What's up Doodlers!

After much discussion and brainstorming, the current iteration of the storyline for Doodle's Diary is complete, and we can't wait to share it with you!

Story:

Dan, a little boy, and his family are moving to a new town.  In a distant, picturesque and green hilly region, it's quiet and secluded.

A short distance nearby, there exists a large, foggy and mysterious forest, aptly named Forest of Illusion by the townspeople due to a longstanding myth. The myth describes that those who dare enter the forest would meet the Queen of Illusion, hypnotized or led astray by her many illusory tricks, never to be seen again. Stories of old tell of those who had managed to escape her grasp, either found in a comatose state by others who venture into the forest or they themselves awaking an indefinite amount of time later in the same forest they got lost in. Such stories have one corroborating factor. Those lost and found again tell of experiences of meeting a queen and going on an epic adventure while facing their greatest fears, all while they remain unaging and unchanged in the physical world.

There has not been any such happenings in recent times, and thus such a myth has since become simple folklore told to people who visit the town. The townspeople told Dan and his family about this myth when they welcomed them to the new town, and while Dan’s parents believed not the myth, they did believe that a large foggy forest was rather dangerous for young kids like Dan and Annie, and thus told them to stay away from it when playing. Dan was also specifically told to watch over his sister, who was too playful and had a tendency of getting lost wandering around.

One day, Dan was playing in the neighborhood playground near the edge of the forest with his sister and some of the kids in town. In a game of hide and seek, Dan and Annie went off together to find the greatest hiding spot. None of the kids would ever be able to find them, Dan thought. While engrossed with thinking of the greatest hiding spot, Annie disappeared quickly, excited to find the greatest hiding spot too. Dan did not think much of this at first, but at the corner of his vision, he spotted a small girl running behind some trees. And those trees… were part of the forest!

 Oh no! Dan rushed towards the forest, calling out for Annie. As Dan reached the trees, his sister was nowhere to be found. Dan then rushed to his parents to notify them of this ordeal, with his dad rushing into the forest shortly after, in an attempt to find Annie. However, after a day, he never comes back. The police soon organized a community search effort to try to find them for days after being contacted about the lost persons, but to no avail. Dan being the young kid he was, was left to stay at home this whole time to prevent him from getting lost himself. Being told the myth when he first came to town, Dan believed it had to be the Forest of Illusion, and even more so, he knew that he must do something to save his family. One night, he stole away, while his mother was asleep, to the edge of the forest. Dan braced himself, fearful thoughts running wild in his mind as he stared at the dark foggy forest, to run into the forest to save his family. 

He slips in a coma as he enters the foggy forest and here, he now turns into his favorite character – Doodle, and meets Queen of Illusion. Feeling her illusory world take the form of Dan’s imagination, a deep interest in Dan takes root in her. Greeting Dan, she casually notes how she has been annoyed by a little girl that has managed to elude her, but shakes it off as she turns her interest on Dan. She invites Dan to stay for eternity, helping her shape this world into an ideal.

"No!", Dan rejects, determined to save his family from this world they are trapped in, and thus the Queen dejectedly decides to test his mantle and fortitude, by using his fears against him. To her, perhaps a physically and mentally exhausted Dan later on would be more accommodating to the idea of joining her. She then notes that she can still feel the presence of that little, giggling annoyance, along with another faint, unmoving one, leaving shortly after in search of them. Concluding that his sister and now even his dad is in danger, Dan steels himself for the journey ahead.

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Woah, what's going to happen to Dan? You'll just have to play the game when it releases to find out! Find out some background story about our main characters in a future post to come! See ya soon!