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The Edge LittleBigPlanet preview/feature

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
This was briefly, and graciously touched on by TheGreatDave in the Edge thread, but I have my hands on the magazine myself now, and there's more info and enough new stuff to come back to it..plus Edge features/previews are pretty great!

Edge again refers to it, as they did in their first preview, as the PS3's most important title. It looks like they paid a visit before E3, so things like AI brains didn't seem to be on the agenda, but they go through and explain certain things that none of the media at E3 adequately did. They were shown some of the more advanced stuff. They start by saying MM has been successful in creating a good modelling tool that's also friendly and 'empowering'. Everything is physical/mechanical, everything is mapped to physical objects.

e.g. 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 behaviour or NPC behaviour. 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 behaviour 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".

As Edge says, simple building blocks, the complexity that can emerge from which is 'staggering'.

One example of the magnetic switches: finding a baby belonging to a meerkat blocking a door. The mother and the baby both have either parts of the magnetic switch. Find the baby and bring them together, and the switch triggers, activitating pulleys which take the mother into a standing positiion and opening a door at her feet.

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.

Like TheGreatDave mentioned, the team has apparently implemented RPGs, complex platformers, hub worlds, puzzle games like Tetris, and even a rudimentary homage to Outrun. Edge says if you know what you want, and you can think of a way of implementing it mechanically, you can probably do it in LBP.

Popit they say is the perfect interface for all this, taking only a couple of seconds to find anything you need at a given moment.

They address the issue of 'creative freeze', people just having a brain freeze in the presence of the possibilities offered by the tools. Mark Healey says he thinks it's less intimidating that MySpace, and that they haven't come across this problem in Beta testing. They say part of the reason for the craftworld aesthetic was to welcome imperfection.

Edge describes its own efforts with 5 minutes using Popit..a rudimentary assault course made out of rock. As they say themselves, their results were hardly brilliant, but they say they could have happily messed about in it for hours. The emphasis in the create mode is on enjoyment rather than speed, even for those not very good with it.

For those wonder 'WHERE'S MY READY-MADE GAME?!?', Edge says this was the real surprise for them on their visit. From what they played, they say it should be a 'devestatingly effective' 2D platformer out of the box, even if not very revolutionary. They say the mix of precision jumping and simple physics is very reminscint of 16-bit gaming. They had relatively low expectations for this part of the game, but they walked away with the impression that they had been playing with the 'purest' 2D design since Super Mario World.

They talk about the company for a bit, the team, their reaction to the expectation and pressure (Healey says "I don't think that's really true", when asked about the PS3 being tied to the fate of PS3), the way there seemed to be a hint of "lottery winner's confusion" among a team almost surprised by what they've created. However, Healey cautions "The game hasn't even been released yet - it might be crap. Never one to believe in Hype myself" :p

Edge concludes that the game may well even outshine Spore in terms of ambition, that it could be "that special game that finally demonstrates that control and freedom don't always have to be at odds".
 

Issun23

Member
Cheers for typing that out! Very interesting. Magnetic switches sound awesome - they can add a lot of complexity to the puzzles if needed.
 

Blablurn

Member
i really hope this game is going to be successfull. I want it to have long legs. Please, make it happen.

Obviously it's going to be a day one purchase for me.
 

J-Rzez

Member
The potential of this game and the experience can be limitless.

But tell me, how much and deep of a story does this platformer have?
LAWL, who the hell cares

Glad to see the media is really getting into this title. It's going to need all the media hype, reviews, and scores it can get.
 

Oni Jazar

Member
Holy hell they thought of everything in this game!

And I thought that people might be interested in this:

For those wonder 'WHERE'S MY READY-MADE GAME?!?', Edge says this was the real surprise for them on their visit. From what they played, they say it should be a 'devestatingly effective' 2D platformer out of the box, even if not very revolutionary. They say the mix of precision jumping and simple physics is very reminscint of 16-bit gaming. They had relatively low expectations for this part of the game, but they walked away with the impression that they had been playing with the 'purest' 2D design since Super Mario World.
 

dallow_bg

nods at old men
They say the mix of precision jumping and simple physics is very reminscint of 16-bit gaming. They had relatively low expectations for this part of the game, but they walked away with the impression that they had been playing with the 'purest' 2D design since Super Mario World.
Very nice.


lawl duckroll
 
I look forward to playing the GAF-themed level full of cats, Drinky Nintendogs, Denis Dyack's Aristotle and Socrates, megaton Iwata WOW drop the bombs, Splorgenborg Fafracers, Itagaki Jeff Bell's what's your contribution to society, Gahiggidy's basement, etc.

