I’M TOO SELF-CONSCIOUS TO CREATE IN A VACUUM, SO I’M LOOKING TO YOU TO SHOW ME HOW IT’S DONE.

When tinkering and sharing creations is easier than ever, we need to inspire each other

The idea of making a game, back when I was a smaller version of myself, was always so enticing I’d jump at the chance to try any CD that promised to teach me the mythical ways of gamemaking. The problem was, I was always rubbish at it.

These days, though, it couldn’t be easier to put together your own little game projects. They might not be fully-featured Triple-A games, but there’s plenty of software out there for making your own basic text-based adventures and games right on your PlayStation, such as the upcoming RPG Maker MV and, of course, Media Molecule’s amazing-looking creative software Dreams.

KEEP IT ALIVE

Even though it’s easier than ever to make little gamey things, I still feel like I’m a bit rubbish, and I can never decide what to make. When looking at what to sculpt to create assets for my own game in Dreams, as intuitive and easy-to-use as it may be, my hands feel heavy and I lock up. However, when games are made in these simple-to-understand programs, I can’t help but be enchanted by them. Whether it’s a game that’s gone on to make waves in the scene, or just a small thing that’s a taster more than anything, I love seeing what other people have made.

On PS3, I barely touched the main game in Media Molecule’s quirky, yarny LittleBigPlanet, nor even the level maker. I almost exclusively played creations from the community, and it was some of the most fun I had on PS3, spending a lot of time when I wasn’t playing looking up cool creations to check out later online.

Now with Dreams Media Molecule is taking that concept to the nth degree. You can create and mould pretty much anything from smallscale to large-scale, and the ability to swap assets with the community enables you to get your hands as dirty as you like or keep ’em clean. Seeing what’s possible, and how easy it looks to use, I feel a tingling in my fingers I’ve not quite felt before. I know I’m going to hoover up your lovely creations, but I’m feeling like it might be time to trying wading in myself again. And with you doing the same, I couldn’t be in better company.