The primary appeal of the new PlayStation 4 title Dreams is its open-ended nature. Released on February 14, 2020, the game features a “Dream Shaping” mode which allows players to paint, sculpt, compose and otherwise utilize their creative powers to make…well, pretty much whatever they want!
Within the first month of the game’s release, Dreams creators have used the Shaping mode to generate characters, worlds, music, art, and even entire full-fledged games and minigames. Players can then use an online service called the “Dreamiverse” to share their creations with other players.
Nintendo Is Not a Fan
However, the “truly unlimited” nature of Dream Shaping may soon be coming to an end. On March 20, Twitter user and Twitch streamer Piece_of_craft reported that “a big video game company who I will keep nameless” had contacted him regarding his creation of a Mario character model in Dreams.
Good news and bad news
We flew too close to the sun boys! A big video game company who i will keep nameless obviously didn't read my "be cool" note in dreams
no worries though have a back up plan. But for now Mario projects in dreams are on hold until i put said plan into effect pic.twitter.com/ifGDM0jFZ3— PieceofCraft (@Piece_of_Craft) March 20, 2020
The streamer had intended to use Dreams to recreate levels in Mario Kart: Double Dash and other games from the Mario franchise. Following the communication, Piece_of_craft has canceled all streams featuring his Mario models.
Later, in response to an influx of questions on Twitter, Piece_of_craft clarified that the letter had come from the Legal and Business Affairs Division of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. This seems to indicate that Sony, the publisher of Dreams, is supportive of Nintendo’s decision to take action against the use of their intellectual property in the Dreams engine.
It remains to be seen whether other Dreams content creators will be contacted by either Sony or Nintendo.
The Future of Dreams?
In the meantime, Piece_of_craft suggests that Dreams developers stop using Nintendo IP and instead focus on Disney-owned characters and properties. The streamer notes that last month, while praising the highly successful games STAR WARS: Jedi Fallen Order and Marvel’s Spider-Man, Disney encouraged developers to be “creative” when using its IP. Maybe we’ll start to see Darth Vader or Queen Elsa popping up in the “Dreamiverse” sometime soon?
