From the development notebook. These entries discuss story details and describe the game at the time of writing.
Bringing the books into a game
I started with a simple idea: I wanted to see the world of Discovery, Sarlak's Revenge, and United They Stand become a game. The cousins already have different personalities and powers, and I wanted those differences to matter when someone is actually playing.
The direction that appealed to me was a third-person adventure in a cartoon, cel-shaded world. I want the family relationships, imagination, and sense of discovery to carry through from the books. Switching characters and combining abilities gives that idea a practical form. Jillian creates something; Braden uses it. Haley reaches somewhere the others cannot. Jack changes how the group moves through a space.
I also want the children to remain recognizable as the children in the stories. Their ages, appearance and abilities need to come from the manuscripts wherever those details are available. Clothes and visual shorthand can be adapted for a game, but those inventions should not quietly become facts about the books.
Choosing Unreal and a working name
Unreal Engine was already available, so I chose to use it. The project is now running in Unreal Engine 5, with a Windows prototype that can be launched from the game folder.
I am not committed to calling the game Dream Fighters, although keeping a clear connection to the books matters to me. Beyond the Waking: A Dream Fighter Chronicles Adventure gives us a working identity while leaving that connection visible. I am treating the name as a working title, not a final publishing decision.
I asked for a poster and a short description for a website as well. Those gave the project something I could show and discuss while the playable work was still taking shape. I need to keep that distinction clear: the artwork communicates where I want the game to go; it is not a screenshot of what the current build can do.
Getting something playable
The first prototype gives us a short adventure built around a courtyard encounter, freeing Gorgons, rescuing Gabby and crossing an ice bridge. The rooftop rescue and bridge are adaptation exercises that let us test the powers, rather than claims that those exact sequences appear in the novels.
The project now has movement, character switching and a complete small mission sequence. Automated checks cover that sequence, and a movement-driven test has reached the end using the character's powers and collision. That is useful progress. I still need actual play sessions to judge whether the camera, controls and pacing feel right.
I also liked the idea of a separate retro side-scroller and a game built around the books' sport. Both now have small experiments in the project. I see them as possible companion games with their own identities. The current retro mode is a block-art movement test, and the sport mode is a simplified arena test; neither is the finished version of what I have in mind.
Adding light RPG progression
As the game started taking shape, I felt that light RPG elements would serve it well. I want the cousins to grow, and I want the player to make a few meaningful choices about that growth.
The prototype's answer is Mastery. Freeing the Gorgons, rescuing Gabby and reaching the beacon each award a point. There are four optional upgrades and three points in this first mission, so the player has a small choice to make. The core abilities remain available regardless of that choice.
That fits the direction I want: learning new ways to use powers without turning the game into an equipment grind. Family bonds and more substantial growth could become part of a larger campaign, but those are design ideas rather than completed features.
Finding the visual target
The early characters helped establish the prototype, but they were not landing for me visually. I kept asking for stronger models, more detailed faces, and artwork that felt ready for a modern game.
I first used XIII as a reference for the cel-shaded treatment, with a more youth-friendly tone. As the artwork developed, I realized I wanted more realism beneath that treatment. My references to PS5-level graphics and The Incredibles were ways of describing the ambition: appealing, expressive characters with convincing form and detail.
The Haley cel-shaded realism concept finally captured the direction I was looking for. I approved it and asked to keep going. The detailed face, natural-looking hair, practical clothing and controlled light-and-shadow shapes gave us a much clearer benchmark than a general request for better graphics.
That look was then carried into concepts for Jack, Braden and Jillian, with a shared lineup and front, side and back views of Haley. The artwork is now much closer to the game I have been picturing.
Remembering the whole family
When I saw the four-child lineup, I pointed out that Gabby was missing. The four playable characters are not the whole family.
Gabby now has her own concept board and appears in the complete five-cousin lineup. She needs to look two, just as Jillian needs to look five. I want those differences to remain obvious as the designs move into 3D. In the current mission Gabby is a rescue character, but she still belongs in the visual identity of the game.
Her brown hair and some of the costume details remain provisional design choices. I want us to keep checking the books instead of treating a good-looking image as evidence of something I wrote.
Starting the rebuild
Once the artwork felt right, I asked to rebuild the models. My immediate question was whether Unreal Engine 5 should make this fairly easy—or whether the real issue was the models themselves.
The answer so far is that the models are the main issue. Unreal can render sophisticated characters, but the geometry, hair, clothing, materials and rig still have to support that result. A compelling 2D concept does not automatically become an equally compelling animated 3D character.
The assistant's first replacement-model renders still looked too basic. They exposed angular facial forms, rigid-looking hair and construction problems. A more anatomically developed MakeHuman base is now being tested for Haley's head. Its core asset license is preserved with the project, and I want that outside contribution recorded rather than described as wholly original geometry.
There is now a separate Haley source export with an expanded rig and draft facial controls. That is the start of the rebuild, not the finish. It has not replaced the verified 0.5 characters in Unreal. The other four replacement models also remain to be built and reviewed.
Where I want to go next
I want one character to establish the standard before we repeat the process across the family. Haley needs to hold up from the front, side and back, in expressions, and in motion. Then the other children need the same care, with their own faces, proportions and personalities.
I also want the project records to make progress easy to understand. The README should tell me what works now. The version history should explain the milestones. The changelog should record concrete changes. This journal should preserve why I made the decisions and what I learned along the way.
The central goal is still the one I started with: a game that feels like these books and makes the cousins worth spending time with. We have a playable foundation and a visual direction I am happy with. The work now is to bring those two things together.
