LittleBigPlanet level moderation a 'continually improving' process

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Dec 3rd 2008 at 5:14PM }

That's according to Sony, which addressed several LittleBigPlanet concerns in a recent (and now weekly) post on the official PlayStation Blog. "The vast majority of moderated levels were due to offensive material," wrote SCEA marketing manager Mark Valledor, "however we are evolving the way moderation happens to ensure that creators are made aware of why their level was blocked." Earlier this year, level creators expressed their frustration at becoming victim of Sony's inscrutable moderation policies. The company has since released some general "don't put this stuff in your level" guidelines.

Valledor also noted that other online aspects of the precious platformer are being examined and improved, including the occasionally problematic servers and the maddeningly unhelpful level search function. "We've heard your requests to get better search functionality to find levels and getting the PLAY, CREATE, SHARE stats up and running on the Info Moon and have put this on the top of our list."

We hope you guys tagged that list properly -- it's going to be awfully difficult to find otherwise.

Tags: LBP, LittleBigPlanet, Media-Molecule, Moderation, User-Generated-Content

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

offday @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:17PM

LittleBigPlanet looks awesome, and makes me jealous since I'm a 360 guy. But after hearing all about this moderation bullcrap, it almost makes me glad I don't have it. Do they block everything that is remotely fun?

Burritoclock @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:18PM

No, it's a good game. As a die hard 360 fan, I am very glad I bought it and love it. If it were not for Left 4 dead and Fallout 3 I would still be playing and building away.

Hyams @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:21PM

It's been blown out of proportion quite a bit. Apart from like two good levels (the God of War one comes to mind), I haven't noticed anything being taken down.

Tez @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:53PM

"all this" moderation crap is blown way out of proportion. They moderated a laughably-small number of levels out of the 150,000+ levels out there. The internet, as always, has overreacted.

j.howlett @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:02PM

i still see tribute levels, and i find plenty of fun stuff.

JoeTheBlow @ Dec 4th 2008 5:58AM

They seem to have, hopefully, fired the overzealous morons that clicked "deleted" every time a grief was reported.
They've also re-instated the lost levels, i can now see the mario levels, ico, MGS, god of war, donkey kong, Gladiators (awesome level!), and loads more than undoubtedly go into a legal fuzzy area.

Gurbinder @ Dec 4th 2008 3:25PM

god of war level sounds cool

Danny F. @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:18PM

I'm still mad that the only level I liked when playing this was the God of War level they removed. Of course it was kinda demented at the end with all the human sacrifices in the game but still.

Now I just put it on when my nephew comes over on the weekends.

Roto13 @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:13PM

The God of War level is still there.

copa @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:22PM

LittleBigPlanet Content FAQ

Q: Will my level be deleted without warning?

A: Depends on what week it is. Level moderation is a continually evolving process.

flanked @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:22PM

Between culpability in potential copyright infringement cases and alienating families with LittleBigPenis levels, I can't say I blame either Sony or Media Molecule for what appear to be draconian moderation techniques.

Dr. @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:25PM

Well, the process could hardly decline from its current state...

rvkremer @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:01PM

I loved the main game of LBP, but the creations haven't taken off AT ALL. There are less than 10 must-play created levels. Part of the blame goes to (lack of) searching and moderation. Why not moderate away the first 3 pages of "ZOMG 7 Trofeez Instantlee!" levels, so that the creative types can get inspired.

mykie @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:08PM

Now if they'd start moderating out out all the lame me-too Ninja Warrior levels.

Roto13 @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:12PM

I rented this game on Friday to see if I'd like the core gameplay enough to buy it (I do) and I've seen a ton of the levels I heard were moderated. God of War, Azure Whatever, Mirror's Edge, that Rygar thing, they're all there. What's up with that?

Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:08PM

What's up with that is simple. Kotaku loves sending everyone into a panick. The Azure Palace level, for instance, was on a server that was failing and I took a break from the level to check the blogs to find Kotaku reporting on it's moderation.

In essence, their first reaction to getting a few levels reported was pulling, They changed this and restored some levels. Meanwhile, what levels have disappeared into the ether forever are largely products of people who never played the game online and spreading hearsay.

Roto13 @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:12PM

I should have known Kotaku had something to do with it. That site is a joke as a news source. They're the journalistic equivalent of a "First!" comment.

Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:40PM

haha, thats a good summation

Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:33PM

Yeah, they pretty much are the biggest shame of a mainstream blog out there. I mean hell, remember when they got caught on the "Xbox Pure" rumor thing? Rather than admit it's their own fault for trying to be the first to s scoop without a lick of sense in moderating obvious bullshit from legitimate rumors, they just folded their arms, puffed out their chest and said "Well I guess CheapAssGamer will put their credibility at stake for a contest."

I mean, this is why I mainly follow Destructoid and Joystiq. Rarely report on rumors and when they do it's usually 90% confirmed by that point. Of course they get idiots ranting on "old'd" but at least Joystiq wasn't one of the several websites hyping the heavily (even by the original poster) doubted "Xbox 360 relaunch."

Roto13 @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:36PM

I liked when they reported that a PC version of Final Fantasy XIII had been announced at E3 like two months before their post and nobody noticed. That's probably my favourite Kotaku Fail moment.

Leo McKelvin @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:02PM

one of the best game this year. anyone who have a ps3 have no excuse not to buy this game. unless your scared you might like something that doesnt entail killing aliens.

tmacairjordan87 @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:52PM

I've got some spare money and I was considering either buying resistance 2, LBP or wait until after x-mas and pick up a game I didn't get. I kind of want LBP, but this moderation bullshit is scaring me away from a game that already throws up enough caution flags with me.

Decisions Decisions

Inspace2020 @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:24PM

Yeah the moderating has been WAY over blown...most of the levels end back up in a couple days...its usually some A-hole that reports the level to Media Molecule and they have to take a look at it....As far as user-created levels there are TONS of good ones...a lot are as good if not better than the levels in the game. I have over 50 "hearted" levels.

I find the best way to find good levels is to search your friends hearted levels.

Roto13 @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:56PM

I definitely agree with there being a lot of levels that are better than the ones that come on the disc.

Perno @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:16PM

Admittedly I've never played LBP, and probably never will since I don't own a PS3, but it just seems to be too much work to me. I've never understood the hubbub.

People that make popular levels should get paid by Sony for making the game more attractive/enjoyable to others. Now that would be cool.