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Media Molecule will hire small game development teams to develop games within Dreams
- Thread starter nolifebr
- Start date
Gonna be somewhat hindered by the age restriction imposed by Dreams itself. Good luck making MILF Simulator 2020 on that engine indie devs.
This is awesome!!
Haven't played it in a while, but i love this game so much.
Really glad they're gonna hire small dev teams.
Haven't played it in a while, but i love this game so much.
Really glad they're gonna hire small dev teams.
How big are they nowadays? Still around 50 people? I mean their last smash hit was 8 years ago. Tearaway bombed hard and Dreams seemingly is taking forever. Don't get me wrong, I am excited about Dreams and I think it's very important to have such creative games around and I wish them all the best in the world that it becomes a success. But in the end it has to be profitable to live during next-gen.
It helps that reportedly LittleBigPlanet made more money than most of the exclusives on the PS3. It's long tail mixed with microtransactions apparently made loads and loads of money. I remember hearing talk about this on an industry podcast around 2015 or so. Can't remember which one now.
Right, that makes sense — there's nothing like their engine. I really did hear something in that realm but the recollection is so vague that I'm probably totally misremembering. I do think it would be wise for them to make a type of desktop client eventually. A restricted one built around breakouts of very advanced development functions that can then be imported back into Dreams.
That's too much to ask right now, but it goes along with my hope that Dreams is treated like a free (with Plus) indie game engine on PS5. I think eventual mouse and keyboard support on the console version could be a good compromise.
It likely won't happen, right, but my ultimate dream (pun not intended) is Sony embraces Dreams as a creation engine to the extent that high profile full game experiences can be submitted for store approval and get to exist as a separate game application purchasable on the store. It would be very clear it's a Dreams game, and partial revenue would go to MM and Sony as you'd expect, but it would be treated like it's own game — albeit one very clearly built within Dreams' design language.
This is overly optimistic and I think the more reasonable best-case scenario is Dreams adopting (as others have said) a Roblox model so creators can profit off of their work, and be encouraged to make more.
This is a delicate line to walk though because the spirit of Dreams is that creators share their creations (even mechanics and gameplay design) to build up the potential of the entire community. Locking too much stuff off is kind of antithetical of that.
I think there'd need to be some sort of way of ensuring they make at least a portion of their original content remixable. But then again, remixing is one of the toughest logistical complications in this whole idea since people are making their games partially with other peoples' assets. Would original designers of certain assets, music, mechanics, physics, etc. get royalties for their contributions? This could encourage more creators to make remixable content, which is great... but what if their creation is a remix of someone else's? How far would it daisy chain back? And how do you divide that revenue? Does a 3-minute musical composition have equivalent value to a highly detailed model of a gun? What if a car model and it's driving physics were used, but the final game swapped out that creators' car entirely and only built off of their physics as a base? What if you reuse one asset a thousand times, but another for just a single scene? Etc etc ad infinum.
I don't envy being the people trying to figure that out.
But I truly think it would be a waste for Sony not to cultivate Dreams as a real proprietary creation engine for indie developers. Empowering amateur (or even experienced!) indie developers to create within Dreams (making exclusive PS titles) rather than Unity or Gamemaker, etc. is a no-brainer for Sony imo. Especially with how much more accessible it is (with a much much lower ceiling, obviously).
I'm not advocating for Sony's revenue and exclusivity opportunities here, but rather I know that's what needs to happen for Dreams to reach its full potential as an engine that democratizes game development, making it accessible for nearly anyone with the time and will, who otherwise never would have realized their vision. That to me is extremely valuable for the fulfillment of a great deal of people, and could contribute greatly to the variety of unique perspectives in game design and digital storytelling.
If you're inclined to reply saying I'm crazy and way too idealistic, just know: I get that. You don't need to say it. I don't expect most of this to come to fruition.
But... it's nice to dream ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
EDIT: just thinking what if assets you create had prices attached but you didn't pay until you decided to monetize your game? Like, everything is free if your creating something free, but if you go through some approval process to "publish" your full experience for sale, at that point you have to pay all the creators a one time fee (rather than royalties down the line). Like royalty free music purchases irl. And doesn't Unity have an asset store that kinda works like that? I don't know enough about all that to really comment, I guess. I don't know why I'm even trying to workshop this hahahaha
Many people don't even know that Media Molecule is quite stable financially.
Sony also supported the Last Guardian well beyond what any other major company would have done. If a game seems like its going to be special and really add something to their line up then Sony will support it above and beyond. I'm guessing they view Dreams in the same vein and on top of that the potential for such a game is gigantic. The sky's the limit and if they play their cards right and with a good amount of luck they could have a massive games creation platform exclusive to them.
They want Dreams to sell. Playstation doesn't need small exclusives to sell.
Selling games in Dreams would be awful, but a donation system could work.
I'm pretty sure their most recent financial report, from 2017, had a healthy operating profit.
This is their staff.
Media Molecule - Creators of LittleBigPlanet, Dreams and Tearaway
We're a game development studio based in Guildford, UK. We make games, like LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2 and Tearaway.
And I wouldn't worry about the financials. LBP made MM a lot of money.
It is more about the potential.
Dreams being used as an engine, collaboration with devs, exposure, etc...
Indeed.
Because the game could become a gigantic game creation platform akin to something like Roblox or Minecraft if they play their cards right.
So basically no guarantee this goes anywhere.
Surprised they aren't willing to invest more and actually develop a studious for this considering the works that are already out there
Hopefully these teams make something besides statues that are either carbon copies or are reminiscent of other games.
But giving exposure to those creations doesn't get website clicks!
Sony should probably also look into providing art schools and game design/development courses with PS4/Dreams kits. Game is an amazing prototyping tool and would be really great as a learning environment, as well.
I've actually said in other topics that Sony should just give this game away with PS4's (or PS5's) to all kinds of children's groups whether its related to gaming or not.
I'm sure there will be monetization. MM made a lot of money from LBP dlc.
There are no official announcement, but I'm guessing MM will sell 'asset pack' as dlc. Right now they have free update that give you ancient times themed asset, it include a fully rigged character, and a bunch of model that you can use to make a level.
It reminds me of lego approach, MM can sell various themed asset pack in the future. Maybe even licensed stuff too, like avengers dlc or something
Such a great idea. Encouraging and nurturing creative talent is always a wonderful idea, and I love that Dreams is as accessible as it is to many would be designers/creators that maybe don't have access to quality tools to realize their visions.
Media Molecule is a gift to the gaming industry. You know how some filmmakers are so in love with films that may make movies that are love letters to the film industry? Media Molecule is like a game developer that is in love with making games, so they make games that are love letters to making games.
Media Molecule is a gift to the gaming industry. You know how some filmmakers are so in love with films that may make movies that are love letters to the film industry? Media Molecule is like a game developer that is in love with making games, so they make games that are love letters to making games.
Does Dreams require PS+? If so if this becomes huge this is the money Sony makes. People forget that the biggest MS's moneymaker costs 20$.
It's good Sony is not trying to kill their teams. Shame about Evo and Motorstorm though. I just don't understand why that company was cut even with the issues.
I don't believe the early access version needs PS+ but that could change for the final version.
This move is now making me more curious about how Sony handles BC on PS5. And if PS4 PSN transitions or gets legacy treatment and all meaningful stuff has to be moved .
How is this any different from a your average multiplayer game getting new 'free' content years after launch to keep gamers playing?