Rated super machure.
 

itsinmyveins

Gets to pilot the crappy patrol labors
Tiduz said:
probably 60, like has been discussed in other thread.

I know, I know, just messing about.

Either way -- 60 euros? Kinda standard price, right? It probably won't be to difficult to find it a bit cheaper as well, with all the online stores and all.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Evazan said:
Magnetic Switches? Sackboy Hostage Rescue! YES!

Very unoriginal, but I'm gonna find a way to squeeze in a homage to Mario 64's "reunite the baby penguin with the mother penguin" puzzle :p
 

fanboi

Banned
J-Rzez said:
The potential of this game and the experience can be limitless.

But tell me, how much and deep of a story does this platformer have?
LAWL, who the hell cares

Glad to see the media is really getting into this title. It's going to need all the media hype, reviews, and scores it can get.

The story is that you should get away from ze kitten before he plays with you.
 

Cartman86

Banned
gofreak said:
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."

Now that is awesome and exactly the kind of thinking that I was hoping the guys at Media Molecule were up to. Give as many options to the creators of these levels and this game is going to be amazing.
 

Septimus

Member
Siiiiick. Hidden keys just like in Super Mario World, wow they somehow find a way to re-hype me on this game every chance they get!:D
 

Dr.Hadji

Member
They say the mix of precision jumping and simple physics is very reminscint of 16-bit gaming. They had relatively low expectations for this part of the game, but they walked away with the impression that they had been playing with the 'purest' 2D design since Super Mario World.

I'll believe that when I play it. Everything I've seen thus far would lead me to think otherwise.
Funny enough, I don't think platforming is going to be the game's strong genre for creation.
 

Nemo

Will Eat Your Children
ItsInMyVeins said:
I know, I know, just messing about.

Either way -- 60 euros? Kinda standard price, right? It probably won't be to difficult to find it a bit cheaper as well, with all the online stores and all.
Sony first party is 70 in europe now. But you can find it for 60 easy, the bigger chains even chop off a few euros.
 
Amazing. This is the best LBP thread thus far, let's keep it up!

Can't wait to do some seriously insane shit with this game. Mousetrap will be green with envy.
 
The Edge article did a lot to reduce my fears regarding the game. They're so obviously going to give the game a 10 too it's unreal. It's British, has great internet features and promotes creativity. They probably wish they could give it an 11.
 
gofreak said:
Very unoriginal, but I'm gonna find a way to squeeze in a homage to Mario 64's "reunite the baby penguin with the mother penguin" puzzle :p
Which is an homage to that "get the key that opens that door" puzzle. :D
 
I've been planning on picking up a PS3 for while but this game will be the deal breaker if it hasn't happened by then. Looks great and while I'd be shite at the level editor, it'd be cool to see what the community come up with.
 

ice cream

Banned
Well I just bought Edge today from WHSmith, and I'm going on a flight on sunday so I will definately enjoy this article!
Damn, I love Edge.

EDIT: Oh and BTW does anyone know any cheap Edge subscriptions in the UK?
 
They had relatively low expectations for this part of the game, but they walked away with the impression that they had been playing with the 'purest' 2D design since Super Mario World.

but they walked away with the impression that they had been playing with the 'purest' 2D design since Super Mario World.

they had been playing with the 'purest' 2D design since Super Mario World.

since Super Mario World

quoted for awesome and nothing less.
 
ice cream said:
Well I just bought Edge today from WHSmith, and I'm going on a flight on sunday so I will definately enjoy this article!
Damn, I love Edge.

EDIT: Oh and BTW does anyone know any cheap Edge subscriptions in the UK?

I don't think you'll find it any cheaper than whatever it is at MyFavouriteMagazines.co.uk

Sort of on topic; this months Edge is really, really good. It's so much better than everything else it's laughable.
 
gofreak said:
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.

This makes me very happy! VERY VERY HAPPY!

Now I now what I'll do with my Obama level. :lol
 

Loudninja

Member
LBP at Lollapalooza
During this year's concert series, SCEA will also offer access to one of this year's most anticipated titles, LittleBigPlanet. Set for release exclusively on PS3 in October 2008, the community and creativity-based game LittleBigPlanet, developed by Media Molecule, enables players meet on a blue and green planet scattered with individual plots and use their character's amazing abilities to play, create and share what they build with others throughout the world via the online PlayStation Network. While at the LittleBigPlanet tent, fans will get a chance to meet and play with performing artist, Brazilian Girls.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/895/895746p1.html
 
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