Dreamview Weekly Roundup #94

Boom! It's Friday - it's Roundup time. What? Did you think we were going to take the week off from scouring the Dreamiverse for some artisanal picks for you to peruse after delivering the 4th Annual Impy Awards? How very dare you. Yes, the Impys may have come and gone for another year but the Roundups, as ever, continue on as we march unflinchingly towards the slow heat death of the universe...

Nah, but for real: we'd like to wish a huge congratulations to all the nominees and winners of this year's Impys, and extend that love to all the denizens of the Dreamiverse. The Impys may be the most special event in Dreams, but thanks to you, we get to celebrate the wonders of the Dreamiverse every week. In this week's smorgasboard of digital delights, we have; virtual flower gardens, post-apoclayptic mechs, and possibly the hungriest worm of all time. Get dunked on, Very Hungry Caterpillar.

In Bloom#

by tony1979

Estimated playtime: N/A

It's time for a floral fiesta: In Bloom is a gorgeous audio visualiser experience where planting flowers is as easy as pressing . Utilising the Dualshock motion sensor to manouvere the onscreen cursor, flowers bloom in your virtual footsteps as you leave beautiful trails of leafage in your wake. Within seconds, you can bring a whole host of foliage to your PlayStation; it's a lovely reminder of the power of nature, and how we should all be looking to fill the world with more flowers. Though a simple concept, there's something immediately pleasing about seeing flowers popping up under your control and filling a blank environment with vivid colours and shapes. Also, we weren't able to do this, but if you're way more skilled than us, you might be able to actually draw your own pictures using the flowers you plant. All we managed to create was a large blob. A very colourful blob, mind you, but a blob nonetheless. C'est la vie.

The Adventures of Superworm: Tales of Wormingham#

by DEMARAE_

Estimated playtime: 6 minutes

Bugs have it easy, right? All they do is spend their lives underground in the dark, chilling and munching on whatever detritus they can find. If, like us, you've always wanted to tap into your inner worm, then DEMARAE_ has your back, as they've created a worm simulator for the ages. The Adventures of Superworm tasks you with cleaning up after those terrible humans with a 6 minute time limit; eating their discarded apple cores, biodegradable takeaway boxes, and... watering the plants? We weren't aware worms had the opposable thumbs required for that sort of task, but nature be trippy, we suppose.

This creation is also a notable departure from DEMARAE_'s usual Dreamiverse fare. Instead of crafting higly detailed versions of UK landmarks, they've created a lavish layered playground for your worm alter ego to explore. Even though this isn't a stunningly accurate recreation of Enfield high street, the Britishness of this piece shines through, with dialogue such as, "This soil's drier than me mum's Victoria Sponge". For anyone that's not aware of the trauma that can come with eating a dry Victoria Sponge, just know that we wouldn't wish that on anyone. If you know, you know.

Android 8.15#

by willow_the_bob

Estimated playtime: N/A

This... this is a photo, right? We're looking at a photo of this person. Yeah, we must be. Wait. It's not? mind implodes

Sorry about that. Now that we've reassembled the shattered bits of our collective hivemind, let's properly appreciate this incredible showcase of facial tech and animation skills for what it is. willow_the_bob is no stranger to creating some wonderfully creative animation in Dreams, and they've done it again with this impressive design of an android. Not only is this wonderfully realistic, but it's also fully animated, letting you move and manipulate different parts of the android face to discover the varied range of emotions on offer. The way the eyelids flicker, the mouth movements, smile lines, and other features are all absolutely on point. What's particularly impressive is the attention to detail when trying to make this character look human; adding asymmetrical features like differently sized ears shows that this creator wanted to go beyond making a perfect robotic aesthetic. But no matter how wonky the ears, we welcome our robot overlords.

Photosynthesis#

by Todu

Estimated playtime: N/A

Hmm. We seem to have accidentally picked a few nature-themed creations this week. But when they're as good as this, who could blame us? Photosynthesis is a beautiful piece of Dreamiverse artwork that relies on muted colours and geometric shapes to create a calming image. With a central tree grabbing your attention in the foreground, and the hills stretching off into the horizon, this feels like the kind of place you would go to for a digital detox; switching off your phones and game consoles to just relax. Except, er, this is in the Dreamiverse, so that might pose a challenge...

Regardless, if a place this existed IRL, we'd go and hike those triangular hills in a heartbeat. Accompanied by a soothing melody, this tranquil creation was made completely using the square fleck and text gadgets, which makes it even more mind-boggingly impressive that it's able to evoke such an emotional response.

Water Hoopz#

by SPINEBLOOD

Estimated playtime: Replayable

Hands up if you ever had games like this when you were a child? No, not a video game. An actual physical toy that you played with using your grubby mitts? Just us? Jeez, we're old. Deftly side-stepping questions about our age for a moment, we're impressed with SPINEBLOOD's recreation of one such childhood toy, in all of its ring tossing joy. Encased in container of mystery liquid, pressing or flings the hoops around left or right respectively, with the aim of getting them onto the spikes in the middle. Yeah, okay, it all sounds very easy, until you're tearing your hair out at the unpredictability of the suspicious fluid inside the toy. Yet that follicle-ripping frustration isn't the only aspect of the experience that SPINEBLOOD has managed to capture, as the physics are also spot on, meaning the tactile feeling of playing with a child's toy has been replicated with alarming accuracy. But the most pleasing thing of all is the design of the little froggy casing that really tops off this delightful slice of nostalgia, with its expressive, cleverly tutorialising eyes and little rosy cheeks.

Check out the playable edition of this week's Dreamview Weekly Roundup right here in Dreams!

Which creations caught your eye in the Dreamiverse this week, and why? Tell us about your personal picks over on the official Dreams forums!(opens in new tab)