Yume Nikki and Nihilism: Futility as a Game Mechanic

Guest Written by Claire Lewoczko

When Jesse Schell wrote his book The Art of Game Design, he listed 100 lenses, or facets, implemented in game design (Schell 2008). Each of these lens uses a different perspective to make a statement or drive the flow of a game. However, Schell neglected to include a very important lens; the lens of nihilism. Nihilism is a philosophy ascribed to Friedrich Nietzsche, which purports there is no meaning to anything in existence, even existence itself (Snyder 2013).

Yume Nikki is a 2D adventure game made by an unknown individual under the enigma Kikiyama, released to the internet back in 2004 (Read 2009). In Yume Nikki, the player takes the role of a reclusive young woman named Madotsuki. Madotsuki refuses to venture from her apartment, but has the ability to dream vivid, surrealistic dreams. It is in these dreams that the majority of gameplay takes place.

Unlike many games, where a player has an objective or a story to follow, Yume Nikki’s narrative is either nonexistent or cryptic. In the beginning, the game gives the player the instructions to find effect items in Madostuki’s dreams. The game never gives an explanation as to why they should find these effects, nor provides an exposition for the player’s context. Excluding the ending, the game features no dialogue, cutscenes, or narrative to follow. The only narrative that the player can hope to piece together relies on their interpretation of Madotsuki’s bizarre dream worlds, and the disturbing imagery found within. 

Yume Nikki’s absurdist imagery and questionably non-existent story are powerful nihilistic mechanics. In nihilist philosophy, there is no purpose in life (Snyder 2013), much like there is no purpose in Madotsuki’s bizarre, illogical dreams. Additionally, while all twenty four of the effect items are needed to unlock the game’s end, only a handful of the items the player collects serve an in-game purpose (Scutilla 2008). The rest of the items serve as merely as player costumes. Though costume items do have effects when their effect key is pressed, their effects do not interact with the rest of the world, further emphasizing pointlessness. Not only is there no story to drive the player, but the player’s struggles and interactions with the game are largely exercises in futility.

The element that captures the spirit of nihilism most in Yume Nikki however, is the ending. This is the one point in the game that features a brief cutscene. After the player has collected all twenty four effects, Madotsuki wakes up in her apartment everything the same as usual, except for one detail. Stepping stairs stand by the balcony of her apartment. The player can try to interact with the apartment’s door, video game system, and usual items, but Madotsuki refuses to use them. The only thing left for the player to do is to climb the stairs and fling themselves from the balcony. When the player chooses to jump, Madotsuki plunges off the balcony to her death. A black screen with a small, bright red spatter appears, and the credits roll indifferently to a chipper, repeating tune.

Yume Nikki cleverly demonstrates that there is no point in the player’s interaction, or Madotsuki’s life. The sole objective, the collection of the effect items, only brings Madotsuki’s purposeless death. Madotsuki’s death is equally pathetic, because the only objective that brings purpose to the game is while Madotsuki is alive. The futility of Madotsuki’s life and death, and the futility of the player’s actions show how the lens of futility is used to send a powerful message about the game.




Schell, J. (2008) The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufman.

Snyder, P. (2013, August 10) Something out of Nothing: Nihilism and the Humanist. Retrieved from http://www.ws5.com/nihilism/


Read, C. (2008, August 10). Madotsuki's Closet - About Yume Nikki FAQ. Retrieved from http://www.theneitherworld.com/yumenikki/faq.htm


Scutilla (2008, April 29). YUME NIKKI: Game Guide and Walkthrough. Retrieved from http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/580358-yume-nikki/faqs/52629