Games Convention: Create a Level.

Here is pair of new videos, courtesy of GameTrailers, that shows us a time-lapse video of 4 people making a complete level.





As you can see, the tool set included with the game are extremely robust, and you can make whatever your heart desires. It is going to be exciting to see what people will create with LittleBigPlanet.

Sackzilla Trailer Pop-It Menu Screen Grabs.

I have screen captured and croped the "Pop-It" menu system used in LittleBigPlanet. It was hard to see in the video at standard speed, but by looking at each individual frame, you can see the depth and extend in which you can customize your levels in LittleBigPlanet.

A spring:



A winch, that's interesting:



Some elastic, also interesting:



The rod, which we will go more in-depth:



In-depth rod customization:



Piston customization and tweaking:



My objects page:



Tools, I'm not sure what this one is:



Tools, this one starts fire:



Stickers and decorations tool box:



Some decorations:



Stickers. There's more than this, I just forgot to grab a picture. (Note the concept stickers):



And finally the materials:



I think that the gadgets are awesome. It will be interesting to see what people will make with them.

Games Convention: New Video.

Straight form Leipzig, here is the new trailer for LittleBigPlanet.



It looks awesome, and it shows how creative and unique we can get with the create tools. It also includes some intense "play" moments. So take a look if you haven't already.

As for other LittleBigPlanet news, the PAL release date for the game has been confirmed to be on October 29th. As for the U.S. release date, that's still anyone's guess.

Leipzig Games Convention.

Tomorrow, August 20th, marks the start of "Games Convention 08". Games Convention is an annual event held in Leipzig, Germany. Think of this as Europe's E3. This year, Sony has set out to make a big statement, and is going to have a significant showing at the convention. They have dedicated booths displaying many of Sony's big ip's, such as Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, and of course, LittleBigPlanet. Here is a leaked photo, from Sony's LittleBigPlanet booth.



As you can see, there are may televisions set up, so people can get a hands-on experience with LittleBigPlanet.

Sony Computer Entertainment Germany has planed for a press conference on day one of the convention (that's the 20th!). So, for the next few days, keep checking LittleBigLevels for new game information and videos!

New Videos!

Here are two new videos, filmed off of a television, highlighting LittleBigPlanet's game play. This first video shows off some features in the create portion of LittleBigPlanet's "create" portion. It demonstrates some nice "gadgets" that you can use on your objects and in your levels.



This second video shows off a sledding level, resembling a popular flash video game. This level (called Spline Rider) is nice, short, and fun.



If that hasn't satisfied your LittleBigPlanet cravings, then you can watch 7 more new videos, by clicking here!

My Solution to the Water Problem

There it is. The solution to all of your problems. Everyone has been asking for it, and I have found a solution. We have been asking for it to be included in the game, but all along, we can make it ourselves. Yes, I'm talking about water. Don't understand? Just watch this video.



It turns out, water simulation consists of many tiny round particles, essentially little spheres. If we just make a lot of tiny little spheres of glass in LittleBigPlanet, we can essentially create an effective simulation of water (or any fluid for that matter).

Excited now? Well don't be. Even though it will work in theory, the create mechanics in LittleBigPlanet don't allow you to create spheres that can move freely along all 3 axis. In fact, you can't create spheres at all. Sure, there's the soccer ball, but who wants to swim in a pool of soccer balls? The create tools in the game wouldn't allow you to create little spheres of glass. You can model a circle facing the screen, but in reality, that's just a cylinder.

Not all hope is lost tho, lots of little cylinders could move and flow like water. If you hit a switch, and open a gate, those cylinders will certainly roll out, and wa-la, something that at-least looks (and potentially behaves) like water. We wont know for sure if this theory will work until the beta is released in September. Until then, we shall continue to speculate.

New Preview

There was yet another new preview for LittleBigPlanet posted in Edge Magazine, once again, stating how revolutionary this game is going to be, how simple it is to make stuff, and how surprisingly fun it is. However, this preview had shed some light on some new game play mechanics. I have posted (and bolded) the new features stated within the article.

• If you want text in your level somewhere, you just open the Popit, select a mouth, and stick it wherever it's needed, and add your text. So you can use this for hint boxes, stories, cut-scenes etc.

• Adding music you add a music box. There was some confusion about music and sound editing possibilities from the E3 coverage, but this seems to be how it is according to Edge: the options on music boxes are to control the song, the audible range, and the volume level of each of the instruments in the music. However, you can also have music boxes that just play a given sound effect. For example, Edge describes granite whoopy cushions that sound a fart when jumped on.

• Scripting is object based too. As Edge says, this is where LBP could have risked losing a lot of players - "the boss battle where people get stuck on and just give up". But, they say, it's not - it's simple stuff that can let you trigger enemy attacks, locked door behavior or NPC behavior. Switches are the main object for scripting. They give an example of a basic Zelda style puzzle made in 15 seconds - a switch tied to a motor. Flip the switch and motor can raise a locked door.

• However, there's more kinds of switches than just manual. Motion sensitive ones can act like more conventional passive triggers. E.g. you could have an enemy drop down from the sky when you pass a point - all this behavior control by cogs and pistons linked to the switch.

• There's a lock-and-key switch based on stickers. Use the right sticker(s) to flip the switch.

• There's magnetic switches. Which is totally new to me. You have a pair of switches that can be split between two objects. The switch only triggers when they're brought together. As Edge says: "in a single move, the colour-coded keys and gateways of Gauntlet and a hundred other RPGs are suddenly brought within reach".

• The mechanism for chaining levels together is also revealed - keys. When you build a level, a key for that level is added to your inventory. If you want to link that level to another you're building, just place the key at the end, and players will be warped from one to another. The capability opened by this is pretty great also, in that it needn't just be warping players from the end of one level to the beginning of the next. You could have worlds of multiple depth..e.g. have a key to a doorway of a house, to warp your players to another level representing the inside of the house.

These new features are really cool, and will provide for a more in-depth game than we had originally imagined.

Awsome Level!

Here is an awesome level shown off at E3 08. It shows off some nice game mechanics, and possibilities for awesome user created levels. You can see how you can run out of restarts until a "game over", you can see those projectiles and the use of switches, and of course, ICE! just imagine the possibilities! Sled races down icy mountain sides, a game of hockey... we have seen ice before, but that was the kind that freezes you into an ice cube. This ice has the actual physical properties of ice. Will we be able to melt it with fire?