/t/ - Theories

>>1172

It's possible, yes. I've also heard (unconfirmed) rumours that the game was made based on someone Kikiyama knew

More than anything though, I'd like to give you a different point of view on the ending. You can reasonably argue that the "real world" was still part of her dream, due to various details that can be seen throughout the ending

The small flight of stairs which she jumps off of appears out of nowhere. Also, after she jumps, we can see blood and two dream jellyfish creatures, which is a good indication that we're still seeing the dream world. At the same time, there's no body, a fact that can tell us she, as many people that "fall" in their dreams, woke up (thus leaving the dream world)

We might not be able to ascertain any theory as the truth, but this is a very plausible way to look at the ending's events

>>1174
I went through a recluse phase in my life and have come close to suicide at least twice in my life. I also strongly object to it due to my western morality background. It really bugs me because when I see storylines in which the only possible ending is suicide, my first and strongest impression is that its a 'they struggled and struggled, but in the end, they all died and their mission was a complete failure. The end' type ending. My sense of objection to it is so strong that even if she is only doing it in a dream, which seems likely since the flying jellyfish whatever-the-heck-they-are things are clearly (hopefully) not real, its still objectionable to me.

I'd almost prefer some form of obvious joke ending ala silent hill. E.G. she walks out onto the balcony and gets picked up by aliens, or the classic 'it was all a dream~~~~!' waking up in a hypnotherapists office or some such thing. It is, to be sure, a dark game and its themes are definitely mature subject matter, but I personally question whether a suicide ending is really necessary.

>hopefully this won't cause an unintentional flamestorm.

>>1174

*Brainsplosion* Oh my god it's Inception all over again I never even thought of that.

>>1175

I won't disagree, I had a similar dissatisfied feeling when I played it through the first time. It's very disheartening knowing that no matter what you do, she's always going to kill herself. Honestly, at first, my first reaction was to think that it was simply a bad game that just wanted to be a downer. But that's kind of what makes this board so much fun, to try and let your imagination wander and think about just how bad poor Madotsuki might have had it to come to that conclusion. Emphasis on the "might", because you might be right, it might not have been necessary. Or she might not have even really killed herself after all. It's all about how you, the player, interprets it.

>>1184

I didn't mean it like inception. I meant that pinching the cheek (or any other action that led to waking up) would bring you to the "real world", which would be nothing but another area of your dream

Sleeping in your "real world" bed would then make you reappear in the "dream world" bedroom, much like sleeping in a "dream world" bed brings you to the wavy arm stairway

Different areas, not layers and stuff. Fuck trollception

My main point was simply to say that the meaning of the game might be so specific and personal to the creator that it could never be known by an outside viewer. Or, that the meaning is nonspecific and changes from player to player.

Personally, if I built Yume Nikki, or a game like it, it wouldn't end in suicide. It would instead have a good end in which you 'man up' to your fears and problems and successfully fix them, or a bad end, in which you don't. I wouldn't keep the suicide even as a bad end, though. My bad end would be that your fears and problems exert an ever greater control over you and you become psychotic, dysfunctional, and eventually start using the knife effect on real people in the real world. Still a very bad end, but not suicide.

>>1186
"manning up" or w/e, in this state of existence (the one which the game evokes, and takes place in) isn't even relevant, let alone possible

>>1191
My standpoint is that problems don't (usually) fix themselves and that suicide is never, ever, the answer. If you want to fix a problem, YOU have to fix it yourself. Even an experienced psychotherapist will tell you that the only person who can cure you, is YOU. So for me, Mados choices are clear; man up and fix her issues, or take the weakling path and don't. Its 1 or 0. There is no in-between. There are no other options.

Yeah, i get it, but its more complicated than that, especially if its like this, there are no clear 'problems' to internally overcome, there is the haunting feeling throughout your life with no solution and no problem even

>>1193
I'll just point out that not every problem has a giant neon sign attached to it which flashes THIS, IS, PROBLEM. It sounds to me like the main problem (for mado) is an existential disconnect from meaningful reality. Its a thorny one, but this problem is fixable.

yeah, i agree with you anyway. Meaningful reality and striving for a life, and to be loved.
i guess i just don't feel like "fixing" is even the right way of viewing things, but w/e

i hate my life and myself though, so maybe i'm not the right one to have this discussion with *shrug*

>>1196
>>1195
Any trolling of you (re: use of the term 'fixing', general outlook), is not intentional. I personally try to have a small amount of happiness each day and try to have a small amount of human contact each day. Its a goal that I have because frankly without those things my mind very quickly becomes a dark place I'd rather not visit. I wouldn't wish such a dreamscape on mado, or anyone else.

Meaningful reality, just to be clear here means - experiencing human contact at least once a day, being able to smile and laugh at least once a day, having at least one small accomplishment each day/night, and etc. And I tell you this; though we've never met, if my words help you even a little, I would consider it an accomplishment.

When a social group is considered 'weird' and 'other-ed' (in psych terms), the bonds between those within the group must be strong, because that group is often all the members of said group have.

I agree OP, while I like a lot of the theories I've always thought that Yume Nikki was more of a personal game with references that no one would understand specifically

I think this applies to fan games too, and why so many people enjoy making them. People are given an opportunity to put their experiences into a media… imo it's the same as doing art therapy, so even intentional or not, there are personal experiences embedded in the games


pic unrelated

OP, for me the idea that yume nikki is a subjective and non-specific experience is the only one that make sense.
Kikiyama obviously decided to explain as little as possible, so it makes no sense to believe there's a specific hidden meaning to be found.