Dream Hard

Dream Hard is a short two-player co-op queer-themed beat 'em up game. In it, you must defend the local NYC queer performance space The Dreamhouse from hordes of fascists. The retro-style 3D graphics imagine a history of queer punk games in the late 1990s, connecting those politics of resistance to today.

For more info, see my artist statement "Dream Hard as queer brawler defense"

This game was made in 1 month for the The Dreamhouse x Death by Audio Arcade collaboration jam in May 2018, where DBAA built a unique "DreamboxXx" arcade cabinet for The Dreamhouse, with specially crafted games made by local queer designers and developers.

• can you defeat all 8 waves of white supremacists?
• features procedurally-generated LGBTQ people, over a million different queer folks are possible, wow
• two different fighting styles to master!!
• players: 0-2 (AI will play if left alone, and might even beat the game!)
• typical runtime: 5-15 minutes
• controls: keyboard, most gamepads supported
• platforms: Windows, MacOS
• credits: game by Robert Yang, music by Renim, in-game font by Patrick Lauke

press: Gothamist: "Step Inside The Dreamhouse, Where DIY Arcade Games Meet Queer Culture" // all irl photos on this page by Walter Wlodarczyk

other games made for The Dreamhouse: Local Informant by Haitham Ennasr (and more to come), Queer Space by Eddie Cameron, Conspiracy Theories About Myself / ORBTOWN by Juno AM + Josie Brechner, Safe Space by Ellie, a day at the beach by Nicole Leffel, Raunchy Feast XXX by Fernando Ramallo