I Watch You Sleeping

Illustrator
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***I Watch You Sleeping*** (commonly abbreviated to *IWYS*; previously named *Watashi Wa Nemutte Tokei*) is a psychological horror drama visual novel currently in development by Ryan Nurse and Animatron Studios, using the Ren'Py game engine. Set in May 2012, it follows high-school student Kentaro Miyazaki over the course of one week as he finds himself the target of a deranged stalker, whose sudden appearance derails his peaceful life.

First conceived in February 2012, *I Watch You Sleeping* began production in December that year due to positive reception, with a proof-of-concept video being released on Christmas Day. A trailer was released in December 2013, revealing a 2014 release date; this was later pushed back to 2016 and eventually to "when it's done". Nonetheless, *I Watch You Sleeping* was the first of Nurse's projects to enter official production, and the first to receive a trailer.

In September 2015, much of Nurse's progress on the game was erased after his laptop's hard drive failed. Progress stalled until March 2017, when Nurse announced his intention to complete the game by 2019.

## Gameplay

Like most visual novels, *I Watch You Sleeping* is story-driven. Characters and backgrounds are shown on the main part of the screen, with a text box at the bottom showing the characters' dialogue; the player left-clicks to advance through these text boxes and progress the story. On occasion, Kentaro will receive texts or letters from other characters, including the stalker; these are shown on-screen. CG artworks are also occasionally used to show more important scenes, and the game will feature around 25 such CGs - once viewed, they can be seen again from a gallery accessible from the menu.

At various times, the player must choose between two or more action or dialogue choices, with the story changing to reflect each choice. These choices may affect the stalker's behaviour, how other characters view Kentaro, or which of the game's three routes the player ends up on; several scenes vary drastically depending on which choices are made. Some choices, however, have little to no effect at all or are cancelled out by the stalker, a conscious decision in order to portray Kentaro's feeling of being powerless against the stalker.

The game has three routes: Aiko's route, Mizuki's route, and the "True" route. By completing all three routes, the player is able to view the "True Ending" by going through the True route a second time; only in this ending is the stalker's true identity revealed. To fully complete the game, therefore, players must finish the game at least four times. Each route is roughly 2-3 hours long, with an estimated total completion time of 8-12 hours.

## Synopsis

Kentaro Miyazaki is an ordinary high school student who has recently started his third and final year of high school. One Monday morning, however, he receives an eerie letter accompanied by dozens of photographs of himself in his sleep. Horrified, Kentaro soon realizes he has a stalker, as the same person begins to bombard him with increasingly disturbing texts. With the help of his best friend Raiden, Kentaro attempts to uncover the stalker's identity and stop them before their deranged behaviour escalates any further.

## Characters

* Kentaro Miyazaki: The protagonist. A normal high school student, he finds his life turned upside-down by the sudden emergence of his stalker.
* Raiden Shiina: Kentaro's wise-cracking otaku best friend, who tries to help him track down the stalker.
* Sakura Hatoyama: A girl whose younger sister is friends with Kentaro's younger sister; she and Kentaro are thus well-acquainted. She is polite and well-behaved at all times.
* Meiko Kawasaki: The girl who sits on the opposite side of Raiden in class. A bubbly, cheerful girl, she is a member of the school's photography club.
* Aiko Minatoya: A quiet, introverted girl who is in Kentaro's class. She very rarely talks to people and spends most of her spare time on her cellphone.
* Mizuki Asano: An aggressive delinquent girl who is in Kentaro's class.
* Harumi Nakata: A self-proclaimed idol with a bitchy, self-centred personality. She enjoys singing, but she enjoys attention just as much.
	+ Suzume Ochida: One of Harumi's two followers. The more aggressive of the two, and the one who generally does Harumi's "dirty work".
	+ Yuuka Ishihara: The other one of Harumi's two followers. She is rather more quiet and passive.
* Koneko Sasaki: Kentaro's homeroom and math teacher, generally referred to as "Sasaki-*sensei*".
* Natsume Miyazaki: Kentaro's irritating younger sister.

## Development

### Conception

Nurse had the original idea for *I Watch You Sleeping* in February 2012; as with most of his projects, the basic premise and main characters were conceived almost immediately. The game was originally planned to be much longer, and depending on which clues the player uncovered throughout the game, the stalker would turn out to be one of five different people: Meiko, Sakura, Mizuki, Yuuka, or Raiden. Another idea considered, but ultimately scrapped, was a "sanity meter" that would change in response to the story's events; certain events would then be affected by Kentaro's sanity at the time.

Nurse spend the next few months writing scenes for the game before unveiling it to the public on 4 December 2012, under the Japanese-language working title *Watashi Wa Nemutte Tokei*, a rough Google translation of "I Watch You Sleeping". Positive reception to the idea led Nurse to begin developing the game on 23 December, using the Ren'Py game engine; a nine-minute proof-of-concept video was released two days later, showcasing two scenes from Day 1.

As Nurse began developing the game, he soon realized that it would be impossible for every girl to remain a suspect for the duration of the game, so the ending system was changed. The stalker would be the same person every time, but their identity would only be revealed in one of the three endings. This itself was later changed, with the "True Ending" locked until the player completed all three routes, thus encouraging replayability.

### Production

On Christmas Day 2013, a trailer for the game was uploaded to YouTube, listing a planned release date of 2014, and a website was also created. In February 2014 a demo version covering the game's first day was showcased at Nurse's university, and later streamed by Twitch user lolinia. However, Nurse began to struggle with the game's writing, and had no funds with which to hire artists for the game. In late 2014 the game's estimated release date was pushed back to 2015, and then to 2016 - the title was also Anglicized, the inaccuracy of the Japanese title having been noted by several fans.

On 11 September 2015, the hard drive of Nurse's laptop failed, erasing his half-finished copy of the game and several planning documents. Nurse was able to resume working on the game using the February 2014 demo version, but much of his progress had been lost. The game's estimated release date was changed to simply "when it's done".

In March 2017, Nurse announced his intention to shift the game back into full development in June, as well as hiring artists and composers to help produce the game. He also unveiled a brand-new logo for the game, along with a tentative release date of 2019, five years after its original release date.

## Reception

*I Watch You Sleeping* has been positively received and is one of Nurse's most popular projects. In a 2015 poll asking which of his projects he should focus on in 2016, *I Watch You Sleeping* came joint-top with *StarLight*, with both receiving seven votes.