LittleBigPlanet gameplay details showcased in Sony Gamers' Day previews
by Griffin McElroy 
{ May 17th 2008 at 5:15PM }
We admit it -- we developed a crush on Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet from the first time we laid eyes on its texture-rich world. Ever since its GDC '07 unveiling, we've been fiending for more information on this Go! Team-infused gem -- yesterday's Sony Gamers' Day did not disappoint in that respect, bringing us three new LBP video previews (look for our writeup from the event soon). The video above features the game's PlayStation Eye functionality, the other two (embedded after the break) feature some nuances of the character creation system and the recently revealed "danger" system. It will be ours. Oh yes, it will be ours.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lorand @ May 17th 2008 5:23PM
The new trailer has Atlas by Battles which is so much better than that annoying The Go! Team song.
bigsofty @ May 17th 2008 8:08PM
Crappy 2D physics shoebox... Zzzz....
t_m @ May 18th 2008 10:12AM
you cannot criticize that go team song and live....
sorry, its the rules.
Arttemis @ May 17th 2008 5:39PM
Ah! I'm glad we get to see more of the actual gameplay. I've been wondering a lot about this seeing as how most of what we've seen revolves around what users can create. It's nice to see a bit more of what we can actually DO with those things!
Arttemis @ May 17th 2008 5:45PM
WOW! I was interested in this game knowing that so much of it could be based around my design (I love this in SSBB, even though it's not nearly as deep as this) - but seeing the intricacies involved in "machine building", I'm now completely sold and extremely excited to mess around with this.
I've always been a fan of creating puzzles, which is the reason I still have Crazy Machines still installed on my computer. This game, however, seems to be the puzzle- and platformer-loving kids' dream come true!
RobLink (MKWii code : 0989 1866 6646) @ May 17th 2008 5:46PM
The more I see this game, the more I fall in love with it. I plan to own a PS3, and I'm not entirely sure I would if it weren't for this.
Triforceowner @ May 17th 2008 8:31PM
I was looking in the comments to see if anyone shared my opinion when I saw your post. See, I have fallen out of love with this game. I'm so uninterested I am not even bothering with the video above. This is a stark contrast to a year and a half ago when I was like, "Oh my god this is so awesome." It's just been too much press over too much time without any change in what we've seen. It's like Christopher Lee playing a bad guy in a movie: Yep, there he is... and there again... and again... The game will be far from bad, but if it had come out last year with a hit'n'run hype wagon like Call of Duty 4 or... Twilight Princess or... Metal Gears Solid 4... or Duke Nukem Forever... wait no. I guess what I'm trying to say is that games have too much coverage too early making them less exciting near launch.
RobLink (MKWii code : 0989 1866 6646) @ May 17th 2008 9:12PM
I think with things like FPS, sandbox and RPG games the hype may fizzle out for me. But because there are so few 2D platformers now, let alone the user-created side of the game, it's kept my interest peaked throughout. And the fact that they've shown off a little bit more at each community event/expo means I don't get bored of seeing one thing over and over.
This contrasts with something like Halo 3, where I was fairly sure I'd enjoy it because I knew what I was getting into, but by the time launch day came around I was kindof done with it already. It was good to get closure (???) on the story, but I felt like I'd seen extensive guides and show-off videos of all the features that were new to the game.
With this, each peek I get allows me to wonder what kind of levels I can make, especially due to the fact that you can do that co-operatively.
But I can see where you're coming from - dif'rent strokes and all the jazz. The only friend of mine who actually owns a PS3 has absolutely no interest in this game.
Vidikron (FU) @ May 18th 2008 12:14AM
"See, I have fallen out of love with this game. I'm so uninterested I am not even bothering with the video above."
You're missing out big time. Seriously.
Triforceowner @ May 18th 2008 10:38AM
Oh, I ended up watching it, and it was precisely what I expected. "Yep, there's Little Big Planet again..." My general point is just that if that game came out in November of last year a little stripped down it would have been great. Developers really need stop trying to hit a home run on the first game of a series. Look at Halo: This game didn't have online play, dual-wielded weapons, or hijacking (or a story for that matter) in the first iteration, but the game was out with good features none the less. Don't try and end the world with your first title, just get it out there in a solid form.
