Are you dreaming of creating your own video game, but you don't have a fat wallet or programming skills? Media Molecule studio is here to help, providing an amazing creation tool. Thanks to Dreams, you will design games or even animations, and then present your creations to the world. Unfortunately, there were some limitations.
Become a dreamer
The British studio is famous for its creative ideas, as evidenced by the Little Big Planet series . Sackboy’s Adventures are not only addictive platformers, but also a tool for creating your own levels. It was a kind of foretaste of what was to come with the appearance of a new project in the form of Dreams . Those willing could try their hand at the premiere a few months before the premiere by purchasing early access. The game was later updated to the final version without any additional fees.
The beginning of the amazing adventure begins with games prepared by game developers and numerous tutorials, presenting the possibilities that will be opened in front of us in an accessible way. All activities are accompanied by a nice imp, mainly serving as a specific cursor. We are able to design breathtaking animations, detailed 3D objects, and most importantly – full-fledged games. There is no point in creating high-budget productions, but independent titles are within the reach of your hands and imagination. How to do it all?
We have at our disposal a multitude of ready-made elements that we can use, edit, combine or create something completely from scratch in almost any way. We are talking about all aspects of graphics, animations, as well as full sound. What type of productions will we build? The first ones from the shore are platformers, shooters, races and various adventures. There are also films, presentations or even short films.
Some projects can amaze with their ingenuity and quality of workmanship
Dreams and nightmares
Unfortunately, there’s a small catch, and actually a few. For example, we are limited to some extent by memory, which diminishes with each detail. This means that you can’t let your imagination run wild completely, creating a cavernous land with lots of detail, like Skyrim. However, don’t worry – what has been shared with us should be more than enough in most cases. The levels can be large, you only need to control the number of elements they contain, which is reminded by a special indicator.
The next thing is control. When navigating and editing objects on the map, we use the pad movement functions (optionally with PS Move), as well as analog knobs and a touch panel. At first it is troublesome and unintuitive, which makes creation difficult and a bit discouraging. Of course, with time everyone will get used to it, but it is not, contrary to appearances, trivial to master. Fortunately, the controls can be customized according to your preferences.
The first hours spent trying to create something meaningful can be frustrating and tiring for some people. It’s easy to get lost in a tangle of options whose number and complexity can overwhelm you. Despite this, every minute I felt that I was learning something new, gaining experience and gradually improving my skills. As time passed, I felt more and more satisfaction – also from slow progress.
After I got familiar with the numerous tutorials and mastered the controls, I started taking my first steps in being a home-grown game developer by trial and error. Of course, at the beginning most of my achievements were unimpressive, but I still felt genuine pride and motivation to continue. Nevertheless, the development process is not entirely accessible to a layman and requires many days to learn all the rules and functions. Therefore, I do not recommend this title to the youngest or impatient recipients. Everything else will probably stay on the console for months, maybe even years.
Dreams allows you to create amazing things, but it takes time and self-denial
The strength of the community
In Dreams could not miss the developed system of community, which is undoubtedly one of its driving forces. Players share valuable comments and ratings that bring the best things to the fore. Thematic sessions (e.g. love or a medieval fairy tale) in the form of competitions are also a nice diversification, triggering a creative brainstorming session. The works of others often inspire and greatly motivate to further work, because they are living proof of what miracles can be created by breaking down new – potential – borders.
If you don’t have an artistic flair or developed art skills, it’s not lost. You can safely use the “ready-made” ideas previously invented by experienced dreamers or remix their works. All you need is a rich imagination and interesting ideas that you will transfer to the digital world, based on ready-made elements. What is extremely important – artists whose works have enriched someone else’s projects are marked in them. Therefore, everyone will be duly appreciated.
In addition to original ideas, we come across convincing and faithful interpretations, as well as clones of famous hits. I had the pleasure of checking out intriguingly promising games, modeled on brands such as Dead Space , Fallout , Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy and Crash Bandicoot . As you can see, Dreams is not only a powerful creation tool, but also a platform that provides dozens of playable positions, and thanks to hardworking developers, their number is constantly growing. It is impossible to describe in words all the incredible creations that you come across here – it is a must see.
A large and extremely creative community is Dreams’ strong point
A little revolution
The potential of this production is huge, and Media Molecule studio is to constantly support and develop their child, to whom they have already given a piece of their heart. In the future, VR support is planned, among others. In the eyes of my imagination, I can already see how I visit the majestic places born in the minds of players from all over the world. The multiplayer mode and backward compatibility on PlayStation 5 were also mentioned.
The growing and more artistically prolific community is also happy, sharing its achievements and knowledge on various social networking sites. Every now and then there is some new content waiting for us, and often it is something wonderful. By the way, Dreams is slowly becoming something similar to YouTube. Only that it is virtually free of toxic regulars.
Of course, there will also be shortcomings on some levels, for example in the context of artificial intelligence or animation fluidity. Nevertheless, the program is to be constantly improved, so you can expect optimization and correction of most of the shortcomings. How will it be? Will you find a little self-denial and patience? Are you creative and have many intriguing ideas in your head? Start dreaming and sharing your dreams! Dreams is the perfect place for you.
