More trickles of VR news for Media Molecule’s Dreams this week; the studio has confirmed that PSVR support won’t be included in the upcoming beta for the game, at least at first.
Studio Director Siobhan Reddy confirmed as much in a recent edition of the Game Informer Show. When asked if PSVR support would be featured in the beta, Reddy simply replied: “Not initially, no.”
The developer did reaffirm that the beta is arriving this year and is aware of the fact that that’s not a very big window. From the sounds of it, PSVR support could be added in later down the line, but we do know it’ll at least be in the full release from day one. There also won’t be online multiplayer support in the beta but couch-based co-op will be in.
Elsewhere, Creative Director Mark Healey explained that Move controllers will be available as a way to play in VR, whereas they’re relegated to the creator mode when playing on flatscreen. “At the moment the Move controllers are really for create mode,” Healey said. “We have got a play mode in there, it’s a testing thing, but I think what we’ll do is we’ll release all the functionality that lets you fully wire up the Move controllers when we do the VR job, I think.”
The team also suggested that it may look into social screen functionality, which outputs a different image to the connected TV for others not in VR to watch and even interact with. “We’ve got more work to do on the VR so that’s maybe one of the things we should look at,” Healey said. “That’s a thing with Sony VR in particular, so that could be quite cool.”
Finally, it was also confirmed that a PSVR developer is already working on content for Dreams, but we don’t yet know who that is.
We probably won’t be playing Dreams in VR this year, then, but fingers crossed we’ll be able to dive in in early 2019.
Media Molecule, the creators of LittleBigPlanet (2008) and Tearaway (2013), have been working on their upcoming game/game-creation tool Dreams for PS4 for the past few years, and although we knew PSVR support was destined to come someday, as first announced at Paris Games Week 2015, we weren’t sure if PSVR users would get the chance to play at launch. Now, the studio reveals, PSVR owners can definitely count on day one support.
In an interview with Game Informer, Media Molecule co-founder Alex Evans revealed that Dreams is definitely going to be compatible at launch with PSVR—something reports contended for some time now, but Media Molecule was reticent to confirm.
Outside of the initial game, Dreams will also allow users to create games and experiences that can then be published, and summarily played and judged by other users—something like Super Mario Maker (2016), but with the ability to create 2D and 3D games and experiences.
Image courtesy Media Molecule
There’s likely to be a cap on the level complexity though for PSVR though, as the headset requires apps to run at least at 60 fps (reprojected to 120) to maintain a comfortable experience. Evans says in the interview that Dreams, on PS4 and PS4 Pro, can run at 60 fps, although larger, more complex scenes will knock it down to 30 fps, pointing to an obvious bottleneck for PSVR.
There’s also going to be a very Mario Maker-style submission system especially for PSVR users, as Evans says creators will have to be able to finish the games and levels they make themselves in order to publish.
Dreams is getting a beta,which Evans says will launch sometime this year, although it’s uncertain if PSVR support will be included. Although still scheduled for release in 2018, the official launch date is still TBA.
Despite the length of time the title has been in development, it is still quite difficult to pin down exactly what Dreams is. Media Molecule have said that the title will feature a full single-player campaign as well as a ‘create mode’ which is sure to be the real draw. Despite delays, the developer say that Dreamsis still set for a Beta release later this year.
Dreams is set to be an exclusive for the PlayStation 4, complete with PlayStation VR compatibility. The title has been in development for almost six years, with some reports showing the development team having difficulty realising the ambitious project.
In a Q&A session with Game Informer, Media Molecule confirmed that Dreams was currently in schedule for a Beta release later this year. In addition, users experimenting with the create mode in the Beta will be able to carry over their creations to the full release.
The PlayStation VR compatibility was originally reported as being part of a post-launch release, though later indications showed it would be integrated into the launch version. Media Molecule confirmed that PlayStation VR compatibility would be included from launch.
So far, only the Create Mode has been confirmed to have PlayStation VR support, with no word on if the Single Player campaign will also be available in VR. The studio did say that keyboard support would be included, though not mouse support.
Undoubtedly the biggest draw for Dreams is the game creation engine that will let players devise and explore their own VR worlds. There are also planned options that will let players share their creations with the online community, similar to one of Media Molecule’s previous titles, Little Big Planet.