Triforceowner @ May 18th 2008 11:11AM
Come to think of it, Halo was probably a bad example because that was a Mac game, an RTS, than a third person shooter with dinosaurs, and than Microsoft said, "Have money," and Bungie said, "Let's actually finish this thing."
doubleyewdee @ May 17th 2008 5:52PM
As someone who has no desire to create levels, nor to sort through the chaff of garbage that user created content is, from what I've seen of the gameplay this game sort of... looks terrible. I mean, the graphics are nice and whatever but I don't want to make levels, I just want to play a fun platformer. The platforming mechanics in this seem incredibly weak. You can run, and you can jump. Whoopee. Co-op sounds nice but I wouldn't be surprised to get bored of even that with the bare-bones rudimentary gameplay I've seen thus far.
Sacrilege, I know, but I just can't help it. I'm excited for some upcoming games but this is just not one of them.
Hyams @ May 17th 2008 5:57PM
It comes with a bunch of pre-made levels for you. And downloading other people's levels isn't exactly hard - just download the highest rated ones.
And personally, I think the gameplay looks pretty good. It's heavily based around physics and stuff, which makes it stand out from other similiar 2d platforming games.
Bluebrake @ May 17th 2008 6:02PM
A platformer where you just run, jump, and grab things? That could never, ever work! Hear, hear!
By the way, who's that strange fellow with the red hat I see next to so many people's names?
doubleyewdee @ May 17th 2008 6:03PM
Even highly-rated stuff is usually trash. I'm just not on with user-generated content. 99%+ of videos on YouTube are shit, the ones that aren't are professionally produced half the time.
While I get that it's "physics-based" I just haven't seen enough gameplay to convince me that running and jumping in a physics-based world is fun with no special abilities, no discernible enemies, no objective beyond "finish the level" etc. I like some meat in my platformer, hidden objectives, maybe even a little story (even the ham-fisted nonsense in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrows was *something*). I don't know, and maybe some more trailers would change my mind, but as someone who doesn't care about (or for) user-generated content this game seems like a lot of hype with very little substantive fun to be had straight from the box.
Which brings me to another point. I'm lazy, cripplingly so. Given the choice between finding new content online for a game or buying another game with premade content, I will always choose the latter. It's easier and less frought with the peril of low-quality irritation.
I do get others being excited, but I also wonder if anyone else feels at all like me about this. I want games focused on being awesome as a released object, a game that will be awesome/stay awesome even if the internet fell over tomorrow. LBP doesn't seem like that game to me.
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ May 17th 2008 6:05PM
@ Bluebreak
It's called originality and the lack of it to be precise.
Onto LBP; that depends on how the search system would work.If it's like Halo 3 then often enough, you'd have to dig through a lot of crap to find something good.
John McPoop @ May 17th 2008 6:08PM
I think part of the gameplay is creating stuff ... It may not appeal to you
Nightvortez @ May 17th 2008 6:15PM
It's not as much about you creating content as it is other people creating content which you can download and play, it gives you nearly endless levels you could play through and explore. The platforming seems pretty standard, reminds me a lot of a 2d Crash Bandicoot, run, jump, solve puzzles, but what's wrong with that? If something works, why fix it?
chez @ May 17th 2008 7:12PM
Mr Poster, what's your take on Garry's Mod? I play that quite a lot and so I've got no real desire to limit my creations in 2D gameplay.
t_m @ May 18th 2008 10:11AM
it seems more about "move, carry, drop and drag" than about just "run and jump"
plus different levels can have different goals, so it might be time based (compete against others on a global ranking) or points based (collect the most points) or just "finish the level".
Personally I had hours of fun simply playing with the physics in games like Half Life 2 and GTA, so it looks awesome to me.
