Dreamview Weekly Roundup #35

The first Friday of November is here - and we are happy to report that we are feeling much better after last month’s bizarre turn of events. The Impsider is back to its usual branding, and we’ve made a successful return to society now that we don’t feel the constant urge to wrap people up in little silk cocoons and eat them whole.

Arachnophobes will be pleased to discover that this week’s Dreamview Weekly Roundup is a return to form, too. Not a spider in sight - just vibes. Oh, and a questionable joke about abstract expressionism. Enjoy!

Corrupt Escalation (FPS)#

by Intrattackout

If you’re a Titanfall fan, you’re pretty much allergic to stopping - it’s all about maintaining momentum, speed, and that rhythmic clack of guns on metal. You’ll be thrilled, then, with Corrupt Escalation, which takes all that wall-running, hip-firing FPS goodness and places it in an endless wave defense arena that only ceases when you do. It’s excellently assembled, with four different guns to flip through on the fly (each with their own alt fire modes, including a grapple, auto-targeting and a super-charged burst). A laser-sword melee attack forces you to occasionally get up close to replenish health, while snappy mantling and parkour around a thoughtfully-designed environment allows you to escape - before plotting your next entry into the fray. The aiming is perhaps a touch too sensitive for our liking, and we’d love to see the gun-switching on bumpers instead of the D-Pad. Otherwise, this is an assured improvement on its predecessor - and non-stop fun.

CAVEBOT 997#

by Canadian__Jedi

Everywhere, stars: studded into huge, hulking vines, gripped in the mouths of alien flora, sparkling on the crystalline walls of the cavern. Through their fantastic sculpting and lighting skills, Canadian__Jedi evokes the dazzling feeling of seeing something completely alien for the very first time. Then, they bring you right back down to Earth with their delightful robot lead. It controls like a dream, springing along with convincing wonk on its mechanical legs, and sports an array of mildly useless abilities - ‘Happy Ears’ being particularly inspired. It fires off cheeky quips and dispenses nuggets of lore as you explore, finding hidden passageways and collecting data logs. It’s small, but wonderfully dense (the game, not the robot. Okay, also the robot). Most curiously, one large door remains bolted shut and daubed with a big ‘TBD’. Yes please.

Canvas Splash#

by bossman3009

Ever wanted to give a blank canvas a right Pollocking? We have a real soft spot for creators who use Dreams’ physics systems to innovate on the creative process; bossman3009 does just that with this clever painting toy. Select a colour, then use your charmingly bemittened hand to grab the pendulum and start swinging it about over the canvas. The right bumper turns the paint drips on and off, and you can change colours at any time, leading to a work of art that’s a totally unique collaboration between you and the whims of virtual gravity. Become practised enough at controlling your unusual brush, and you can even get sort of precise with what you paint. First one to recreate the Mona Lisa earns our eternal respect.

Ultimate Platformer Kit Demo#

by MitterMak

One of Dreams’ most accomplished animators has been busy lately, releasing a polished platformer starring a muffin-eating croc, as well as a delightful customisable self-caricature. But their latest release - which neatly combines elements of both of those creations - leaves us truly awestruck. It’s a playable demo area for a remixable platforming puppet, which features an exquisitely animated moveset. From double-jumping to sneaking, wall-sliding to tightrope-walking, even uppercuts and air attacks, MitterMak’s puppet (its base sculpt a charming reworking of Mm’s blue hero) is a joy to control - and easy to tweak and customise via simple sliders included in Edit Mode. This isn’t just a useful starting-point for anyone looking to make a quality platformer, however - the presentation of this demo is a riot all on its own, with chatty Infoducks allowing you to select control options while in Play Mode, and a hilarious help desk manned by MitterMak themselves that you really must experience for yourself.

Ensamey#

by Mm_pfield (and Polly)

There’s nothing quite like a four-year-old’s imagination. While Mm’s very own Peter Field has done the job of rendering a whimsical alien candyland, all amiably floating doughnuts and singing flowers, it’s his young daughter Polly who’s behind all the world design and narrative direction. Much like previous release Panis Pot, Ensamey plays the live conversation between father and child as he asks thoughtful questions about the sights and sounds of this planet, and she confidently provides the answers. The way the world changes as Polly directs perfectly illustrates the play relationship between the two, her dad’s rushing to keep up with her flights of fancy beautifully preserved: first the rainbow ghost has grey in it, she says, before it’s hastily erased again when she decides on black instead. It’s a lovely real-world moment seen through a surreal lens - and it’s an enjoyable little adventure, too. Polly, you should be very proud.

Want an easy way to view all of these creations in one convenient collection? Check out the playable verison of this week's Dreamview Weekly Roundup right here in Dreams!