From the moment you boot up Type Dreams, it instantly tells you exactly what it wants to say through nothing but its UI and general aesthetic. There's no cursor visible, nor can you cycle through the gorgeous collage-styled menu options with the arrow keys; everything is centered around the keyboard, from the main gameplay loop to the menu itself. You create a profile, choose from one of many typists, choose the kind of writing instrument you'll be using (from the familiar yet OOP digital keyboard to an old-fashioned typewriter, complete with a lack of backspace functionality and manual carriage return!), and off you go.
While there are a few game modes available such as the unimplemented Story Mode or a Competition Mode, wherein you face off against AI opponents to see who can finish the writing assignment the fastest, the most fleshed out mode available is the Library option, where all the different kind of typing assignments lie.
The gameplay is very simple: You choose an assignment from one of many categories, ranging from simple typing exercises to original poetry to smut. Once you've chosen your option, you are immediately thrown into the gameplay, and the timer starts counting. Your task is to copy the words of your typing assignment exactly as they appear. It's very arcade-like in design: The only opponent is yourself, competing for higher WPM counts, less mistakes, faster completion time. I chose the Typewriter as my instrument of choice, and the adherence to it's archaic rules, from a lack of backspace to having to run your finger across the F1-F12 row of your keyboard to simulate carriage return for each line break is both unique and zen-like in it's continued execution. It's incredibly addicting, and the only reason I stopped playing was because my left hand physically cramped up after a lengthy typing assignment.
The real star of the show here is the presentation. Few games are as stylistically intense as Type Dreams. From the keyboard-only, Victorian-era collage UI, to the dynamic era-appropriate piano music that swells and falls in time to your typing, to the unique animations that play on some typing assignments, in-sync with each word completed, to the strict adherence to the archaic hardware of old, Type Dreams is incredibly unique and uncompromising in it's vibes. It's the perfect adaptation of the creative writing process, from the way the environment around your character shifts thematically with each word as you enter The Zone™ and the words fly off from your fingertips, to the hefty typing sounds and accompanying screen shake per letter as you draw your assignment to a close and the euphoria of completion washes over you.
Type Dreams is an anomaly now. Launched in Early Access and perpetually unfinished, seeing as how Hofmeier has scrubbed all traces of him off the internet, Type Dreams has no real ending. Ironically enough, it's like someone just stopped typing mid-paragraph. In a way, it almost feels appropriate: Little more than a ship passing in the night. But I hope that ship docks one day, and everyone will get the chance to try this game out again, because it's truly worth your time.
While there are a few game modes available such as the unimplemented Story Mode or a Competition Mode, wherein you face off against AI opponents to see who can finish the writing assignment the fastest, the most fleshed out mode available is the Library option, where all the different kind of typing assignments lie.
The gameplay is very simple: You choose an assignment from one of many categories, ranging from simple typing exercises to original poetry to smut. Once you've chosen your option, you are immediately thrown into the gameplay, and the timer starts counting. Your task is to copy the words of your typing assignment exactly as they appear. It's very arcade-like in design: The only opponent is yourself, competing for higher WPM counts, less mistakes, faster completion time. I chose the Typewriter as my instrument of choice, and the adherence to it's archaic rules, from a lack of backspace to having to run your finger across the F1-F12 row of your keyboard to simulate carriage return for each line break is both unique and zen-like in it's continued execution. It's incredibly addicting, and the only reason I stopped playing was because my left hand physically cramped up after a lengthy typing assignment.
The real star of the show here is the presentation. Few games are as stylistically intense as Type Dreams. From the keyboard-only, Victorian-era collage UI, to the dynamic era-appropriate piano music that swells and falls in time to your typing, to the unique animations that play on some typing assignments, in-sync with each word completed, to the strict adherence to the archaic hardware of old, Type Dreams is incredibly unique and uncompromising in it's vibes. It's the perfect adaptation of the creative writing process, from the way the environment around your character shifts thematically with each word as you enter The Zone™ and the words fly off from your fingertips, to the hefty typing sounds and accompanying screen shake per letter as you draw your assignment to a close and the euphoria of completion washes over you.
Type Dreams is an anomaly now. Launched in Early Access and perpetually unfinished, seeing as how Hofmeier has scrubbed all traces of him off the internet, Type Dreams has no real ending. Ironically enough, it's like someone just stopped typing mid-paragraph. In a way, it almost feels appropriate: Little more than a ship passing in the night. But I hope that ship docks one day, and everyone will get the chance to try this game out again, because it's truly worth your time.