Programmer(s) Alex Evans Developer Media Molecule | Genre(s) Sandbox Platform PlayStation 4 | |
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Artist(s) Alex Evans
Kareem Ettouney Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment Directors Mark Healey, Siobhan Reddy Modes Single-player video game, Multiplayer video game Similar Media Molecule games, Other games | ||
Dreams is an upcoming sandbox video game developed by Media Molecule and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The game puts focuses on 'play, create and share', and allows players to create user-generated content.
Contents
Gameplay
In Dreams, players control an "imp", which is used to interact with the game's world, create new items and characters, and manipulate objects by grabbing and pulling them. Players move the imp by using the DualShock 4 or PlayStation Move controllers. The imp is customizable, and players can change the emotion of the imp by drawing on the controller's touchpad. The imp has the ability to possess characters featured in a dream, allowing players to take direct control of these characters.
Dreams's levels are separated by different segments known as "dreams", and these dreams are connected by different gateways such as doors. Players encounter different puzzles in the game, which must be solved by using the abilities of the imp and the possessed characters, as well as the objects players retrieved in a dream. Items collected by players can be used to alter and modify the state of the game's world.
Players can create their own levels in the game by using custom and pre-built objects. Players can then share their completed levels online. Cooperative multiplayer is also featured in the game, allowing players to create and manipulate their custom dreams together.
Development
Dreams is being developed by Media Molecule, who had previously developed LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway. Similar to LittleBigPlanet, the game's main focuses are "play, create, share". They aimed to merged the three aspects together into one experience without separating them. The game will rely heavily on the community, as technical director Alex Evans said that the game will be "defined" by players instead of the developer. In order to help new players get into the game, a story campaign is featured to help players adapt to the gameplay mechanics. Siobhan Reddy, the game's director, added that the campaign is used to kickstart a community, and creation is the primary goal of the game.
One of Media Molecule's goals is to reinvent creativity according to Evans. As a result, they re-imagined the game into something as simple as sketching. This led the game to feature an impressionist art-style and implement the PlayStation Move motion-based controller. 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".
At Gamescom 2012, Media Molecule announced that they were working on two different projects, with one being Tearaway. The game was revealed at PlayStation Meeting 2013, with Evans showing a technical demo onstage, involving three people creating an in-game band. A teaser for the game was released in July 2014. The game was officially announced at Sony Computer Entertainment's press conference at the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo. A beta for the game was originally set to be released in 2016, but has now been pushed to 2017.