Dreams is expected to be released some time in 2019. Further news on Dreams and other upcoming VR titles will be here on VRFocus.
I know I might be sounding like a bit of a broken record at this point but I’ve been anxious to confirm that Media Molecule’s Dreams really is coming to PSVR when it launches on PS4. Thankfully the developer just reassured that that is indeed the case.
Media Molecule’s Alex Evans confirmed as much in this pretty brilliant 229 rapid-fire questions video from Game Informer as part of its month-long coverage for the game. Not only that, but the developer revealed that, in order to keep VR comfortable, people making levels for Sony’s headset will have to complete those levels themselves before they can publish them.
“That idea from Mario Maker where you have to complete the level? We’ll take that for VR, so if you want to push up a VR game, you’ll have to try it in VR,” he said.
In terms of framerate, Evans also said that the game runs “as far as it can”, though we obviously expect there to be certain standards for VR levels to hit. Online multiplayer also won’t be included from day one, but local creation will. We wonder if PSVR users and flatscreen players will be able to work together somehow?
Dreams is essentially a gamified game engine that allows players to make their very own playable content. We’ve written ad nauseam about how it could be PSVR’s most important games. Look for a beta to roll out later this year, though no word yet if that will support VR.
A few months ago I said that Dreams could well be PSVR’s most important game on the horizon. Now that I’ve finally had the chance to play just a slither of it, I’m ready to put my money where my mouth is and slam my foot down on the hyperbole pedal; Dreams is the most important PSVR game on the horizon, and maybe the most exciting project in the entire industry right now.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on September 24th, 2018.
Granted, I still haven’t seen it in VR (and there’s much to learn about its integration) but even just the handful of developer-made demos on display on traditional screens at EGX this year were varied and captivating enough to convince me of that statement. Dreams is a 3D world builder; it allows you to create not just your own characters, environments and enemies but also the rules, objectives and mechanics of your game. It simultaneously makes any player a game developer and also an explorer in what is essentially a self-contained metaverse.
Within five minutes of playtime, for example, I’d flown across the stars in a space dogfighting experience, ventured through a gorgeous alien world as an electrified bug and even relived the days of text-based adventuring with a simple callback to a forgotten genre. The breadth of experiences here suggest the creation tools are versatile enough to put real agency in the player’s hands, not just mechanically but emotionally too. A 30-second game in which you try to hug people surrounding you as they back away might not be technically complicated, for example, but it does scratch at the deeper empathetic possibilities of the platform.
Crucially, moreso than any Media Molecule game before it, there’s authenticity to Dreams’ worlds. That alien planet, for example, is filled with lush vegetation, contrasted by huge metal doors that fade away when struck. A 2D platformer, meanwhile, is lovingly applied with a hand-drawn art style that makes it unlike anything else in the collection. The ability to create your own objects using the position-tracked controls of either the DualShock 4 or PlayStation Move controllers lets you create truly unique assets and not just the materialized Frankenstein’s monsters of LittleBigPlanet. No wooden enemy attack dogs moving on wheels can be seen here (unless you want to make them).
If you’re familiar with Tilt Brush, Quill, Medium or other VR creation tools, you’ll know just what’s possible with these kinds of platforms. The thought of pairing that system with an integrated game development engine has my head spinning with possibilities.
Speaking with Media Molecule staff at the show, I was intrigued to learn that the team isn’t hoping to just attract gamers and aspiring developers to this new platform but also musicians and other kinds of artists, too. The team really does see this as a platform launch in its own right, and one that speaks to a wide range of people. Personally, I’m excited to see what can be done on the NPC side of VR. If I’m able to make my very own virtual characters and look and feel convincing, Dreams is going to be something truly special.
The key to Dreams is going to be accessibility, though. If its creation engine is just as complicated as, say, Unity, then what’s the point? I’ve enjoyed messing around with animation options in the likes of Oculus Quill, for example, but they’re ultimately a little too complicated to really empower anyone that puts on the headset. Media Molecule really needs to nail this aspect if Dreams is going to be truly embraced by the VR community.