October 16, 2026: committing to 3D and starting Haley in Unreal
I decided to keep the main adventure in 3D and pursue the cel-shaded approach I liked in XIII, with a more welcoming tone for these characters. I want convincing forms, expressive faces and clear graphic shadows. I still want the appeal of the approved artwork, but reproducing every hair or skin detail is less useful than making Haley recognizable and expressive in motion.
I also committed the separate side-scroller to the 2D work. That gives the sprite artwork and retro animation a clear home without changing the main adventure's movement and exploration. The sport idea remains separate. The existing retro experiment still uses block art; this decision sets its direction rather than claiming that the sprite conversion is already done.
Haley now has a separate Unreal preview with a rebuilt anatomical head, revised swept hair, adjusted proportions and clothing joins, and the expanded rig. The source uses the recorded CC0 MakeHuman contribution. Her replacement assets and matching animation clips are imported separately, and I can launch the adventure with her through Play Haley Rebuild.cmd.
I am treating this as the first in-engine model checkpoint, not as approval of the finished character. The face still needs more of Haley's specific likeness, and the hair, shoulders, costume and deformation need further work. I want to judge her standing, running and using her power before extending this model approach to the other children. Technical checks and captures belong in the validation record; they do not stand in for my own visual approval or a play session.
October 16, 2026: giving Haley somewhere new to go
I asked for another improvement to Haley and then more development of the game. I want the accepted Rain-based face to remain a practical foundation while the adventure grows. This pass refines the academy outfit: softer shoulders, curved pocket openings, better-fitting knee panels and a more readable navy fabric treatment.
The next playable section takes the cousins beyond the beacon into an academy training garden. Jillian and Braden charge a relay together, Jack freezes a crossing, and Haley finishes with a protected landing on a raised terrace. This is a proposed game lesson built around the children's established abilities, rather than a scene copied from the books.
I also want mistakes to be easy to recover from. Checkpoints now move forward with the objectives, and completing training offers a fourth Mastery point. The whole lesson is designed to work with the starting abilities; upgrades help without becoming a requirement.
The implementation and automated verification are recorded separately. They do not mean I have personally playtested or approved this new lesson. My next review is about the feel of moving between the cousins, whether the instructions are clear, and whether Haley still looks convincing in motion.
October 16, 2026: giving the adventure an opening
I decided to go ahead with the next chapter milestone. Haley is useful for development now, and I want the game to give players a reason to care about the family before they start using powers.
The new opening returns to Grandma's basement. The cousins talk, fall asleep, and discover that the familiar room has become strange. Uncle Johnny speaks through Jillian's doll, giving us a connection to Discovery before the game moves into the courtyard. The dialogue is adapted and condensed for play; the glowing exit and direct courtyard connection are game inventions.
I want conversations to be easy to read, so they wait for the player to advance them. Danny now introduces the academy lesson, and finishing it brings up a recap of the rescue, training and rewards earned during that run. The camera, landing feedback and shield timer also received a practical pass.
This remains a prototype opening. The academy outfits are temporarily reused in the basement, and the room and mentor still need finished art. Automated checks and screenshots are recorded separately; I have not claimed a personal playtest or final approval of the new sequence here.
October 16, 2026: putting Danny at the center
I made it clear that Danny is the most important character. A placeholder giving out training instructions did not reflect what he means to these books, so I made his model and introduction the next priority.
The scene now starts with family. Jillian recognizes him, Haley asks how he can be here, and Gabby greets her brother. Only after that does he demonstrate control and introduce the lesson. I want his experience and power to coexist with the young person who misses his family and needs them, too.
His prototype uses the licensed face foundation that helped Haley, with a separate face adjustment, blue eyes, longer hair and a black cloak. The new cloak has weighted movement, and there is an actual Unreal model to review. That does not mean I have approved the final likeness or personally playtested this version; those judgments still belong to the next review.
The complete rescue and physical reunion are still ahead. For now, I can go straight to the scene through Meet Danny, without changing my saved progression, and judge whether we are finally giving him the attention he deserves.
October 16, 2026: taking academy Haley into the game
Once the Rain-based face was good enough for our prototype, I asked to move to the next milestone. I also wanted an outfit that suited her age, and suggested either ordinary clothes or a loose academy uniform with purple light at the chest. I left the final choice open.
This version uses a relaxed navy academy training suit, a high collar, gloves, boots and a violet chest badge. The exact outfit is an adaptation design. The approved face and blonde hair are carried into the game on the project's existing movement rig, so we can test the character without waiting for a new animation library.
There is now a separate Play Academy Haley launcher and actual Unreal captures of her standing, running and using her power pose. The export work exposed practical issues with texture packing, color interpretation, the pupil surfaces and the collar fit. Those details matter because a nice Blender portrait still has to survive the trip into the game.
I want this milestone to support development and playtesting. The automated checks are recorded separately from my own review; they do not mean I have personally played or approved every animation. Finer hair, costume detail and performance polish can follow the things we learn from using her.
October 16, 2026: trying Rain as a practical foundation
The procedural model still was not reaching the look I wanted, and commissioning a character artist was beyond the resources I had available. I asked for free models and inexpensive paid options. Rain from Blender Studio looked promising, although she was older and had a different complexion from Haley.
Once we established that her source could be adapted, I decided to try a head-and-shoulders study. There is now a separate Blender version with a shorter lower face and neck, fuller cheeks, adjusted complexion and blonde bob study. The original facial detail and corrective shapes are retained. The source credit and license are recorded with the files.
After seeing the actual 3D study, I said it was "100% better" and good enough for testing and prototype development. I am accepting this version as our prototype baseline. The hair and eyebrows can improve later; I do not want more portrait polish to hold up development. The next priority is getting this Haley working in Unreal, with movement and expressions checked in the game. This is prototype approval, with the full body, outfit and final polish still ahead.