Dreams (video game)

Dreams is a game creation system developed by Media Molecule and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4, which released on 14 February 2020. It includes Art's Dream, a game developed in Dreams by said company,[1] with access to other games and user-generated content. Players can create user-generated content in the form of fully-fledged games, mechanics, assets, sculptures, music, and art, which can be shared or remixed to be used in others' creations.

For the PlayStation port of the 1997 video game, see Dreams to Reality.

Dreams
Developer(s)Media Molecule
Publisher(s)Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s)Mark Healey
Designer(s)
  • Mark Healey
  • John Beech
  • Christophe Villedieu
  • Steve Belcher
Programmer(s)
Artist(s)
  • Kareem Ettouney
  • Francis Pang
  • Jon Eckersley
  • Emilie Stabell
EngineBubbleBath
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
Release14 February 2020
Genre(s)Game creation system
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

In Dreams, players control an "imp", which is used to interact with the game's world and interface like a mouse cursor, create new items and characters, and manipulate objects by grabbing and pulling them.[2] Players move the imp by moving and rotating the DualShock 4 or PlayStation Move controllers.[3] The imp is customizable, and can possess characters featured in a dream, allowing players to take direct control of these characters.[4][2]

Accessibility is a priority for Media Molecule with Dreams. The goal is to make Dreams more accessible so as many people with as many different requirements as possible are able to play.[5] For instance, non-motion controls for controlling the imp have been implemented using the analog sticks.

Dreams consists of six main sections: DreamSurfing, DreamShaping, Highlights, Profile, Community Jam, and Homespace. It also features a game made in Dreams by Media Molecule known as Art's Dream.[6]

DreamSurfing

DreamSurfing can be thought of as the traditional "play" section where a player can browse "Dreams" that have been made and published to the "Dreamiverse" by other players, or as the game calls them, "Dreamers". These Dreams can be for example games to play, audiovisual experiences, and showcases of Elements such as sculptures and art to view and music to listen to.[7] Many Dreams contain collectable "Prize Bubbles" which unlock Elements for players to use in their own creations, functioning similarly to Prize Bubbles in the LittleBigPlanet series.

DreamSurfing is divided into playlists of different kinds of Dreams, such as "Mm Picks", "New Trending Dreams", and "New Recommendations For You".[8] At the top of the page there are banners with Dreams-related news and videos.[9] Art's Dream can be found in this section. Players can give feedback on a Dream by giving it a "thumbs up" or leaving a comment. There is an option called "Autosurf" that presents the user with random Dreams to play within a playlist.

DreamShaping

DreamShaping is the "create" section where players can create and publish games, audio-visual experiences and showcases known as "Dreams", as well as "Scenes", the connected environments and levels that make up Dreams,[2] "Elements", the various assets that make up Scenes,[10] and "Collections", sortable groups of Dreams, Scenes, Elements and other Collections.

Edit Mode

"Edit Mode" is the editor for scenes and elements. In Edit Mode, there are several modes available for creation,[11][12] including:

  • Assembly Mode, which lets users design Scenes using Elements and Gadgets.
  • Sculpt Mode, which lets users create and edit 3D models.
  • Paint Mode, which lets users create and edit art using 3D strokes.
  • Coat Mode, which lets users change the color, glow and finish of sculptures and paintings.
  • Style Mode, which lets users manipulate the particles or "Flecks" that make up sculptures and paintings.
  • Effects Mode, which lets users add animated effects to Flecks.
  • Sound Mode, which lets users manipulate sound effects, music, instruments and voiceover.
  • Test Mode, which lets users grab and possess while changing tweak menus.
  • Update Mode, which lets users manage updates to Elements in their Scene.
  • Photo Mode, which lets users take photos and save them to their profile.

