OMORI (partially found alpha demo of indie psychological-horror role-playing game; 2014)

Title screen of the demo.

Status: Partially Found

OMORI is an indie RPG created by artist and clothing designer OMOCAT, released onto Steam on December 25th, 2020, and on consoles on June 27th, 2022. It is widely critically acclaimed for its story and visuals and retains a large cult following. The plot of the story was originally based on a series of illustrations and blogs featuring a character known as "Omoriboy" that lasted from December 2011 to March 2012. On April 24, 2014, a Kickstarter and trailer were launched to turn the story into a video game. The Kickstarter was a success as over $200,000 was raised for it, nearly 10 times its original goal.^[1]

Background

Following the launch, the team put together a demo for fans to try out and give feedback at GR2's Game Night on May 3rd, 2014, and JPOP Summit on July 19-20, 2014.^[2]^[3]^[4] This version later became known as the 2014 Demo, Alpha Version, or the GR2 Build. These two events were the only times it was made playable to the public, and only the dev team and a single Kickstarter backer, found to be the company Sanshee^[5] that got to beta test currently have known access to it.

The demo is notable in that it was made in RPG Maker VX Ace before the team made the switch to the RPG Maker MV engine sometime in late 2014 for performance upgrades, which would become the engine for the released version.^[6] According to Archeia, one of the lead programmers of the game, the team had to make compromises under the original engine and the UI showcased wasn't meant to be final and only be a part of the demo.^[7]

Details

This version contains various notable differences, including different graphics and music. The battle UI and system resembled that of Earthbound with static pixel-art sprites instead of the moving drawings in the final version. The background was also a moving parallax instead of the static dithered images present in the final build.^[8]

Screenshot of the 2014 battle UI from the game's Kickstarter page.

Otherworld, one of the game's areas, also looks significantly different with it more resembling a grassland with houses scattered about rather than an alien campsite. There was also a yellow forest filled with Moon Bunnies and melons that seemed to be replaced with Junkyard.^[8]

There were also several other noticeable UI differences, such as the window boxes being bright pink in the main game and being the familiar black and white color in White Space and the title screen. The official gameplay demo video also showcased Aubrey having a voice line when she spoke.^[8]

People familiar with the demo also say that you had the option to choose your gender in the game and that the demo ran up until you defeated Space Boyfriend.

It should be noted that there are minute differences in some screenshots, such as the battle UI comparison from the Kickstarter to the actual demo, leading people to believe that there are several versions of this demo.

Archival

Existing media from the demo, such as music and screenshots, have been posted publicly on the Kickstarter, the OMORI Sound Team Soundcloud, and the OMOCAT YouTube channel.^[1] However, other pieces of media such the original versions of Trees..., You Cannot Go Back and the full version of White Space as well as the end credits theme of the demo have yet to surface. It is also unknown who exactly composed the currently existing unused tracks, whether it was Jami Lynne or Pedro Silva.

Screenshot of the different sound effects used in the demo.

Screenshot showing that the BGM changed in Otherworld.

Leftover code showing the gender selection option in action.

Leftover code showing this mechanic called Friendship Points.

The demo's title theme, titled Remember Me. Composer unknown.

Old version of Lost at a Sleepover by Pedro Silva and Jami Lynne.

Old version of Sugar Star Planetarium by Pedro Silva.

Old version of Lost, Then Found! by Pedro Silva and Jami Lynne.

Old version of Stardust Diving by Jami Lynne.

Some of the sound effects have been attempted to be isolated:

The official gameplay demo footage also leaves out a lot of the content, and as such neither footage nor files of the rest of the game have surfaced publicly.

There exists some leftover source code from the files of the Kickstarter Demo, but due to it being ported over to MV it is unclear how much of it has been modified.

Gallery

Images

Screenshot of Hero's dialogue, uploaded from a comparison showcase on October 3, 2017.
Screenshot of Vast Forest from the demo, uploaded from a comparison showcase on October 3, 2017.
Screenshot of Otherworld from the demo, uploaded to rpgmaker.net on May 13, 2014.
Screenshot of the yellow forest section of Otherworld, uploaded to rpgmaker.net on May 13, 2014.
Screenshot of the battle UI, taken directly from the demo gameplay.
Image taken from the GR2 event showcasing a glimpse at the pause menu.
Picture taken from the GR2 Event showcasing the fight with Space Boyfriend. Posted to the OMORI Twitter on May 4, 2014.
Image taken from the GR2 event showcasing a battle with Moon Bunnies.
Image taken showing off talking to other party members. Also shows the overworld sprite for Shark Plane.
Small screenshots of the demo. Uploaded to OMOCAT's Instagram May 6, 2014.
Poster announcing the showcase of the OMORI demo at GR2.
Promotional image telling about the 2014 OMORI Demo being available at J-Pop Summit.
Post of the 2014 OMORI demo at the GR2 event from AngryBanana's Instagram.
Another picture taken showcasing a battle with Moon Bunnies, taken from AngryBanana's Instagram.