(I also love games like Crayon Physics and Tower of Goo... which as physics based games with no real goal)
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ May 17th 2008 6:03PM
Guess it's time to start throwing some food down the basement for my Sony Fanboy friends.Looks awesome but I'm still sticking with my opinion regarding it's "killer-apness".It'll probably suffer from a Viva Piñata Syndrome.It will kick ass but it'll be branded as a children game and pass under the hype radar while everybody else will still be playing GTA4/MGS4/GT5.
...it's gonna have some Nintendo-levels of cult following though.
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ May 17th 2008 6:09PM
Shit, I'm going to get downvoted again... :(
RobLink (MKWii code : 0989 1866 6646) @ May 17th 2008 7:09PM
No, I don't think you will get voted down, you've got a valid point. Although this game appeals to most of us here, we're all here because we're into video games in a big way.
Joe Public won't see all this footage and hype, even when it ramps up close to release, and it'll completely fly under his radar. I don't think that'll stop it from being big enough to succeed though.
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 17th 2008 7:32PM
Remember Nintendo Mii's that everyone was making a big deal about? Little Big Planet has that same kind of appeal. Don't discount the fun of creating custom levels if they could make it fun enough.
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ May 17th 2008 8:34PM
Damn, SDF!
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 17th 2008 8:37PM
Don't look at me. I only vote down retards. And though I don't agree with your opinion, I don't count it as chest slappingly stupid
Noshino @ May 17th 2008 9:26PM
well Jakub, what happened to Viva Pinata is that it was labeled as a kiddie game right away because of the TV show....how could the same happen to LBP?
If Sony doesn't want this game to be seen as kiddie then they need to market it as such.
But I don't think you wont see them advertising the game until around July-August, for us informed gamers is ok to show the game before made some time before being released (ok, maybe not as long as Haze and Too Human) as the hype lasts long, but for the casual crowd, one that would also be interested in this title, the hype wont last THAT long on them...
I'm still waiting for Sony to open the "Build-A-Sackboy" workshop!
John McPoop @ May 17th 2008 6:11PM
The thing I am still wondering what type of gameplay modes are you able to incorporate in your level ... Is it just racing and platforming?
Can you make it like a little shooter type of game?
I will pick it up day 1 for sure but I am still unsure as to what the actual game play elements are in terms of actual game modes ... Can you make it into a fighting game ala powerstone?
Again it looks like a racer or platformer only but I haven't seen enough to know for sure what it is all about ... I wonder if you can make levels incorporate with each other as well to create an entire small game consisting of 8-10 levels
Anticrawl @ May 17th 2008 6:38PM
I can't wait, simply put. This will justify my PS3 purchase (since I loath and detest the idea of sub-par blue laser tech storage when red laser tech has yet to be fully tapped into. SEE: VMD).
Vidikron (FU) @ May 18th 2008 12:22AM
Subpar blue laser tech? That's just dumb. Your VMD discs largely rely on multiple layers to achieve any storage capacity of note. An equal number of layers based on "subpar" blue laser tech would demolish it. At least pick a tech worth backing, like HVD, if you're going to try and claim that blue lasers aren't worth supporting. Geeze.
Anticrawl @ May 18th 2008 12:56AM
@Vidikron (FU)
The limitations of Bluray are built in, it is a sub par medium, as was HD DVD. They both have a space limitation that can't be surpased with the current tech. Everyone should ignore this generation and wait for the holographic carts to release. That's a true new format.
Lekko @ May 18th 2008 2:22AM
...and people say PS3 gamers are good at waiting for stuff.
SWAT Kats are back! @ May 17th 2008 6:56PM
1. lol at "lolz" written at the early part of the demonstrated stage
2. It seems to them that the focus of this game would be something ever-evolving, a true example of the Game 3.0 philosophy that Phil Harrison rolled out last year. This is a good thing in some ways and bad in others. Like Doubleyewdee said, I also like a game i can just play. Custom stages will be great and all, but how many hours worth of disc-based content are you actually going to buy with this?
