On November 16 2010, be prepared to create whole games in addition to your usual platform levels. And remember,  those approx. 3 million levels from the first game will still be playable on LBP2!

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I have published my second LittleBigPlanet level and this time it was made with players in mind.

My first level was just a stress-test of the LBP creation-engine and wasn’t meant for playing, but I managed to incorporate some gameplay elements. Now that I know what LBP is capable of, I decided to (as I always try to do) create something original. What I did is something I have never seen before in all of the levels I’ve played online.

Design Theme: “Will different things happen everytime you play?” What I tried to accomplish by that statement is to create a world that changes based on random events and also by what the player does. In other words, if you do something…it triggers something later on. Sometimes you may not be able to see what you’ve triggered and most of the times, you don’t know what you’ve triggered because everything blends seemlessly into the environment.

Visuals/Story: There isn’t really a story. The visuals are pretty dark, gruesome, bloody, hellish and they were designed spitefully so to invoke the ‘madness’. What the level illustrates is an art. It’s about a journey of a Perfectionist’s mind during the initial, middle and final stages of his terrible failure at something. This is how my mind looks like when something goes wrong. It can quickly heal, or it can get worse depending on how deep I go in thought. Personally, it’s a painful experience that I tend to go through often because of my aim for perfection at everything. Caution for little children as the content is deeply horrific…for them.

Gameplay: I have made a spoiler-full guide to answer everything necessary for ‘completing’ the level. Please don’t read it unless you play the level a few times first. There is a lot of programming done in this level to keep track of everything. There is a sensible ranking structure that reads all major events that happen. The level has no real difficulty…though some parts are tricky if you’re not accustomed to the LBP-physics. But, I’ve simplified everything for anybody to pick up and play. Another cool gameplay feature is the goal of obtaining the highest score possible. The entire design of the level is based on this idea. So, while the things you do affect other things, these things are merged into the bubble-scoring structure and so you cause your own score.

So, you have a reason to boot up LBP and help me get my last trophy. Heart me if you like my design, heart the level if you like it…and please rate reasonably. Remember that a higher rating means that more people get to access my level easily.

I pretty much ‘demand’ comments/questions/thoughts from you if you played the level. I recommend playing several times to appreciate and understand the design fully. Simply aim for the best rank, a high-score or just for the artistic experience.

Thank you and I appreciate feedback or anything on this thread: LBP Level – Odyssey of Dementia

[Note: If you have trouble finding the level, just enter: Seiryuki2002 in the search. If it doesn't appear, press square on the level that says "The Experiment by Sudesh" and select More from this Author option. It should show up there.]

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No more rumours! LittleBigPlanet 2 has been confirmed by Game Informer and the game’s a whole new beast in the Create, Play, Share genre.

For the LittleBigPlanet fans who constantly drool over its robust level-editor (like me =P), you would be monstrously shocked to know what the game’s developer, Media Molecule, has planned for Sackboy’s (and Sackgirl’s) next multi-million-level adventure.

Details (via NeoGaf) from the Game Informer Magazine (June 2010 Issue):

