In 2016, Palestinian game developer Rasheed Abueideh faced a bit of an uphill battle when it came to their game about the horrors of war that were occurring at the time, Liyla and the Shadows of War. In particular,Apple had banned the title from the App store,claiming that it was inappropriate for their gaming category. Alas, nearly a decade later, history repeats itself as Rasheed’s latest game, Dreams on a Pillow, has found itself been deemed as “too risky a topic” or “too controversial” while attempting to raise funding through publishers or grants, all within the shadow of another war-torn chapter in the Israeli-Palestine conflict. But much like how community support helped get Liyla back on the app store, Dreams on a Pillow has now reached a significant milestone thanks to the game’s supporters, with the game having recently reachedits crowdfunding campaign’s funding goal over on LaunchGood.
Dreams on a Pillow is a game aboutthe Nakba of 1948. The story is inspired by a folk tale set during the era, the story of Omm. In it, a young woman runs into their house to save their newborn child while fleeing after the murder of her husband, only to realize too late that she had instead grabbed a pillow. The game sees players trying to guide Omm towards the north into Lebanon. The original tale has had multiple endings over time, however, apparently depending on the audience, so it should be intriguing to see how the narrative plays out in a format such as this.
“Dreams on a Pillow is the dream of a Palestinian game developer, and a proof that games can tell the stories of anyone, anywhere. We humbly ask for your support to make this dream come true, to tell this generations-old story in a new and powerful way.” - Rasheed Abueideh
The titular pillow factors heavily into the gameplay as well. Dreams on a Pillow is a pseudo-3D stealth adventure, with Omm having to maneuver carefully around each area. All this time, she carries her pillow with her, but will be forced to set it down in order to perform such actions as climbing ladders, crawling or even throwing rocks. Unfortunately, this causes the trauma to begin to creep in, with Omm beginning to imagine a nightmare world born from the horrors that have and are currently befalling them. So the challenge is in trying to complete the current task and get back to the pillow before time runs out and madness overtakes Omm. Needless to say, it’s not shying away from the darkness that comes with such an experience.
While Dreams on a Pillow has hit its initial fundraising goal of $194,800 USD, that only covers the move from pre-production to production, where the game will be plotted out and some initial levels will be created. As mentioned on the LaunchGood page, it will take a total of $495,000 (which includes the current amount raised so far) to fund the rest of development, and if all goes well, the game will be released in Q4 of 2026. Of course, this means obstacles such as acquiring additional funding in the future, but time will tell if Rasheed’s dream of his biggest game so far, one that helps showcase how, as he states at the end of the campaign, that games can tell the stories of anyone, anywhere, can become a reality. For those interested, the crowdfunding campaign is still ongoing until January 13 at 4:45 PM EST.
