Dreams Halloween Spooktacular Stream

Watch Media Molecule's Halloween Spooktacular | #DreamsPS4 from Media_Molecule on www.twitch.tv

The October Halloween themed Dreams Stream is up on twitch!

The creepy wolf / dragon / demon thing is very cool, always fun to watch something original being sculpted from start to finish. I can't tell if the blanket art style within Dreams lends itself particularly well to these kinds of cartoon creepy levels and creations, or perhaps it's just that this is what Media Molecule tend to veer towards when making things. When the game is in the hands of the general public it will be interesting to see if the majority of player content has the same vibe.

We also get to see our first (correct me if I'm wrong) animated quadruped in this video. The animation on the skeletal horse looks great! Very promising for the potential scope of what can be made in the game.

Everyone in the studio seems to be having a great time. I wonder if for players it will in general be more fun to create or play levels?!

Media Molecule October Newsletter

Mm released their October newsletter recently. They had the below to say about Halloween... I am excited for virtual pumpkin carving!

Halloween

It's Halloween and we're Media Molecule, so of COURSE we're going to get involved in the festivities! We'll be hosting our last livestream for this month on 26th October 2018 at 5PM BST. We'll be getting spooktacular in Dreams with pumpkin carving, ghoulish creations and who knows what else!

Still no word on the Beta

What is missing from the newsletter of course, and what many fans would have been hoping for, is some mention of the long-awaited open Beta testing that Media Molecule have said will begin this year. I guess we're all used enough to waiting now...

Game Informer Make A Bizarre Game With Media Molecule's Dreams

How difficult will it be to create your first game in Dreams?

We've been treated to lots of lovely videos from Game Informer over the past week or so as the team visited the Media Molecule offices to run some exclusive content on Dreams. In this video, Javy Gwaltney, Elise Favis, and Ben Hanson speak to Jeff Cork and Leo Vader about some of the stuff they created in-game.

No disrespect to the good people at Game Informer, but it's easy to see why Mm have been a little 'protective' so far when it comes to handing over the creation tools to the uninitiated. We've seen designers at Mm make all sorts of amazing things, but there aren't many videos showing what will inevitably be the opening few hours of gameplay for 99% of players... and that is to flail about helplessly drawing smiley faces in the sculpting tool, or to sit studiously copying tutorials on how to program logic. I would say this is not the best marketing material for most players (although some will obviously dig it). The hope is that the open Beta test planned for later this year will result in enough interesting content produced by genuine players, that can, in turn, be collated and showcased in an impactful way prior to the games full launch.

Why isn't Media Molecule's Dreams Out Yet? Game Informer

Media Molecule Creative Directors discuss Dreams Development

In this interview from Ben Hanson at Game Informer, Siobhan Reddy and Mark Healey talk about the unique challenges faced in developing Dreams. I love these two, they always seem so well humored. It can't be an easy job being at the helm of a studio doing something which is very risky. Siobhan describes developing Dreams as 'the ultimate Jam'. When pressed about the delay in the release, Mark reassures us that 'No one wants to get it out there more than we do.'

Diversity of Art Style in Dreams

The below images were posted on Twitter by Jon Eckersley of Media Molecule (originally shared with Game Informer). In the post, he talks about how a lot of people expect that only a certain 'painterly' style can be achieved when making art in Dreams. Jon wants to demonstrate the different possibilities with these images, which are very different in colour and tone. You can imagine both belonging to completely different games, it's amazing to think they're both from the same place!

Dreams Level Design

The moonlit cabin is more typical of the game art already released, it has that 'painterly' style mentioned by Jon. The cabin itself is rendered quite real (in its proportions for example) however the surrounding forest and starry sky are very surreal.

The below interior, although I wouldn't say it was 'hyper-real' as the assets have a very slight cartoony edge, it is very realistic in contrast to the art that has already been released. In the Twitter post comments, Jon mentions he used up 100% of the asset thermometer to create this. The posters are incredibly cool and the dusty hue of the lighting makes it look like an image out of a magazine.

Alex Evans Interview - 229 Questions About Dreams Answered!

This fun video from Ben Hanson at Game Informer sees Alex answer a barrage of sometimes silly, sometimes serious questions about Dreams. I'm glad Alex admits to joking after he says the Beta will launch on the 31st December to satisfy the promise of a 2018 release... I hope it's a little earlier than that.

Media Molecule's Dreams - 229 Rapid-Fire Questions