Dreams continues to delight and baffle new players — and I can’t tear myself away from Media Molecule’s captivating creation-engine. Dreams is a lean machine, a deadly weapon of pure creativity, and it gives players so many tools to make just about anything a reality, it’s also incredibly daunting. Where do you even get started?
Well, you can always start with our quick 10 Beginner’s Tips for Dreams, or check out some amazing video games remade in the Dreams engine. We’ve also got a Dreams community showcase, sharing some awesome projects both big and small.
But if you’re here, you’re probably looking for a few tips. There’s a lot of tidbits I’ve picked up while trying to catch-up on Dreams, and here’s a bunch more simple tips and tricks you can take with you into the main (and massive) game. These answer some of my most basic questions — like how to record better audio, how to make typing tons of text easier, and how to calculate the perfect height in Dreams.
#1: You can dim or completely remove the “Made In Dreams” watermark that’s default to every Dreams creation. It actually isn’t required — if you think it’s too annoying. Personally, it doesn’t bother me.
- NOTE: If you’re worried about your OLED screen — don’t! The watermark actually moves around very, very slowly. It isn’t static, so it won’t get burned into your OLED!
#2: Using a 3.5mm Male-To-Male audio cable, you can connect a PS4 Controller to any tablet / smart device with a headphones jack. That way, you can record higher-quality audio from a separate device.
#3: Inputting a whole lot of text? Connect a keyboard to your PS4 Controller — just about any wired keyboard will work, and it makes inputting lots of text so much easier. Or, you can try downloading the free Sony Second Screen app and type with your phone / tablet.
#4: Each control method is different — the Move controls offer you more fine-control, but they aren’t required. You can use the DS4. I recommend trying the Motion Control DS4 mode first. Remember to only press [R2] gently, and you can adjust your Imp Sensitivity at any time. You can also turn on ‘Grid Snap’ under Guides to make lining-up objects much easier.
#5: Don’t want to sit in front of your TV to learn more about Dreams? Check out the enormous official Dreams user guide here for tons of handy information. You can always keep this site open to cross-reference for tons of official tips.
#6: Explore Remixable examples in the Dream Shaping browser to discover lots of official elements you can dismantle to learn from, or just copy-paste directly into your game. Go to Dream Shaping -> Browse & Create -> Browse All, then sort by Remixable to find a complete list.
#7: You can store up to 1GB of Dreams data locally on your PS4. If you run out of space, you can upload objects you’ve made — puppets, scenes, music, or whatever else. Just be aware that you’ll lose access to these uploads if the’re flagged by Content Moderation. That won’t happen to your local stuff.
#8: Want to calculate height in Dreams? Each dot on a grid is .25 meters apart. 4 dots = 1 meter / 8 dots = 2 meters. 8 dots is about 6’6″, and the standard Dreams puppet is only about 5’3″. To make measuring accurately easier, you can try downloading this Dreams in-game ruler.
#9: You can only connect 10 exits to each individual scene. But, you can create a ‘Routing’ scene, that immediately reroutes to another scene. If you need more than 10 exits to different scenes in your Dream, you can always use this little trick.
#10: Google Image Search is your best friend! Keep a tab open on your phone / tablet / computer with refences when sculpting. Don’t try to model every detail, just imagine the base shapes. The simpler your creation is, the better! … until you really master Dreams, which is going to take a very, very long time.
There’s so much more to learn in Dreams, but hopefully these tips will put you on the road to making your Dreams a reality. I know they helped me grapple with some of the limitations of Dreams — whenever you hit a brick wall, there’s often a clever solution just waiting to be discovered.
