A moving summer story: Befriend neighbors and explore your hometown!
A five-chapter adventure about a Japanese girl, Hoshino, and her grandmother living with Alzheimer's. In this comedic-yet-bittersweet story, explore your hometown, befriend quirky neighbors young and old, and surf their Y2K-inspired homepages!
So... what’s a "danchi"? It's a Japanese mass housing complex, with plenty of neighbors. Of course, it's not always cheerful: the danchi is home to societal challenges, from aging seniors, to dementia, loneliness, and more.
How will Hoshino face these issues with her childlike wonder and curiosity? Let's find out!
Convince neighbors to come to the summer festival!
It can be tricky to get an RSVP from the neighbors. Like Sizz the Egg Sizzler: who requires you to eat an egg fried on a hot metal slide before even considering coming to the festival. Or Krysta Rippley, a puddle fanatic who will only accept your invite after playing in the mud together. Then there's Pete Sweep, an old man who doesn’t even notice you because he is… sweeping leaves.Â
Surf the internet and read about your neighbors
Hoshino's Dad made a special kind of internet just for neighbors — the NeighborNet. Search keywords to find pages to surf, and discover more about the strangers living in your danchi. Play minigames, or just “Say Hi!”
But keep an eye out: some websites have a darker tone, and not everyone views Hoshino's danchi so positively...
Play minigames to learn about the world
Before living with Alzheimer's, Hoshino's grandma taught her that in order to appreciate the small moments in life, she needs to interact with the world with all her five senses.
In special minigames, she'll bump into trees to smell them, collect beads of condensation from iced tea, and even listen to the sounds of neighbors' toilets! These sensations weave the fabric of her life in the danchi.Â
Meet The Cast!
â–˛Hoshino Kanaoka
A lively 6th grader! Her dad's job took them both to the USA for 5 years, but recently, they've returned to her hometown of Another Danchi to live with her grandmother.
â–˛Kimiko Kanaoka (Hoshino's Grandma)
Former kindergarten principal, and Hoshino's beloved grandma! She's been living with dementia for a few years, but back when she was healthy, Hoshino and Rio learned all sorts of things from her.
â–˛Rio Isshiki
Born and raised in Another Danchi, Rio and Hoshino were close childhood friends. But ever since she moved back to the danchi, Rio's been acting distant towards Hoshino and her grandma...
â–˛Moro-Q
It's Moro-Q! One day, he suddenly appeared to help Hoshino with organizing the summer festival. However, he seems to remember little of his past.
On the Development Team
sandy powder writes the story in Japanese and co-designs the game
Melos Han-Tani (Anodyne 1+2, Even the Ocean, Sephonie, and Angeline Era) does programming, music, game design and English translation.
mogumu is the artist!
We're assisted by Olivia and ume for marketing!
