Editing DreamWeb

{{Short description|1994 video game}}
{{for|the album by mind.in.a.box|Dreamweb (album)}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2009}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = Dreamweb
|image = Dreamweb cover.png
|caption = Cover art
|developer = Creative Reality
|publisher = [[Empire Interactive]]
|designer = Neil Dodwell <br /> David Dew
|released = 1994
|genre = [[Adventure game|Adventure]]
|modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
|platforms = [[MS-DOS]], [[Amiga|Amiga 500/600/1200]]
}}

'''''Dreamweb''''' is an [[MS-DOS]] and [[Amiga]] [[point-and-click]] [[cyberpunk]] top-down [[adventure game]] released in 1994, developed by Creative Reality and published by [[Empire Interactive Entertainment]]. The game features mature themes and a dark plot filled with violence and brief full frontal nudity, a rarity for games at the time.

''Dreamweb'' was re-released as [[freeware]] in October 2012.<ref name="DreamWebFreeware">{{cite web|last=Boutonné |first=Arnaud |url=http://www.scummvm.org/news/20121021/ |title=Dreamweb Released As Freeware |publisher=[[ScummVM]] |date=October 21, 2012 |access-date=April 8, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115194919/http://scummvm.org/news/20121021/ |archive-date=January 15, 2013}}</ref>

==Overview==
The opening credits are reminiscent of Ridley Scott's ''[[Blade Runner]]''. In addition to a similar typeface, the credits are displayed in white on black, with a loud metallic noise followed by a fade out, and the title appears in red on black. Much of the look and feel of the game is reminiscent of ''Blade Runner'', while also drawing influence from the [[cyberpunk]] genre.

''Dreamweb'''s musical score, composed by Matthew Seldon and Steve Boynton, is highly regarded, contributing to the atmosphere which made the game admired by many at the time; the DOS-only CD version had an extra audio track. The dark story also received praise. The original game included a booklet entitled ''Diary of a (Mad?) man'', written by [[Stephen Marley (writer)|Stephen Marley]], which has a far more layered and atmospheric 'prequel' story than the one in the game itself. The diary also supplies more background info on main character Ryan (and served as a copy-protection method).

The game was criticized for its poor top-down view and overlooking many conventions commonly observed in adventure games; for instance, while the player can examine and pick up most objects on-screen, the majority of them serve no purpose other than to take up inventory space. The inability to control the course of conversations was also seen as a flaw.

Some puzzles, although logical, are simplistic - while in many adventure games of the time (even more adult adventures) the solution to bypassing an [[Non-player character|NPC]] generally involved giving them an object, ''Dreamweb'' puts an emphasis on gunplay and the killing of several characters, sometimes with gory results. It was also one of the first mainstream games to feature an uncensored [[history of erotic depictions|sex scene]], which was quite controversial at the time of release.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}

''Dreamweb'' had two releases on the Amiga. The AGA version had 256 color graphics and an extra song over the standard version. A PC version was released, first on [[floppy disk|disk format]]. The Amiga version features a moody electronic soundtrack; the PC version is similar in style, although some of the compositions are different. The music is primarily short, looping, streaming sound files, with the PC version's being more advanced, although they suffer from low-fi encoding. A CD version was also released for the PC, which included full voice acting.

==Story==
The protagonist and [[anti-hero]] is Ryan, a [[bartender]] in a futuristic dystopian city (implied to be in England, as evidenced by the use of British English terms such as "lift" and "bonnet") who has been plagued by strange dreams of an entity known as the Dreamweb. In the dream that opens the game, Ryan is asked by the master monk of the Keepers to be the ''deliverer'' and kill the seven evils, who are united to break the Dreamweb and send mankind spiraling into chaos. ''In Diary of a (Mad?) man'', however, which precedes the start of the game, it is strongly implied that Ryan is descending into psychosis and has fabricated the whole Dreamweb scenario in his mind.

After Ryan leaves his girlfriend Eden's house for work, he learns that due to frequent lateness his boss has decided to fire him. After hearing Ryan's explanation, however, he decides to give him a two-week, fully paid vacation to recover. On the bar's [[TV]], Ryan learns the name and location of the first evil: David Crane, a [[rock music|rock]] star who is housed in a hotel for a gig later that night. He visits his housebound friend Louis, who directs him to a place where a gun can be purchased. After doing so, he registers himself at the same [[hotel]], and after managing to get himself up to the [[Penthouse apartment|penthouse]], killing two bodyguards in the process, he finds Crane in bed with a woman. The woman hides under the bed and, after Crane begs for mercy, Ryan kills him and is teleported to the Dreamweb where he learns of the second evil, a [[general]]. He returns home, and while checking the news (where he finds the report of Crane's death), he learns General Sterling is the guest of a [[talk show]] being filmed at a [[TV station]].

