Indonesian indie game developers Eternal Dream Studio in collaboration with Niji Games will release The Sun Shines Over Us (Indonesian title: Menggapai Matahari), a finalist of South East Asia Game Awards 2021 that was held by Level Up KL. The game depicts mental health issues in adolescence and the recovery process of bullying victims in school. In commemoration of World Mental Health Day, The Sun Shines Over Us will be released on October 10th, 2021, on the Google Play Store as a free-to-play title.
The story in The Sun Shines Over Us is set in a private high school in Jakarta and focuses on Mentari as the main character with PTSD from her previous school bullying trauma. In her new school, she meets other unique teen characters with their own personal problems and neuroses. All the characters have different responses and understanding about Mentari and each other’s conditions. There are other mental challenges that are brought up in The Sun Shines Over Us including ADHD, eating disorder, the impact of a broken home, and others.
“As a victim of bullying and a person with mental illness myself, The Sun Shines Over Us is a writing project that is closest to my own experiences,” said Nana Hanifah, the writer of The Sun Shines Over Us. “Sudden relapses because of trauma and triggers, the never-ending back and forth of recovery progressions, similar experiences are all what I’m trying to deliver in The Sun Shines Over Us.”
Through the gameplay of The Sun Shines Over Us, players will be faced through multiple dialogues and actions that will affect the story directly. Every choice that was made will change scenes and interactions between characters. Each choice will also affect Mentari’s progress in her recovery and her relationship with other characters.
Nikko as the founder of Niji Games is very hopeful about the game. I want The Sun Shines Over Us to be able to give hope towards victims of bullying, while also giving understanding and general education to the public about how to handle and respond to them,” Nikko said. “Because I believe that people with past traumatic experiences and mental illnesses are all the same humans like us that need to be humanized. They have the same hopes and deserve the same opportunity for their own future. That kind of understanding is what we want to give from The Sun Shines Over Us.”
“This is our first visual novel game that we ever made,” said Lucky, founder of Eternal Dream Studio. “To give the most accurate story and experiences for the players, we also collaborate and ask for a professional opinion from a health professional in the field of psychiatry, Dr. Mutiara Utami Sp.Kj who has read and approved the story and materials in The Sun Shines Over Us.”
There are 13 characters with their own unique personalized story that all can be explored through various dialogue and action choices. With more than 100,000 words and 6 different endings, every choice in The Sun Shines Over Us matters and can give a different experience in every gameplay if the player chooses to opt-in to different options.
To complement the emotional story, The Sun Shines Over Us has interesting visuals with more than 40 event CG, 25 different beautiful backgrounds, character sprite animations, and everything is followed by more than 10 background music that will accompany players to uncover stories through options in the game.
The Sun Shines Over Us will be releasing its first three parts of its story on October 10th, 2021 and will release its following story parts every the next two weeks. Every update and information about the game will be announced through Niji Games and Eternal Dream Studio social media and Eternal Dream Studio’s community Discord server.
For more information about The Sun Shines Over Us, please contact us through:
The Sun Shines Over Us Facebook
Eternal Dream Studio Facebook
Niji Games Facebook
Eternal Dream Studio Twitter
Niji Games Twitter
Eternal Dream Studio Discord Community Server
The Indonesian Anime Times | The information provided are the views of the provider of the press release and does not represent the views of KAORI Nusantara and The Indonesian Anime Times