Each mode has many tools which can be used to manipulate Scenes and Elements. In Assembly Mode, users can quickly search the Dreamiverse for pre-made Elements and stamp them in their Scene.[10] In Assembly Mode and Sound Mode, there are also many "Gadgets" available which can be used for logic, animation, lighting, sound, global settings, and more.[13] Gadgets can be linked to other Gadgets and items such as sculptures using wires. In Dreams, Gadgets essentially form the gaming logic and game mechanics. Users can publish their creations online to the "Dreamiverse" for others to play or experience, and optionally they can make it re-mixable which allows other creators to use it in their creations, build upon it or tweak it. Cooperative multiplayer is featured in the game, allowing players to create and manipulate their creations together.[14]

Dreams Workshop

The Dreams Workshop is a menu in DreamShaping where users can find step-by-step tutorials, how-to videos, and masterclasses from artists at Media Molecule.

Highlights

The Highlights menu gives users quick access to useful and important parts of the game such as Media Molecule creations, tutorials, how-to videos, Creative Imp Quests, update information and more.

Profile

The Profile menu shows and lets users customise what other people will see when they are viewing the user's profile. It also lets users view their own creations, Level, "Aura" and Imp quests, and customise their Imp.

Aura and Persona

Every Dreamer has an Aura, a symbol that changes color and shape based on the user's Level and "Persona". A Persona is a label that indicates what users do the most in Dreams. A Persona is unlocked when a user reaches level 5, and each Persona has a different color. Once an user reaches level 15, their Persona can gain another label called a "current passion", which is based on what the user has been spending time doing recently. Personas can help Dreamers find other Dreamers with certain skillsets to collaborate with.

Imp Customisation

An user can customise their Imp in the Imp customisation menu, which can be accessed in the user's Profile. The menu has three different sections. The user can find the Imps they've collected in the "Imp Carousel" page. On the "Imp Surprise" page, the user can find unique Imps with random attributes from the Imps they've collected. The user can save a limited number of Imps from the Imp Carousel and Imp Surprise pages and they'll appear in the "My Imps" page. New Imps can be collected by completing Imp Quests.

Community Jam

Community Jam is a themed contest, where creators create content based on a theme, for example "Spring Season" and "Pirates", and others vote on their favourites.[15] The winners and runners-up get a badge on their creation's page. There is a new Community Jam with a new theme every few weeks, for example "Spring Season" and "Pirates".

Homespace

The Homespace is a Scene that functions as an in-game hub and a starting point from which the main menu and Imp Quests can be accessed, similar to the Pod in the LittleBigPlanet series. In the Homespace Editor there is a limited version of Edit Mode, where players can manipulate and personalise the Homespace using Elements made by Media Molecule.

Imp Quests

Imp Quests are the in-game achievements which can be viewed from the Homespace, Profile, DreamSurfing and DreamShaping. Completing them can earn a variety of rewards, including XP, Elements, and Imps. Many Imp Quests also unlock PlayStation Trophies when completed. Users can view other users' Imp Quests in the other users' Profiles.

There are four different kinds of Imp Quests: Guided Imp Quests, One-Shot Imp Quests, Tiered Imp Quests, Creative Imp Quests. Guided Imp Quests are step-by-step tutorials that teach players the basics of using the free camera and Edit Mode. Some Guided Imp Quests must be completed before the player can unlock their own Homespace or Edit Mode. One-Shot Imp Quests are completed once and then done, while Tiered Imp Quests have multiple steps, each with a different reward. Creative Imp Quests have multiple steps and involve creating and publishing Scenes using Media Molecule's different Game Creation Kits, as well as interacting with other creations made for the same Creative Imp Quests.

Plot

Since Dreams is a collection of games and art, the majority of which are user-generated, Dreams cannot be considered as having a single plot since most story-based Dreams have separate plots.

Dreams itself takes place in the Dreamiverse, a surreal universe made out of dreams and ideas. The Dreamiverse is presided by the Dream Queen, a being who helps the player learn about each aspect of Dreams. New players use the Dream Queen's Homespace before unlocking their own. The Dreamiverse is also inhabited by the Architect and Designer, two experts who teach the player about DreamShaping through in-game tutorials, and Imps, the player-controlled creatures who manipulate objects and possess characters.[16] Every creation in Dreams exists in the Dreamiverse, and the term "Dreamiverse" also refers to the catalogue of creations available for players to browse and use in their own creations.

