Dreamview Weekly Roundup #31
What’s all this buzz we’re hearing about squid lately? Apparently they’re all the rage, trending on social media, getting cushy Netflix deals. Smug little cephalopods. “Oooh, look at me! I’ve got eight arms AND two tentacles!” Just attention-seeking, isn’t it.
You think “squid games” are scary? Try walking eight simultaneous miles in a spider’s shoes. You can’t go five minutes without someone screaming, crying or trying to burn their house down with you in it. Or so we’ve heard.
Why not check out a couple of “spider games” in Dreams this weekend, then? Maybe learn a little bit about arachnid culture for a change. Just a thought.
A screenshot of a realistic beach at dusk. The sky is filled with stars. On the right is a partially-submerged shipwreck.
The Great Yorkshire Coast#
by spiktikus
A playable love letter to its creator’s favourite place in the world, The Great Yorkshire Coast offers up a contemplative stroll along a rocky shoreline. The detail in this scene is astonishing - from the thin, crepe-like layers pressed through every shard of rock, to the whipped cream texture of the clouds above. It’s based on a real location, but spiktikus’ treatment of here it truly conveys the almost supernatural beauty of the natural world, as golden god rays reaching down to caress the natural archways in the cliffs, and the aching bones of a shipwreck soaking in the tide. The quasi-magical effect is heightened by an unreal player ability - being able to change the time of day with a button-press, spreading dusk and stars across the sky.
(Requires that you own Dreams)
A screenshot of a gas giant planet, Frigus Maximus. UI prompts explain the pros and cons of shooting excavated ice deposits from this planet to Firma.
TERRAFORM (BETA)#
The planet is dying, and we only have a limited amount of time to work out how humanity’s going to survive it. But enough about the real world! Escape to an alternate reality in this sci-fi resource management sim, in which the planet is dying and you only have a limited amount of time to work out how humanity’s going to survive it. Switching between planets in the solar system with L1 and R1, you have 15 minutes to ascertain how to best spend raw materials in order to transfer the population of Terra to the initially inhospitable planet that is Firma. Evan_David_90 has put careful thought into how systems interact with one another, offering safe and slow tactics alongside fast but dangerous tech - meaning each run feels meaningfully different, producing some brilliantly unexpected moments (be careful with those solar experiments, folks) and leading to nail-biting conclusions that run right down to the wire.
(Requires that you own Dreams)
A screenshot of a small spider sitting at the centre of a white web. A timeline at the bottom shows that the song has played about a third of the way through.
Little Spider’s Web#
by LaggiGa
It’s impossible not to feel sorry for this sweet little arachnid. Alone and motionless at the centre of their web, they’re accompanied by a moody minor-key tune, all sad horns and sulky synths, the plucking of each guitar string reverberating through silk. Then the light show kicks in, and LaggiGa uses colour and rhythm to draw the viewer in further, like a stunned fly caught in a tangle of notes. (Great, now we’re hungry.)
(Requires that you own Dreams)
A screenshot of a sacred shrine in the midst of a lush, rain-soaked forest. Glimmering spores hover over the ground.
Spirits Of The Sacred Shrine#
by SakkusMind
SakkusMind has produced a lot of mind-blowing environments, but this enchanted glade might just take the title of their most accomplished work yet. Inspired by the recently-released PlayStation adventure platformer Kena: Bridge Of Spirits, it combines sculpture, masterful lighting work, atmospheric sound design and animation to create a lush forest that glows viridian under falling rain. For other Dreams creators - or, indeed, curious viewers - the very best part of this creation is SakkusMind’s timelapsed, commentated footage of the 12-hour process of making it, which is absolutely crammed with pro tips (we love the simple way they create mossy rocks!) and available to watch on their YouTube channel.(opens in new tab)
(Requires that you own Dreams)
.jpg "A screenshot of a four-legged spider clinging to two black walls using its red and blue feet.")
A screenshot of a four-legged spider clinging to two black walls using its red and blue feet.
Spiders Have Four Legs#
by pierogi-boi and killakif
Another tale of arachnid woe. Will our - er, their suffering never cease? This motion controls-based caper has you using your imp to pick up and drag the spider’s sticky feet between two red and blue chequered walls, scrambling to stay aloft for as long as possible as heavy obstacles tumble down the chute. After a brief, panic-inducing countdown, a cascade of water might threaten to wash you out Incy Wincy-style; avoiding it is made even more difficult by the walls occasionally changing to a solid colour, with only red feet sticking to red walls and blue feet to blue. Yep: evil.
(Requires that you own Dreams)
Want an easy way to view all of these creations in one convenient collection? Check out the playable version of this week's Dreamview Weekly Roundup right here in Dreams!
The Dreams User Guide is a work-in-progress. Keep an eye out for updates as we add more learning resources and articles over time.