Finding Your Car in a Labyrinth of the Mind
I think everyone can say that the one thing no one wants to hear about is when a friend says to you, “Can I tell you about my dream last night?”
But there is something that fascinates us about the dreams we have. It’s a place where our brain goes that is so mysterious, and we try to interpret what these visions might mean in our real lives.
In fiction and games, dreams are a great source of material. A Dream About Parking Lots is a game about the developer’s real dream, and while it involves trying to find your car, does it mean so much more?
Story and Setting
This is the debut game from Interactive Dreams, based on the developer’s personal experiences. You start the game in a first-person perspective in a parking lot. Who you are in this world is a mystery at first, and all you can see is the parking lot of a mall and countless cars. In your right hand is a car key, and by pressing it, you can try to find your vehicle.
When you find your car, the level is over. But each of these levels is a dream, and each one puts you in different maze-like car lots, split over different locations.
Therapy Sessions and Meta-Narratives
Soon after starting the game, a conversation starts up at the bottom of the screen between the protagonist and a therapist. It’s a text conversation, and it’s all about the hero’s dreams about the car lots. It’s a fascinating piece of writing that talks about dreams, but also what they might mean to that person. It’s also very philosophical and insightful about us as humans and what it means to dream.
The story and the writing take a turn further into the game, becoming quite meta and providing thoughts on game design itself. I loved these conversations, as they provided the perfect backdrop to the gameplay playing out on the screen. There are dialogue trees to explore where you choose how to reply to the therapist, even though I don’t think the choices change the impact of A Dream About Parking Lots, or the direction it goes in.
Beeping Keys and Flashing Headlights
The gameplay is as simple as pie. You walk around in a first-person view through a series of maze-like parking lots. You have one button to press, which is the car key, and by pressing this, you listen for a beeping sound from your car. If you don’t hear that sound, then you are nowhere near its vicinity. Get closer and you might hear the horn lay out a “parp,” and then you know you are close. Keep looking, and you might see the headlights flash.
When you get to the car – which is different in every dream – you can get in and end the level. Some cars are hard to find and seem to be in impossible places, while uncovering others will be easier. It’s a simple mechanic, but a strangely addictive one.
Minimalist Beauty and Hypnotic Sounds
The visuals of the game are very basic, but there is something beautiful about them at the same time. I found myself lost in this strange environment, working through its blocky edges and strange liminal spaces. It’s a simple but effective design, and there is a good range of cars as well.
The soundtrack makes use of public domain music, and what the developer has done is use the hypnotic sounds of Erik Satie. It’s a perfect fit for the mood of the piece and the tone of the dreamlike state. There is no voice-over, but strangely, I don’t think it needs one.
A Compelling and Unique Dream Experience
A Dream About Parking Lots is most certainly a game, but it is also a piece of art about dreams and the creation of games as a whole. The premise is so simple, but it’s strangely compelling; finding a car in the parking lot feels as important as saving the world from a million aliens.
I liked the conversations between the hero and the therapist, as well as the way the game turned into something other than it was first intended to be. Some won’t like A Dream About Parking Lots, but for me, this is a compelling game that I thought about for a lot longer than it took to finish.
Important Links
A Short, Surreal Story About Feeling Lost – A Dream About Parking Lots is on Console – https://www.thexboxhub.com/a-short-surreal-story-about-feeling-lost-a-dream-about-parking-lots-is-on-console/
Buy A Dream About Parking Lots on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/a-dream-about-parking-lots/9ngjqrxcqmws
