“Possessing a dark atmosphere, this game allows you to explore the world inside a dream (thus its setting). There is no particular story or purpose. It is simply an exploring game.” — Translation of KIKIYAMA describing Yume Nikki on their website.
KIKIYAMA (ききやま) is the enigmatic creator of Yume Nikki.
Very little can be said about them, due to the scarcity of information regarding their identity and location. Due to the long period of time since its last version release, the original version of Yume Nikki is not expected to be updated ever again. Their website was last updated on February 6th, 2018, with the only addition being the YUMENIKKI –DREAM DIARY– logo on the game page. When clicked on, it takes you to the official webpage for the game. Despite this, the website still states it was last updated on June 30, 2008.
While KIKIYAMA seemingly gave permission to Project Yume Nikki, who created merchandise, a web manga and a light novel with different writers and artists, it was nevertheless stated by them that KIKIYAMA's thoughts about the game do not necessarily align with the ones of Project Yume Nikki. It is just an interpretation of the game by said writers and artists, which is also why manga and light novel strongly differ from each other.
According to the developers of YUMENIKKI –DREAM DIARY–, KIKIYAMA was directly and actively involved in the creation as a supervisor. All official annoucements related to -DREAM DIARY- refer to KIKIYAMA with "they" pronouns, which could mean that KIKIYAMA would like to keep their gender ambiguous and/or has a nonbinary gender identity or is a team of several people.
Official Website
KIKIYAMAHP is KIKIYAMA's official website pertaining to Yume Nikki. It can be found here, and features screenshots, information about older versions of the game and more.
FAQ
Retrieved from this website is a straightforward frequently asked questions page about the game. At the bottom, there are links to KIKYAMA's website, a non-working Yume Nikki Vector page and an old download page for the RPG Maker 2003 RTP. Here is a translation.[1]
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What kind of game is it? DS? PS2? | This is a PC game created with RPG maker and released for free on the internet. |
| What's the genre? | It isn't horror. Neither guro. A warm-hearted game. |
| I want to try playing it but how do I do it? Do I need to pay? | All you need to do is to download Yume Nikki's and RPG Maker 2003's RTP data to play it. Both are free. |
| I can't leave the room. | Use the bed to sleep. |
| Where should I go? | You can go anywhere. |
| What should I do? | You can do anything. If I had to say something then I'd recommend to collect the effects. |
| Effects? | Collecting them is more enjoyable than just walking!! |
| I can't seem to find them. | Keep trying. |
Old Music Page
Before the release of Yume Nikki, KIKIYAMA had an account on the now defunct Japanese music-sharing website players.music-eclub.com. On there, they would upload various full-length songs as the game would be in development, with some cover art for the songs even featuring assets that would go on to be used in the game.
Almost all of them have been recovered through various uploads by Japanese fans and found by #LaInvestigaciónYN except for two songs that haven't been archived. Interestingly, one of the songs is a full-length version of the KALIMBA TV Channel event, making it one of two non-looping Yume Nikki tracks, the other being the FC House theme. For more information about the development and the songs themselves, please visit Nikki this page.
BK5 - August 25, 2003
"This is a song I made from when I first started making music, but I like it and it's one of several remixes. Please listen to it."
DisChild - September 4, 2003
"It's a song with the momentum of disco music. I recorded it while applying the RS7000's master effect."
Old Series 1 - November 18, 2003
"It's a gentle pop song I made with the RM1x back in the day. (The intro is rushing because I recorded the second half after about 10 minutes of modulation.)"
NEON - December 2, 2003
"I found a pattern I made before that I liked, so I remade it into song length. This time I stopped doing ad-lib and put my heart into making it."
KALIMBA - January 13, 2004
"It's a minimalist techno song. The sound of kalimba is the main tune."
WAVE - May 11, 2005
"It's a song with a pop feel. I made it by connecting the QY70 and RS7000."
Contact
There is an e-mail address within the "readme" file of the game, which is hosted at their website. It is [email protected].
However, although this address accepts mail, it is unlikely that KIKIYAMA continues to check it for mail. Furthermore, take note that KIKIYAMA may only know Japanese and e-mails that are written in English could be disregarded. KIKIYAMA has also been known to respond very infrequently and any response that is answered will be answered in a very short, straight-forward response. As with everyone, please be respectful when attempting to e-mail KIKIYAMA.
Trivia
- Interestingly, KIKIYAMA's profile picture on their music page was a slightly different looking Madotsuki's Room. This could possibly be what it looked like in version 0.00 of the game, considering the fact that the changelog describes the starting position of the player as being different.
- The name of KIKIYAMA can be translated as "machine mountain", with "KIKI" (機器) meaning machine/equipment, and "YAMA" (山) meaning mountain/hill. This could describe Mars-san.
- The composer of the main theme (as seen in the initial trailers for the game) of YUMENIKKI –DREAM DIARY– is a similarly obscure figure known as AQUILA. Some have speculated that this could be KIKIYAMA themselves due to the lack of information about them and Kadokawa claiming that they had contributed to the game.
- In an interview conducted by the well-known game developer Toby Fox for the Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu, KIKIYAMA has confirmed, among other things, that their ideal order from Denny's is the Rice Casserole with 3 Types of Cheese & Shrimp[3].