A lead designer on Media Molecule's Dreams recently shared an image of their realistic carpet texture creation, a feat that looks unbelievably mind-blowing. Since its release on PlayStation 4 in early 2020, dedicated Dreams players have continued to impress with their remarkable in-game creations. This is thanks to the incredible toolset the experience provides, a toolset that's even allowed one person to make a fan-created game adaption of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Other game developers have joined in on the fun, too. For example, Insomniac Games' Josh Leman developed a side-scrolling Ratchet & Clank adventure in Dreams last summer, complete with the franchise's trademark wacky weaponry. However, the robust suite of tools, the inventive PlayStation VR integration, and everything else that Dreams has on offer hasn't been enough to increase the project's overall player-count in the last year and change. In turn, Dreams is currently surviving on the backs of dedicated creators who continue showcase exactly what Media Molecule's latest is capable of.
Over the weekend, Media Molecule's Senior Principal Designer, John Beech, shared an image featuring his in-Dreams creation of carpet texture. It looks real and, other than its being a video game, isn't all that special. The carpet itself appears to be cheaply made, speckled with fuzz, dirt, small strands of hair, and evidence of wear and tear. That's what makes this particular creation so outstanding - the mundane nature of it all. But the actual render is anything but simple, especially when considering Media Molecule's approach to designing the built-in tools, which, as Beech explained in a subsequent post, does not constitute polygons.
Months ahead of the next-gen console release, the likes of Unreal Engine 5 received the spotlight to offer a glimpse at how the new technology can elevate things to another level of believability. Yet, John Beech's carpet render proves there's still juice worth squeezing out of slightly older technology.
Though Dreams hit store shelves in early 2020, Media Molecule originally announced the title in February 2013 during Sony's PlayStation 4 reveal event. It took a while for audiences to fully understand what exactly the experience had to offer, but the proof is in the pudding. The UK-based development team genuinely created something mind-boggling; hopefully, more people will come to appreciate it over time.
Dreams is available to play now on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Source: John Beech