He leaves for the heavily guarded building, and finds a weak spot in the security. He shoots a guard, enters the building and gets access to the rafters of the [[studio]]. After replacing a burned-out fuse, he manoeuvres a huge box over Sterling's head and drops it, thereby crushing the general to death, but also causing a ratings peak for the channel. Ryan is transported again to the Dreamweb, where he learns the third target is close to one of his friends, none other than Eden's boss, Sartain. He collects information from Eden's work gear while she is bathing, and leaves for the company headquarters.

Ryan destroys a security console to get access to the upper floors, but as soon as he enters, he is greeted by two guards and a fleeing Sartain. He kills both guards with the help of a gem obtained in the Dreamweb, and in reading the contents of a [[briefcase]] grasped by the charred remains of a guard's arm, Ryan learns the identities of the remaining four members. He chases Sartain to the rooftop where Sartain tries to flee in a [[hover car]], but Ryan opens fire on the vehicle, destroying it. After another trip to the Dreamweb, he arrives at the destroyed house of Julliet Chappel, another of the evils. Believing she died, Ryan picks up a half-burnt cartridge and returns home, where from reading its contents he discovers the location of her [[church (building)|church]].

Unable to get inside the church, he pursues Diane Underwood, who is in a heavily guarded [[beach house]]. Upon inspecting the surroundings of the house, Ryan finds the control box of the security system, and douses it in water, blowing up the [[Gun turret|turret]] which releases heavy bolts of energy inside the house. Entering by the huge hole in the wall, Ryan finds Underwood chopped in half, but still alive. After learning more about the "Project 7", Ryan kills the suffering woman. Back in the Dreamweb, he learns the remaining two evil are growing more powerful with each successive death of the members.

Arriving at the church and making his way into its secret underground passages, he finds the deceased, deformed body of Father O' Rourke, which leaves only one living member: Dr. Beckett. Ryan finds him in the [[rapid transit|subway]], linked to the church's undergrounds. As Beckett tracks Ryan, he is run over by a [[train]]. Ryan returns to the Dreamweb, where he is thanked by the master monk, but also learns his fate. He returns to the real world for the last time, where he is shot dead by the police for his numerous crimes. Ryan's last vision is of his soul entering the Dreamweb.

==Development==
The biggest influence for the game was the 1986 film ''[[Highlander (film)|Highlander]]''. The developers applied the concept of [[seven deadly sins]] to the game in the form of Ryan's victims. The ending to the booklet ''Diary of a (Mad?) man'' was intentionally left ambiguous. [[Dialog tree]]s were never considered to be part of the game because David Dew did not particularly like the mechanic. In 1995, ''DreamWeb'' was refused classification in Australia, due to a rock star showing his penis in the game. Underpants were added to the rock star and the game was resubmitted in the same year for an M rating.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kuorikoski|first1=Juho|title=Hulluuden anatomia|journal=[[Pelit]]|date=November 2014|issue=11/2014|pages=68–70|publisher=Fokus Media Finland|language=fi}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Booker |first1=Logan |title=In 1995, DreamWeb Was Refused Classification In Australia. Now It's Freeware |url=http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/11/in-1995-dreamweb-was-refused-classification-in-australia-now-its-freeware/ |website=[[Kotaku]] |publisher=[[Gawker Media]] |access-date=28 August 2015 |date=10 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054253/http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/11/in-1995-dreamweb-was-refused-classification-in-australia-now-its-freeware/ |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Video game reviews
| Dragon = {{rating|1.5|5}}<ref name="Dragon215"/>
| AdvGamers = {{rating|1.5|5}}<ref name="AdventureGamersReview"/>
| rev1 = ''Adventure Classic Gaming''
| rev1Score = {{rating|2|5}}<ref name="AdventureClassicGamingReview"/>
| rev2 = ''Quandaryland''
| rev2Score = {{rating|1|5}}<ref name="QuandarylandReview"/>
| rev3 = ''[[Pelit]]''
| rev3Score = 91/100<ref name="PelitReview"/>
| rev4 = ''NTSC-uk''
| rev4Score = 7/10<ref name="NTSC-ukReview"/>
| JXV = 15/20<ref name="JeuxVideoReview"/>
| rev5 = ''Power Play''
| rev5Score = 85%<ref name="PowerPlayReview"/>
}}
The game was reviewed in 1995 in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' #215 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Both reviewers gave the game 1½ out of 5 stars.<ref name="Dragon215">{{cite journal | title=Eye of the Monitor | author=Jay & Dee | journal=Dragon | issue=215 | date=March 1995 | pages=57–64}}</ref>

