Dreamview Weekly Roundup #55

Another week has come and gone - which means we’re seven days closer to the next Dreams update. There’s been lots of excitement around the Dreamiverse regarding “baking”, a game-changing new feature that was demonstrated beautifully on Tuesday’s stream(otworzy się w nowej zakładce) by our very own yeasty boy, Bogdan.

Not everyone seems to have grasped the concept accurately. Still, if this version of “baking using Dreams”(otworzy się w nowej zakładce) is wrong, we’re not sure we want to be right.

But it’s not just Bogdan and TannicAlloy who’ve been hard at work this week whipping up delectable Dreams-powered stuff. Behold - five more recommendations for things to play, see and do in Dreams this weekend.

Ronin’s Path ‐ A Pirate Story#

by ChevalierBore

We love a good spinoff game ‘round these parts - it’s great to see creators take an established idea and give themselves permission to experiment with it. The Pirate Story series has traditionally been a third-person adventure (you can read more about how ChevalierBore plans the games in this article). Ronin’s Path however, presents a different angle: an isometric one. This tile-based exploration game sets you stumbling around a strange forest in search of your lost love - you only see one tile of the world at a time, moving to the next by approaching the edges. You gain points in Power and Inner Strength by studying your surroundings, collecting useful trinkets and combining them with others; summon enough Power, and you’ll be able to defeat strong enemies that block certain paths in QTE-based takedowns. The world may be small, but without a map of any kind, it’s easy to end up wandering in circles; there’s an argument to be made that it suits the atmosphere, but we occasionally find ourselves wanting a little more direction. Largely, though, the shrinking of scope from previous Pirate Story games has done wonders here: ChevalierBore and team applying their talents to a tighter concept has allowed all of the magical details to really shine.

Roaming Slumber#

by Desk_Drawer

Desk_Drawer is a real purveyor of curiosities. Remember that one 2D animation about a furious bee? It turns out they’ve been hard at work on developing their 3D interactive work as well. While Roaming Slumber’s soft pastel aesthetic and marble walkways clearly take inspiration from indie games such as Monument Valley, the twists thrown in add an entirely new layer of intrigue to this platformer. Sure, you’ll scoot past purple skies and falling stars. But there’s a striking sequence where you find yourself clambering over giant, black, velvety hands as they grasp at the crumbling architecture beneath you. Another moment sees one of the hands move suddenly, as if possessed, desperately communicating a code you need to move forward. Sleepy and unsettling all at once, this odd little apocalypse might just keep you up at night.

Advanced Shop Logic#

by Lewdog13579

Logicians! You are all unknowably smart. How do your minds even work? Sometimes we just want to crack your heads open like a Creme Egg and suck out all of the sugary genius goo. (What? That’s a compliment, not a threat.) Here’s Lewdog13579 with a neatly-packed bit of logic with which you can add an item shop to your games for players to use. We’ve linked the gadgetry itself with the buttons below, but you can check out this dream to see it in action in a short demo featuring none other than Ancient Dangers: A Bat’s Tale’s Herb. Buy things! Sell other things! Perform the charade that is capitalism!

Writer’s Solitude#

by carolinacsdemc

Ah, if only. Too many emails. Anyway, enough (sort of) jokes - more on this thoughtfully-designed walking sim. It’s actually the creation of a student of the IADE graduate programme in Portugal. The concept? Struggling scribe Frederick returns to the family estate in an attempt to get past a nasty case of writer’s block, hoping recalling memories of the past will help him finish his work. While the building blocks of this game are basic, the design chops behind it are evident: the idea of tying the theme of ‘writer’s block’ to a looping level you must break out of is clever stuff. Most impressive, however, is how carolinacsdemc manages to communicate the correct memories to the player in subtle ways: the “glass tree” hint, for instance, encourages you to think about a more ordinary object from a child’s perspective. Push through the block for some fantastic visual rewards: the finale scenes take a wonderfully deconstructionist turn.

Noguchi’s Bell: Episode 2#

by Cyber_Sheep_Film, KeldBjones, gauffreman, kollwitzer, BumbleBurke, Robo_Killer_v2, Hackjaz, TheTurtleKing514, shandyboy1975, Zanctinian, SuperCatchyName, ArghostCentral, byvsen, MultiverseDreams, ce_lew_is, SSGTSOULE, IansaneArtist, Psyko_Dad, DreamsHorizon, TAPgiles, arseny3D, SakkusMind, thrjoker594, Canadian__Jedi and Denjo92

Fifteen new collaborators, fourteen months, several high-profile appearances and one highly successful crowdfunding effort later, the second episode of Noguchi’s Bell has finally arrived. It’s worth the wait: once again, CyberSheepFilm and their collaborators continue to deliver animation of astonishingly high quality. The first episode (our full review of which you can read here) brought our hero to his mentor and sets up the main quest. This latest instalment takes time to introduce some new characters - a couple of standout examples being the kappas and a cyber-gunslinger voiced by Mm’s very own Mark Healey - and even briefly visits the past to reveal more about the tragedy inspiring the young ronin’s quest. From the fluidity of both human and creature movement, the snappy quips and considered cinematography, to the epic score and beyond, it’s clear this international team has every intention of seeing through this ambitious project in style.

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!(otworzy się w nowej zakładce)