Meet Oasis Thorne. An indecisive, alternative-looking lone wolf, mesmerized by witch myths, and living with her mother. Her father left at a young age, and she never really knew why. It left her feeling like she’s never enough. And high school nowadays doesn’t help either. Aside from her one friend Vista, she is basically invisible.
But then, Oasis meets her father in vivid dreams. She finds comfort. She gets answers. She feels seen. For the first time, she feels like she belongs. And she can’t get enough.
As Oasis keeps drifting into her dreams, reality gets darker. The world glitches and becomes eerie. Relationships fade. Dreams start bleeding into reality and Oasis loses track of time and place; making it hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t. And when her mother is in danger, she’s torn between warm dreams and cold reality.
But when Oasis discovers her father lied in her dreams, she starts questioning everything. She realizes that her dreams keep her small and prevent her from growing. So she returns to the dream. Not to stay, but to confront what’s holding her back. Her father isn’t who she thought he was. He’s a reflection of her need to escape. And she’s ready to let him go.
When Oasis wakes up, everything feels lighter. It’s back to how it was. Still imperfect, but she’s okay with that. She makes her own choices and no longer needs other’s confirmation. And for the first time, that’s enough.
Story overview.
Symbolism.
{On why I chose her father to leave, not her mother}
Oasis has always been intrigued by witchcraft and myths. In these mystical phenomenons the woman is seen as the Divine Feminine; wise, strong and grounded. That’s why Oasis’s mother symbolises this. She represents truth, inner strength and has always been present.
This very fact can be discovered in game as foreshadowing. At one point, when the player can choose between sleeping and reading, curiosity is rewarded. If the player chooses to read before falling asleep, they read about Divine Feminity and the devil, implying father’s intentions might not be as pure as you thought.
drift
/drɪft/
[verb]
be carried slowly by a current of air or water.
[noun]
a continuous slow movement from one place to another.
Story structure.
The epilogue ends on an ambiguous note, leaving the player wonder if Oasis actually cut ties with her father, or that was just another layer of illusion. As she goes to bed one last time and closes her eyes, the screen fades to black. The story lingers, encouraging players to reflect on its emotional depth. Even after the game has ended.
Open ending.
“While we drift was born from my fascination with vivid dreams and blurred reality, turning personal experiences into a story of growth and escapism.”
Roadmap of change.
{and second to second gameplay}
Preview
Main characters.
Meet Oasis Thorne. Born on August 13 1981, lives with her mom. She has pale skin, silver hair, and elf-like features. Her room is her safe space — the smell of incense, and her impressive piles of books lit by candles make her cave a dark academia lover’s dream, and Oasis’ safe haven.
You could say she has a thing for witches and alternative rock.
Flaw\Need
Oasis craves recognition and love from others. Her flaw is escapism and emotional dependency, as she avoids conflicts and think she isn’t capable of making choices of her own. Furthermore, she doesn’t believe she is enough, because of the fact that her father left her, and she isn’t getting along with her classmates. She needs to learn that her worth isn’t defined by others, but by herself. She needs to develop self-love and confidence so she can make her own choices.
Protagonist
This is father Thorne. His first name is never revealed in the game, adding to his distant and dreamlike presence. Though he once truly existed in Oasis’ life, this version of him is just a projection from her subconscious. He is open, kind, warm and understanding. Exactly the father Oasis wanted him to be. But, there’s an agenda underneath; he manipulates Oasis into escaping reality. And when he senses her doubts, his warmth becomes invasive.
Flaw/goal
Father Thorne is emotionally manipulative; he creates a warm and perfect dream world, to keep Oasis drifting in comfort. His goal is to keep her from growing confident and learning that she doesn’t need others to define her worth.
Antagonist
Lore and worldbuilding.
Oasis Thorne’s story is set in the late 90’s. It has a dreamy, alternative and strong emotional vibe to it, that reaches the player through many assets in the game. So, what piece of lore could show Oasis’ emotional state, while setting that 90’s alternative mood? Of course, Oasis’ very own cassette, with songs that she ripped from the radio. She even wrote a name on the tape. This emphasizes the time period perfectly, and shows Oasis’ authenticity.
This cassette contains 3 ripped songs, that each represent Oasis’ vibe and feel.
• The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
• boâ - Duvet
• Cracker - Low
But this item is not only important to Oasis. It offers the player agency, too. They pick one of these 3 songs in the very beginning of the game, to play the epilogue with and set the mood.
Key locations.
Branching narrative.
{how subtle player choices shape the world}
When it comes to agency, I love hiding narrative consequences in small interactions. They will have impact later on in the game, to give the player that “Oh no, I caused this” feeling.
In this branching narrative, Oasis reeds one of her witch myth books. It descrives multiple demons, each with their own twisted traits. She wonders: which demon would I fear the most?
And that’s, of course… where the player gets in.
Branching dialogue.
This branching dialogue lets players pave their own way through conversations with both your mother and father. Dialogue choices made in the conversation with you mother will affect dialogue with your father in the dream world afterwards. These dialogue options cover Oasis’ conflict-avoidant nature, and also hint at her personal growth; all to offer the player agency and get them emotionally involved.
But no matter what path the player chooses, father backs you up either way trying to pull you further in.
This sequence takes place in Act II, after Oasis discovered her fridge is full of her favorite soda (the one she just told her father about and the one the player chose in her dream). Oasis is confused, as her mother usually won’t let her have soda. And her mother isn’t pleased finding Oasis having soda in the kitchen, to say the least.
Barks.
Shout-out table
Cutscene script.
This is the game’s first cutscene; the dream sequence where the protagonist meets her father, the antagonist, for the first time. It serves to give the player an immediate sense of the emotional and dramatic starting point for Oasis’ arc. And it also sets the tone for the surrealistic narrative. All without explicitly mentioning, but through actions and setting. It’s the spine of the game’s dream/reality loop, where we experience contrast between harsh reality and the warm dream world for the first time.
This dialogue displays Oasis’ conflict avoidant behavior, and father’s comforting but manipulative presence.