DreamWeb also received negative 2000s reviews from Austin Boosinger of ''[[Adventure Gamers]]'' (1½ out of 5 stars),<ref name="AdventureGamersReview">{{cite web|last=Boosinger |first=Austin |url=http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18152 |title=DreamWeb review |website=[[Adventure Gamers]] |date=May 23, 2008 |access-date=April 8, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621001553/http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18152 |archive-date=June 21, 2012}}</ref> David Tanguay of Adventure Classic Gaming (2 out of 5 stars)<ref name="AdventureClassicGamingReview">{{cite web|last=Tanguay |first=David |url=http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/reviews/221/ |title=DreamWeb - Review |publisher=Adventure Classic Gaming |date=December 11, 2006 |access-date=April 8, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531035406/http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/reviews/221/ |archive-date=May 31, 2013}}</ref> and Rosemary Young of the now defunct Quandaryland website (1 out of 5 stars).<ref name="QuandarylandReview">{{cite web|last=Young|first=Rosemary|url=http://www.quandaryland.com/jsp/dispArticle.jsp?index=24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040615064843/http://www.quandaryland.com/jsp/dispArticle.jsp?index=24|archive-date=June 15, 2004|title=Dream Web Review by Quandary|publisher=Quandary|date=April 1995|access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref>

Positive reviews were given by Tapio Salminen of the Finnish video games magazine ''[[Pelit]]'' (91 out of 100),<ref name="PelitReview">{{cite web|last=Salminen|first=Tapio|url=http://www.pelit.fi/index.php?id=60606|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727015549/http://www.pelit.fi/index.php?id=60606|archive-date=July 27, 2009|title=Dreamweb - Peliarvostelut|website=[[Pelit]] |date=August 1994|access-date=April 8, 2013|language=fi}}</ref> Jamie Davies of the now defunct NTSC-uk website (7 out of 10),<ref name="NTSC-ukReview">{{cite web|last=Davies |first=Jamie |url=http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=ipc&game=Dreamweb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612140431/http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=ipc |archive-date=June 12, 2022 |title=NTSC-uk review > PC > Dreamweb |publisher=NTSC-uk |date=March 2006 |access-date=April 8, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> the French gaming website JeuxVideo (15 out of 20)<ref name="JeuxVideoReview">{{cite web|url=http://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0001/00012384-dreamweb-test.htm |title=Test de DreamWeb sur PC |publisher=JeuxVideo |date=February 16, 2010 |access-date=April 8, 2013 |language=fr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101132930/http://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0001/00012384-dreamweb-test.htm |archive-date=November 1, 2012}}</ref> and the video games magazine Power Play (85% out of 100%).<ref name="PowerPlayReview">{{cite web|url=http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=6099&s=2 |title=Träume sind Schäume: Dreamweb |publisher=Power Play |date=October 1994 |access-date=April 8, 2013 |language=de |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107235553/http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=6099&s=2 |archive-date=January 7, 2016}}</ref> Will Groves reviewed the game for ''[[PC Gamer]]'', and while praising the "atmospheric gameworld" he noted that the game felt "irretrievably old fashioned" concluding that while it was not a bad game it was a style of title that had been done many times before and offered nothing novel.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Review: Dreamweb |first=Will |last=Groves |magazine=PC Gamer (UK) |date=November 1994 |pages=94–95}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.scummvm.org/games Free download of the game] at [[ScummVM]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20220612140431/http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=ipc ''DreamWeb'' review] at NTSC-uk
* [http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/reviews/221/ ''DreamWeb'' review & screenshots] at Adventure Classic Gaming
* {{moby game|id=/dreamweb}}
* [[exotica:Dreamweb|UnExoticA music files page]]

[[Category:1994 video games]]
[[Category:Adventure games]]
[[Category:Amiga 1200 games]]
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:Cyberpunk video games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:Empire Interactive games]]
[[Category:Freeware games]]
[[Category:Point-and-click adventure games]]
[[Category:ScummVM-supported games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Top-down video games]]
[[Category:Video games about dreams]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom]]