And then there is, of course, the question of what VR support actually looks like for the game. In the past the developer has made it seem like we’ll be able to create VR-specific content and we’re hoping that’s still the case. With such potential on display, it’d be a real shame to learn that VR support has been cut back to another smaller tie-in mode as we’ve seen other PSVR titles resort to in the past.
Media Molecule is currently planning to run a beta for Dreams this year, although it likely won’t support PSVR. Hopefully the full release will follow in 2019 with VR support at the ready.
It is quite difficult to know exactly how to describe Dreams. Similar to one of Media Molecule’s previous titles, Little Big Planet, the community will be very much involved in how the experience will end up, but some new artwork could suggest how it might take shape.
Dreams was first announced back at E3 2015, sparking the imagination of developers, videogame fans and press alike with its amazing visual style and the ability granted to the users to create and share their own content.
For all intents and purposes Dreams is a complete game creation platform that gives users all sorts of tools to create their own videogame experiences and share them with friends or the community at large.
While the ‘Create Mode’ will undoubtedly be the main draw, the title will also offer a single-player story campaign for players to explore to get to grips with the world of Dreams and perhaps get ideas for the sorts of things that can be created.
Media Molecule have confirmed PlayStation VR compatibility with the Create Mode of Dreams, so users will be able to shape their own worlds from within VR before sharing them with the rest of the community.
Some demos of the creative tools have shown such basics as how to animate a moving platform, and implement logic chains into the action, such as a trigger that can be set to make a platform start to move one the player character enters a certain area.
All the creative tools within Dreams have been designed to be easily usable with a standard DualShock 4 controller, in a way which users should find suitably intuitive.
There is still no word on a release date for Dreams, but excitement and interest in the title remains high.
The new art is available to view below. VRFocuswill be sure to bring you the latest on Dreams and other upcoming VR projects once it becomes available.
Media Molecule verkündete in der Game Informer Show, dass die kommende Beta von Dreams vorerst noch keinen PSVR-Support enthalten wird. Die Beta soll noch innerhalb dieses Jahres erscheinen, der VR-Support soll ebenso wie der Online-Multiplayer-Support aufgrund des kurzen restlichen Zeitfensters nachgereicht werden. Ein Couch-Koop-Modus ist allerdings von Beginn an Teil des Titels.
[Update vom 5. Oktober 2018]:
In einem Q&A-Video wurden neue Informationen über den kommenden VR-Support von Dreams für PlayStation VR (PSVR) enthüllt. So müssen Spieler/innen erst einmal ihre erstellten Level selbst durchspielen, bevor sie diese publishen können, um das Komforterlebnis auf einem hohen Niveau zu halten.
Auf der E3 wurden neue Informationen über den Kreativtitel Dreams von Entwicklerstudio Media Molecule (bekannt für LittleBigPlanet) präsentiert. Das PlayStation Access Team bestätigt nun in einem Interview, dass das PS4-Spiel bereits zur Veröffentlichung vollständigen PSVR-Support für sämtliche Inhalte enthalten wird. Zudem gab es weitere Einblicke in das Gameplay des kommenden VR-Titels.
Dreams – PSVR-Support zur Veröffentlichung bestätigt und neue Einblicke ins Gameplay vorgeführt
Mark Healey, Co-Gründer von Media Molecule, versicherte kürzlich in einem Interview, dass der PS4-Exklusivtitel Dreams native Unterstützung für PlayStation VR (PSVR) bieten wird. Dennoch wurde bisher noch nicht bestätigt, für welche Inhalte das VR-Gameplay letztlich gilt.
Auf der E3 veröffentlichte das Team von PlayStation Access nun freudige Neuigkeiten zum kommenden Titel. Demnach wurde nun auch von offizieller Seite bestätigt, dass Dreams bereits zur Veröffentlichung PSVR-Support erhalten soll und dieser wird für das Erstellen und das Ausprobieren der erzeugten Inhalte verwendbar sein.
Erste Einblicke in das Gameplay wurden ebenfalls für die PS4-Version des Spiels auf dem Monitor vorgestellt. So zeigen die Entwickler/innen, was die Spieler/innen innerhalb der Kampagne erwartet und wie die Einführungsphase die Grundmechaniken vermittelt.
