Yume Nikki

Yume Nikki (ゆめにっき, lit. Dream Diary) is a walking simulator made in RPG Maker 2003 by Japanese developer KIKIYAMA-HP. Released in June 26, 2004, and last updated in October 6, 2007, Yume Nikki stars Madotsuki, a hikikomori who explores surreal locations and encounters bizarre creatures and imagery through her dream world. The goal of the game is to explore Madotsuki's dreamscape and collect 24 'Effects'.

The game otherwise has no explicit plot, and is open to interpretation and head canons. Some of these have been parodied by /t/.

Yume Nikki is regarded as one of the most original and groundbreaking entries done on RPG Maker, and spawned a new genre of games denominated "walking simulators". Among those, are 'fangames', which try to mimic Yume Nikki's concept of exploring dream worlds and putting a spin on it.

In 2018, publisher Playism released the game on Steam, followed by a remake/reimagining by KADOKAWA titled Yume Nikki: Dream Diary

Uboachan is named after the titular "Uboa" character from Yume Nikki. Since it's a Yume Nikki fansite/imageboard, many of the culture adheres to it and other RPGMaker titles.

Release & Reception
Originally being little known, Yume Nikki gained popularity over time in 2ch, and later gained following outside the Japanese web when an unofficial English translation was made. 4chan /jp/ discovered the game soon after, and contributed to various material and content that still lingers in Uboachan to this day, which was also created soon after the game's discovery.

Uboa
Uboa is the character that Uboachan was titled after. Considered by some the mascot of Yume Nikki, Uboa appears in an RNG event and jumpscares the player, leading to a warped and messed up area. Many players consider this encounter very memorable. Did you know that Undertale's W.D Gaster is pretty much a 1:1 copy of Uboa?

Downloads
Yume Nikki 0.10 English

Yume Nikki 0.10 Japanese

Yume Nikki 0.10 Japanese Bugfix

Yume Nikki Steam Version