Job listings for its next game may indicate that developer Media Molecule will use its previous game, Dreams, to build it. On the cusp of its Dreamscom game showcase in July, Media Molecule is doubling down on the Dreams engine that both developers and players use for creations. Job listings for producers and environment designers are standard in game development, but an engine programmer is interesting. According to Media Molecule’s job board, the developer has created the role due to new growth.
The person who lands the position will help to update and develop new tools for the Dreams game engine. In addition, a junior engine programming position is listed, which will work under the engine programmer. With the two listings, one can infer two things – That Media Molecule has a new game in development using the Dreams engine and that Dreams itself will continue to add new features for in-game developers to use. Therefore, it isn’t farfetched to believe that any game tools that the engine receives will also be available to developers in Dreams.
Media Molecule expanding its engine’s capabilities falls in line with the developer’s goals with Dreams. One of these goals is exporting creations in Dreams to other platforms beyond the game and the PlayStation console. In an interview with gamesindustry from 2019, studio co-founder Kareem Ettourney said:
Based on what Ettourney says, Dreams is the future of whatever Media Molecule is planning. Those plans include streamlining the education of the game development and game design process and removing the barrier of entry surrounding the industry as a whole. As gaming continues to evolve, the entry point in the game industry continues to become more accessible. Features like motion capture, modeling, and audio editing, once very expensive, are either free or a fraction of the original costs.
Hopefully, with the current push by Sony to port more games to PC, Dreams is among those. Currently, Dreams is only using what is capable on PS4 (there isn’t a native PS5 version yet). As a result, developers have to either use the console controller or spend extra money on a PSVR to use the Move controllers to sculpt and design. Imagine the capabilities with a mouse and keyboard on a powerful gaming PC, increasing the accuracy and the potential size of creations in the game. If the developer has its way, Dreams could potentially rival Unreal and Unity as choices for indie game makers down the line.
Source: Media Molecule, Gamesindustry