Art's Dream

Media Molecule's game Art's Dream is the most substantial of the games available at launch, and although it can be considered the main campaign of the game, it is less central to Dreams than most other games' campaigns. The plot in Art's Dream "follows a former jazz musician Art as he dreams about his life, past and present, and realises he needs to make amends with his fellow bandmates. The journey takes him through a series of dream-like situations involving him and a whole cast of wonderful fantasy characters, such as D-Bug, a helpful little robot with an electric personality and Frances, a hammer wielding teddy bear."[17]

Art's Dream follows three connected stories: The Dream Gardens, The Blues City, and The Meridian Forest. Each story has a different genre as well as different characters, visuals, music and gameplay. They each relate to different parts of Art's mind and connect to the past, present and future respectively. All three stories converge at the end of the game. Throughout Art's Dream, the Imp is used to interact with the world and possess characters. The game also has many prize bubbles to be collected, letting players make their own creations with the elements used in Art's Dream.

Development
Alex Evans, one of the game's two technical directors
Kareem Ettouney, art director
Mark Healey, creative director

Dreams was developed by Media Molecule, who previously developed LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway. Similar to LittleBigPlanet, the game's main focuses are "play, create, share". They aimed to merge the three aspects into one experience without separating them. Alex Evans and David Smith are the two technical directors;[18][19] Mark Healey and Kareem Ettouney are creative director and art director respectively.[20][21] Dreams uses the BubbleBath engine,[22] a custom engine that renders objects with particles called "Flecks" rather than polygons. The engine was named by the community.[22]

The game relies heavily on the community; Evans said that the game would be "defined" by players instead of the developer.[23] To help new players get into the game, a story campaign is featured to help players adapt to the gameplay mechanics.[23] Siobhan Reddy, studio director, added that the campaign is used to kickstart a community, and creation is the primary goal of the game.[24]

According to Evans, one of Media Molecule's goals is to reinvent creativity. As a result, they re-imagined Dreams into something as simple as sketching.[18] This led the game to feature an impressionist art-style and implement the PlayStation Move motion-based controller.[25] Many art styles and technical solutions were attempted before arriving at the final style and solution.[26] The team used dreams as the game's setting, as they believed that it allows players to have their own styles, and inspires players to create something "artistic" and "incredible".[24]

At Gamescom 2012, Media Molecule announced that they were working on two different projects, with one being Tearaway.[27] Dreams was revealed at PlayStation Meeting 2013, with Evans showing a technical demo onstage, involving three people creating an in-game band.[28] A teaser for the game was released in July 2014.[29] The game was officially announced at Sony Interactive Entertainment's press conference at E3 2015.[30] A beta for the game was originally set to be released in 2016, however, it was delayed to 2017 and then to 2018.[31] The game was made available via early access on 16 April 2019, a first for a Sony game, before being officially released on 14 February 2020.[32][33] An update that added support for PlayStation VR was announced on 30 June 2020 and was released on 22 July 2020.[34] Online multiplayer is set to be released for the game sometime post-launch.[35]

Reception

Dreams received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.[36]

Awards
YearAwardCategoryResultRef(s).
2018 Game Critics Awards Best Original Game Won [51]
Best Console Game Nominated
Best Family/Social Game Nominated
2018 Golden Joystick Awards Most Wanted Game Nominated [52]
2019 Gamescom Best Family Game Nominated [53][54]
Most Original Game Won
Best PlayStation 4 Game Won
Best of Gamescom 2019 Won
2019 Golden Joystick Awards PlayStation Game of the Year Nominated [55]
2020 NAVGTR Awards Engineering Won [56][57]
Game, Special Class Won
MCV/Develop Awards Visual Innovation of the Year Nominated [58][59]
Audio Innovation of the Year Nominated
Gameplay Innovation of the Year Won
The Game Awards 2020 Best VR/AR Nominated [60]

References
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