3. The level itself seemed pretty solid. The puzzle elements of it are classic platforming at its best. Death seems to be dealt with in a one/hit kinda way, but looking at the checkpoints, it seems like it won't be too too frustrating
4. Did anyone else think the jumps in this seem really slow?
chris mayle @ May 17th 2008 6:59PM
wait so they started a game got lazy and we have to finish it. I got some C++ code you guys can work on if you want to pregame
rruss79 @ May 17th 2008 7:08PM
The game is coming along very nicely and the wide assortment of things you can create within the level is very nice. The graphics definitely is right up there with the best but like one other poster has said there are somethings I do not see
First is that I have not seen any way to customize your characters or give it abilities beyound just run and jump. With no enemies, the challenge can only come from the platforming elements and I must say, as a platformer it doesn't look the greatest.
The real challenge ot LBP is the puzzel aspect which can be great but from what I see, will probably be to complicated for the majority of the people that purchase the game
The main problem that I see with LBP is that outside of the user created content, there isn't much else to the game which could be a big deal. I know I am way to busy to dig into the user created content but I also would like a very challenging platformer.
Like another poster, I would like to see a way to add more hazards, I would like to see an ability to reward players with new abilities, I would like to see the ability to create enemies and tweak their behaviors.
The game seems more geared towards group play but there are no group play abilities that would take this game to the next level.
Anyway thats just me, my son and his friends will absolutly love this game so its a instant buy for me.
Neptune @ May 17th 2008 7:19PM
There should be foes and bosses in the game though: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/27/enemies-bosses-bound-for-littlebigplanet/
but yeah special abilities would be quite nice.
Noshino @ May 17th 2008 9:13PM
The sackboy....HAS ANOTHER SACKBOY!
As far as gameplay goes, the only ones shown would pretty much be Racing and by points.
The Sound @ May 17th 2008 9:42PM
If Sony markets this well, which it would surprise me if they don't (this game is gold, it's a casual game, it's looks fun, and everyone can play it since it's simple enough), this will not only be a major console pusher since it will be released nearish to Christmas but also could be a strong candidate for GOTY considering it looks fun, will have a long lasting appeal no doubt with creating levels, and is just so damn creative and original. (If GTAIV wins, I will loose faith in gaming journalism, it's good, but not perfect, nor true GOTY material)
commen-cents @ May 17th 2008 11:00PM
just imagine all of the crazy things that people will come up with... ice levels a la hoth? maybe a sparta inspired level? customizable costumes out the rear... this might put miis to shame. i always thought that the big N should release some more options for the miis, at least some new haircuts.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ May 17th 2008 11:21PM
Wow. This looks pretty damn cool. If I had a ps3, I'd buy this.
ScottyGEE @ May 18th 2008 12:42AM
This is the only game that makes me desperately want a ps3. Everything looks amazing and fun. It also looks like it would appeal to my friends.
Now, if only Sony would make the ps3 the same price here as it was in America (since our currencies are so alike now, I don't understand why we would have to pay double [literally double])
okor @ May 18th 2008 3:42AM
This game makes me so ****ing happy that I have a PS3
Jago @ May 18th 2008 6:09AM
Color me unimpressed. I kind of get an Assasins Creed vibe from it, the concept is brilliant but at the end of the day it's just a side scrolling adventure game.
chez @ May 18th 2008 10:43AM
... Without the adventure.
Nah it's just Sony fans think it's the second coming but it'll likely be like GTA IV. "Just wait till GTA IV and PS3 sales will skyrocket!"
el serpiente @ May 18th 2008 1:23PM
Chez, everyone here is being so civilized, why do you have to troll? Go to your room...
ants @ May 18th 2008 6:14AM
I was doing all of this with sonic the hedgehog debug mode in 1991.
innovative my ass.
Cesaria (MKW:2621-2994-1376) @ May 18th 2008 9:18AM
I know, right? I loved that feature in Sonic where you could share you levels with other users.
GoonieGooGoo @ May 20th 2008 11:44PM
Even though I have big hopes for LBP...I'm still not sold....
While I love user created content.....I still have to see more substance in the gameplay than getting from Point A to Point B on a pretty textured level.
Though to be honest....most console players don't want to create junk...they just want to play it.
The creative freedom of LBP may be what make only accessible to the most hardcore who take the time.
We'll see come Q4.
It may take awhile