- LBP 2 has less of a focus on platforming altogether and it’s more of a platform to actually create games with
- There is an all-new level creator and it is not just a tool to create platform games.
- As examples, the game 100% encourages the player to create game types and wants you to make a shooter, a racer, puzzle games, Space Invaders clones, even RPGs
- A player can even customize a HUD. The example given is a health bar for a fighting game.
- A Media Molecule developer has created a fully-functioning Command & Conquer Clone
- Media Molecule loves that a lot of user-created levels in LBP1 were homages to classic games and laments that so many manipulations of the creation tools were necessary to do them. Sackboy won’t need to be “hidden behind the curtain” when you make games with LBP2.
- There is a new super-important creator tool called “direct control seats”
- In LBP1, lots of people made rudimentary “hold R1 to accelerate” vehicles. Mark Healy created a car out of rubber wheels and a bottle, then placed a direct control seat in it. He pulled up an interface that resembled a PS3 controller and assigned commands to buttons.
- Example given was assigning Sixaxis tilt for forward and reverse, horn on the X button.
- You are no longer limited to the game’s stock sound effects. You can record your own sounds and voices, attaching them to characters or objects. Magic Mouth from the original LBP is gone
- Direct control seat’s control scheme is instantly accessible and you can attach it only to the part of the vehicle you want it to control.
- Example was given about the 8/16-bit remakes/tributes having to use the signature gameplay mechanics of LBP. That is no longer true in LBP2. A creator can place a direct control seat on their own platforming protagonist and complete it with a customized control scheme.
- Example of the previous was Yoshi’s Island. If a player creates the perfect recreation of the SNES-era jump they can share it with anyone in the community.
- There is an in-game microchip that functions as a calculator and it is a direct response/homage to PSN user Upsilandre (seriously, he’s mentioned by name)
- Enemies in the original title could only be programmed with super-basic commands and most resembled marionettes.
- Users will be able to take a template for an enemy called a Sackbot, tweak the AI and dress it in any way they choose.
- Creators can choose the weak points on the Sackbot, determine if it is scared of heights, and even program acting routines.
- A disco scene was set up by Media Molecule and two employees recorded together on a single Sackbot. They moved its arms and bobbed its head in a dancing routine. JUST the AI was copied and pasted onto twenty different Sackbots. Each Sackbot was given its own unique look.
- There are now movie editing options as well.
- Every LBP2 player will receive their own profile on LBP.me. It will display your activity feed as well as previews of their own stages
- There will be user-created integration in QR codes as well. They can be printed on advertisements, business cards, and automatically load a level when held up to the PlayStation Eye. There is no special menu to do this. Any time the PS3 is turned on and running LBP 2, you can wave it in front of the Eye.
- If you are not near your PS3 you can take a quick photo with your smartphone to see an online preview of the level and add it directly to your level queue.
- For creators of multiple levels, you will be able to string your stages together so that they flow from one level to the next.
- Sackbots can be drastically increased or decreased in physical size.
- Sackbots can be controlled by direct control seats as well.
- There is a new gadget (like the MGS paintball gun). It is a  grappling hook.
- Media Molecule says explicitly there are multiple more gadgets coming.
- All DLC from LBP1 transfers over to LBP2. Including downloaded content packs, costumes, etc.
- There is a major overhaul to the story level as well. There’s the same 3-plane perspective for the story mode and the levels so far have a similar run-jump-grab platform style.
- Storyline is not country-based like last time, but is based in periods of time

The first game looks so puny compared to this. E3 is just a month away; expect a proper demonstration at Sony’s Press Conference. You creative trini gamers should be gathering up your ideas as to what type of game you’re going to make when LBP2 is released.

Hmm, now what do I do with the 2nd LBP level that I’m creating? I think I’d better go work on that now before I forget it for this game. If you haven’t played my first level, it’s called “The Experiment by Sudesh”.

[via Kotaku]

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On December 22nd, LittleBigPlanet will be getting a DLC package that will add the much awaited “Water” element to its gameplay.

At the cost of just US$5.99, the creative community of LBP can download the Water object and tools to incorporate into their levels. The package is also using Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean as a way to introduce the new Water feature, similar to last year’s MGS Level Pack. This pack contains:

• New Gameplay features for Create: Water – Global Water Object, Scuba Gear, Bubble Machine, Water Switch
• 5 Brand new Pirates of the Caribbean themed Levels
• 1 New costume: The Cannibal: Leg Bands, Teeth, Nose Decoration, Hair, Loincloth, Skin
• 4 new music tracks
• A new level background
• 8 Materials
• 14 Decorations
• 27 Objects
• 133 Stickers
• 11 brand new PlayStation® Trophies

There will also be a Pirates of the Caribbean Costume Pack available if you wish to plunder the vast seas of LBP donning in your favourite Pirate’s costume from the movie.

For more information on this package, as well as helpful insight into use of the Water object, visit LittleBigPlanet.com.

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Coming to

Check the full details of the 1.21 update at LittleBigPlanet.com.

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