January 2021 Newsletter

Happy New Year, CoMmunity! (Can you still say that at the end of January? We reckon so.) We hope you had a restful winter break, and that you’re feeling refreshed and ready for whatever 2021 may bring. We at Media Molecule have ramped up our preparations for the 2nd Annual Impy Awards - there’s so much to get ready in time for February 14th! Don’t forget that the pre-show, hosted by the fabulous Kitty Powers, starts at 16:30PM GMT on our Twitch channel, with the full ceremony to follow at 17:00PM GMT.

Oh, and also, it’s Dreams’ 1st birthday on the very same day! No pressure, but the greatest present you could possibly get us is to come and join in the fun as we celebrate the entire CoMmunity and one whole year of Dreams. Well, that and cake. Cake’s pretty good.

But what else has been happening in the wilds of the Dreamiverse this month? Let’s take a look...

Guest Artist: shandyboy1975

You may recognise shandyboy1975 from their Impy-nominated horror side-scroller Wolf Woods - but it’s one of their stunning painterly sci-fi scenes, Outpost Shuttle, that we’ve featured at the top of this newsletter. Here, they offer an insight into how and why the piece was created...

My approach to creating in Dreams is pretty simple. I normally use it as a sketchbook, with a vague idea of something, but generally create as I go along. I use Pinterest as a source of inspiration. I love sci-fi and fantasy art, from Moebius to John Harris, and Dreams makes it really easy to create quick sci-fi concepts. It’s all about the lighting for me! This particular piece was more of a challenge for myself. I wanted to see if I could create reflections in a landscape successfully - and, as I only use paint flecks on my artworks, it was a good one for me.

What’s Happening at Mm’s Many HQs

Your Impys Nominees Announced!

They’re finally here! We’ve tallied all your votes, played all of the submissions and endangered several of our friendships in the process, but we’ve managed to decide the shortlists for this year’s Impy Awards. So which nominees will be walking the pink carpet on February 14th? Head to the PlayStation Blog right here for the full rundown...

Huge congratulations to everyone who made the shortlists, and indeed to all those nominated. Oh, and a heartfelt thanks to all of you who submitted your nominations for helping make this CoMmunity celebration possible!

Actually, we’ve got one more teeny tiny favour to ask of you. We have six community-voted categories this year, including Most Helpful Dreamer, Best Curator and Community Star among others - and we’d love for YOU to pick the winners. Simply head to this survey to choose who you think most deserves to lift a golden trophy this year!

Abbie goes podcasting!

Our very own Live Product Lead Abbie Heppe joined James Wilson and Wil Johnson of Lucid Nebula Studios for the Season 2 debut of the Made in Dreams podcast! Fancy 90 minutes of high-quality chat about the future of Dreams, life at Media Molecule and, erm, the Nintendo Power Glove? Then you can catch up right here. (Except you, Nintendo. Hey, look over there!)

Plugging our Soundcloud

But hark, what is yonder sound? Mayhaps it is #MashupThree, the renaissance fair-themed banger which hath dropped this merry month of January? Prithee journey to our new Soundcloud here, and lay thine ears upon it. Verily, it is fire.

CoMmunity Happenings

Kooky for Kazoos

January 28th was Kazoo Day! To celebrate, we challenged the CoMmunity to make music incorporating the noble kazoo. And did you deliver? YOU’RE DARN TOOTIN’. You can check out all the majestic entries right here in Dreams.

It Belongs In A Museum!

Lately, we’ve been roaming the halls of the Dreamiverse Gallery of Art and marvelling at the work on display. It’s a great place to get to know new artists - and if you’re a keen painter or sculptor, you can even get in touch with creator ShadowScraps about putting on an exhibition of your very own!

Meet Beatlebum!

The musical stylings of Beatlebum are well-known across the Dreamiverse. From catchy robo-romance beats to profound, moody jams, they can truly do it all. Check out our interview below to get an insight into the mind of this audio artist!

What do you like to do in the Dreamiverse?
Lately I've really been enjoying playing all the amazing creations that everyone has been making, but typically I'm in Dreamshaping trying to bring to life all the music that I create in my head nonstop.

If you could give other member of the CoMmunity a piece of advice for their time in Dreams, what would it be?
Try not to get to caught up on likes and followers, and just create stuff that makes you happy. And don't let the success of your previous creations keep you from putting out new stuff because you feel it doesn't live up to some of your past work.

What was the first thing you created in Dreams?
Oh man, the first thing I created was a horrible little song that I really wish I wouldn't have deleted. I knew music was what I'd be best at, because I'm a musician outside of Dreams, and I dove in head first with no clue how any of the tools worked.

Favourite food, movie and song, in that order. GO!
Apologies to my vegan friends, but my fave food is definitely steak. A good ribeye or filet, with a loaded baked potato. My favourite movie is probably The Shawshank Redemption. And this was all but impossible for me, but I'll say my fave song is "Let Down" by Radiohead.

How can people find you in the Dreamiverse?
You'll more than likely find me making music. If you haven't checked out any of the music videos DigitalThing_ and I have made together, I'm really proud of them all and would love for you to.

Which creations are currently your Top 10 in Dreams?
LOCK
Pig Detective 3
Alpine Dream
Octane
TRIA-GONE
A Little Perspective
The Trip
The Sticks of Joy
Red and the Phantom Castle
Just Pogo

Who’d you like to get to know in the Dreamiverse? We’ll ask them some questions for next month’s newsletter!
Venwave! I love his quirky style and positive attitude.

This Month’s Wallpaper

Less than three weeks to go until the Impy Awards! We’re not freaking out, YOU’RE freaking out! Okay, we’re freaking out a little bit. Fortunately, our UX designer Miguel Sanz has made this beautiful wallpaper to remind us that, yes, we did remember to put ourselves on the guest list. Phew. Perhaps you’d like to be reminded of your invitation, too? If so, you can download the wallpaper here.

We're on the lookout for new Molecules to join in the fun and make Dreams the best it can be! Follow the links below to read more about our current vacancies at Mm Towers!

Stay up to date on our jobs page

Current positions

Don’t forget to cast your votes for the community-voted Impy awards via SurveyMonkey - you have until February 4th to make your voice heard!

In the meantime, you can keep up with all the Impys hype on social media via the hashtag #ImpyAwards. And why not visit our super-fancy in-game Impys hub? You can meet Dreams celebrities, collect your swag bag and even earn some secret prizes...

See you next month, CoMmunity! <3