introductory segment set, however due to time constraints the game was cancelled, and by that point consisted only of a half-made model of Jay with a movable rifle.
A sprite of the Subjugator Assault Rifle from Cold Dream 2.
In 2015, another game was planned and was set to be developed on the Multimedia Fusion engine, however this game was cancelled before development could begin.
The upcoming Dreamwalker is the first serious attempt at a Wildguys game since the cancellation of Cold Dream.
Trivia[]
- Cold Dream's Build 1 contains many humorous bugs which can end up breaking the game. If the player holds the spacebar and right move button (the D-key,) and then press on the A key (to go left,) the player model will fly vertically towards the left. This can be used to climb onto normally unreachable surfaces. Furthermore, pressing H (the button to punch) and tapping the movement buttons allows the player to do a 'bunny hop.'
- The developer discovered a number of bugs previously not seen 5 years after it's development.