In einem zweiten Video wurden die Kreativwerkzeuge zur Erschaffung der Spielwelt näher beleuchtet. Dreams ermöglicht es den Spieler/innen, eine komplette Umgebung nach eigenem Belieben erzeugen und mit der Community zu teilen. Entsprechend kann der VR-Titel jede erdenkliche Form annehmen. Egal ob Shooter, Plattformer oder sogar ein eigener Film, die Möglichkeiten sind beinahe unbegrenzt.
Im letzten Gameplay-Video wurde vorgeführt, wie man die kreativen Werke der Mitspieler finden und ausprobieren kann.
Die gezeigten Funktionen sollen ebenso mit der PlayStation VR (PSVR)möglich sein. Die Betaphase von Dreams soll noch innerhalb dieses Jahres stattfinden. Ein offizielles Veröffentlichungsdatum ist nach wie vor leider unbekannt.
We just got our first officially official confirmation that Media Molecule’s Dreams is going to support PSVR from day one.
The PlayStation Access team, which is a part of Sony itself, confirmed as much in a hands-on video from this year’s E3. A few weeks back we heard as much from a third-party report, but this is the first time we’ve heard PlayStation itself confirm it.
The team also noted that VR support would include both “playing and creating”, meaning you can make entire games and assets inside the headset and then go through them too. Sadly we’re still not being shown the game running in PSVR at this year’s show, but it’s definitely exciting to hear it’s coming.
We’re very, very excited about Dreams’ PSVR support. In fact we said it could be the headset’s most important game so far, allowing an entire community to make their own VR experiences.
A beta for Dreams will be out this year. As for official launch, we’re not sure yet.
I’ve been following Media Molecule’s Dreams with cautious optimism for three years now, not because I doubt the LittleBigPlanet developers’ ability to make a robust, accessible creation platform, but because I was worried the team wouldn’t realize the full potential of the app on PSVR. Creative platforms like Tilt Brush, Medium and Tvori make for some of the most compelling VR experiences on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and PSVR has been missing out on them for two years now.
But Dreams’ possibilities go far beyond these virtual art studios.
Now, my caution hasn’t yet been remedied, but recent signs suggest things are looking up. Media Molecule has understandably had to dance around the subject of VR in interviews and previews while the Sony marketing machine gets its messaging in order, but there are vital signs of life. For starters, an interview last month suggested that Dreams’ VR support will allow players to create within their headsets and even play certain experiences inside PSVR. We might not be able to play all of the games’ user-created levels in VR, for example, but it sounds like it’s possible for users to make content specifically tailored for VR.
Then, earlier this week, a report surfaced claiming that Dreams’ VR support will now be included from the game’s the as-of-yet-undetermined release date and not patched in later as previously expected. We have to take that report with a pinch of salt, of course, but if true it suggests that Media Molecule is fully aware of just how important Dreams could be to VR.
In the past year we’ve seen many of VR’s existing art apps expand to include not just static 3D paintings but also introduce intuitive new ways to make animations and even create new worlds and objects for videogames. Oculus’ Quill now lets users make keyframe animations with a fairly simple interface, for example, and some developers have even managed to make entire VR games out of assets created inside Tilt Brush. Unity, too, hopes to streamline content creation and turn more people into developers with experimental apps like Editor VR and Carte Blanche.
Make no mistake about it; these are the first steps in a revolution for 3D content creation, but they still require users to have a basic knowledge of development engines in order to incorporate VR-made assets. Editing in Unity inside VR looks incredible, but it still requires a decent understanding of the platform’s UI to get started, as does importing easily-made Google Blocks assets into your pipeline. Carte Blanche’s content packs, meanwhile, will have you making VR levels in seconds, but could also limit exactly what people can make in VR.
Dreams, however, could leapfrog all of these solutions.
If, come release, Dreams presents an accessible means of not only making 3D worlds and objects in VR but also designing interactive experiences within them, it could be the most important PSVR game thus far. What we’ve seen so far from the game on standard displays seems promising; an intuitive UI navigated using PlayStation Move or DualShock 4’s motion controls allows players to sculpt 3D content and characters and then implement them into levels in seconds. At last year’s PSX (as seen in the video below) we saw one player create a simple third-person platformer over the course of a few minutes, jumping back and forth between making a walkway and then navigating it with ridiculous ease.
