Tiny Dream

I love dreams. That may be a byproduct of my love of sleep, true, but dreams fascinate me. They're so wonderfully random, yet pointed towards purpose, that I'll take as many dreams as I can get in a lifetime.

Perhaps not if they're like Tiny Dream, however. I really don't wanna face an upside-down reality where I am a blob.

Concept

Yep. You are a blob. You're dropped onto a seemingly alien planet (I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a dreamscape, but it comes off as other worldly instead) and left to fend for yourself. You can chat with NPCs, hop along platforms, collect items, unlock locks, that sorta thing.

The KICKER is the landscape itself. As you move through Tiny Dream's handful of areas, the screen rotates like so:

The controls don't rotate correspondingly, however, and you're left to puzzle out regular movement in bizarre situations. Not totally original, but nifty.

And that... is... Tiny Dream. In a nutshell. Collect items, solve a puzzle (yeah, it's really just one) and... win? I won't spoil the ending, as it IS kinda neat, but the game's a little threadbare. It was created as part of limited-time Ludum Dare 23 project, so expansiveness shouldn't be expected.

Controls

Tiny Dream is nice and smooth, for a platformer. The controls manage to translate very nicely when you get into different viewpoints of the land. Aside from my own brain flip-flopping about, I had little to no trouble guiding my blob.

Graphics

Tiny Dream is fairly minimalist. There's not a hell of a lot going on here. I didn't mind the graphics at all - the red and blue lights were surprisingly effective, though maybe I'm just a simpleton for coloured lights - but I'm sure more could be done to spruce up the game.

Sound

Tiny Dream's a silent experience, save for one big sound effect at the end (no spoilers) and a dreamy, wistful, melancholy tune that plays throughout. Normally it would get old, but Tiny Dream doesn't last long enough for that to happen.

Challenge Rating

Tiny Dream requires only a modicum of brain power to solve. The primary puzzle is a liiiiittle bit of a poser, but any player should be able to figure it out within a few minutes. Beyond that, the only challenge lies in wrestling with the controls.

Conclusion?

Tiny Dream is what you'd expect of a game made in a short period of time. It's inventive and has some neat ideas, but it also doesn't stand out a hell of a lot. Don't expect to get a lot of replay outta this sucker.

PLAY TINY DREAM