Imagine an ecosystem in which players can bring their ideas and, for lack of a better term, dreams to life and then share them with you not just on a standard screen but with the immediacy of VR. Imagine making the epic battle sequence or explorable paradise you’ve always wanted to visit. Imagine being able to craft the stories and characters you’ve always wanted to see and then making them not with expensive cameras and a handful of amateur actors but with tools that give you complete control over delivery.
Dreams’ potential to kickstart accessible content creation makes it, for my money, one of the most exciting VR experiences on the horizon right now. Empowering players of any knowledge level to create interactive content of their own design is a future many of us want to see, and Dreams seems closer than anyone else to realising that. Media Molecule’s own Alex Evans put it best the aforementioned interview. “As soon as [VR support] is out, you’ll be able to make a VR experience and push the medium forward,” he said. That’s an exciting thought indeed.
Ultimately, Dreams’ VR support might be a stepping stone to something bigger; you almost certainly won’t be able to sell your creations to others or bring them to rival VR headsets, and we’re bound to find some limitations to content creation as we dig in. In a way, it’s quite similar to how Skyrim VR’s mods allow you to create the experience you want, but within the limits of its own world. But in carrying the torch for truly accessible game-making further than anyone else has yet done, Media Molecule may be developing one of the most important VR experiences yet made. That’s what my dreams are made of, anyway.
Dreams von Entwicklerstudio Media Molecule (bekannt für LittleBigPlanet und Tearaway) ermöglicht es Spielern ganze Städte und sogar Welten zu erstellen und nach eigenem Belieben zu modifizieren. Lange Zeit war es still um das traumhafte Kreativspiel, nun verkündete Co-Gründer Mark Healeyin einem Interview, das der exklusive PS4-Titel bereits zur Veröffentlichung mit Support für PlayStation VR (PSVR) erscheinen soll.
Dreams – Bereits zur Veröffentlichung für PlayStation VR (PSVR) erhältlich
Der Kreativtitel Dreams erlaubt es Anwendern, eine komplette Spielewelt nach eigenen Vorlieben zu erzeugen und mit Freunden oder der Community zu teilen. Dadurch kann der zukünftige VR-Titel, abhängig vom Nutzer, jede erdenkliche Form annehmen: Vom realistischen VR-Shooter bis zum entspannten Plattformer – der Kreativität werden beinahe keine Grenzen gesetzt. Selbst das Erzeugen von Filmen und Musik ohne Gameplay ist möglich.
In einer knapp dreistündigen Kampagne sollen die virtuellen Weltenbauer die Grundmechaniken innerhalb einer narrativen Geschichte erlernen und sämtliche Aspekte des Spiels kennenlernen. Dabei stehen zahlreiche Werkzeuge zur Auswahl, um Objekte auszuwählen und in der Spielwelt zu platzieren. Der Prozess zur Gestaltung der eigenen Umgebung soll dabei möglichst intuitiv und simpel sein, um den Spielspaß nicht durch zu viel Komplexität zu verringern. Neben dem Singleplayer-Modus ist es zudem möglich, seine erzeugten Werke im Multiplayer mit weiteren Mitspielern gemeinsam zu verändern.
Bisher war unklar, wann das PS4-Spiel den angekündigten VR-Support erhält. Dieser war als zusätzliches Feature geplant, welches eventuell erst zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt in Form eines Updates nachgereicht werden sollte. In einem kürzlichen Interview mit dem Spielemagazin PSU versicherte Mark Healey, Co-Gründer von Media Molecule, nun das der PS4-Titel Dreams bereits zur Veröffentlichung mit PSVR-Support erscheinen wird und dabei die PS Move Controller unterstützen soll. Zusätzlich ist die Nutzung der Tastatur möglich, um leichter mit Freunden zu kommunizieren oder Textbausteine in die immersiven Welten einzufügen.
Wann Dreams offiziell für PS4 und PlayStation VR (PSVR) erscheint, steht zum derzeitigen Zeitpunkt leider noch nicht fest. Wir werden euch über Neuigkeiten zum VR-Titel auf dem Laufenden halten.
