... and by worst we mean "with as little taste as humanly possible" -- but first the best LittleBigPlanet level. A PSN user named Upsilandre, whose brain is at least thrice the size of ours, has created an "electronic" (i.e. not mechanical) 8-bit calculator capable of adding and subtracting any double-digit number. In the video after the break, you see both how to interact with the level and how the whole thing works (spoiler: It's nearly maxes out the complexity meter). It's a shame to think this might disappear once the beta is over.

As for the other video -- and please don't let this take away from your awe at the above calculator -- file this under the "unfortunate but bound to happen" category. A couple levels have popped up on the beta based on the September 11 attacks. Remember, folks, you can report offensive levels in-game for Media Molecule to promptly slam. GoodEvilPlanet officially launches October 21.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Despite a well-documented obsession with LittleBigPlanet and its emphasis on user-generated content, our skills pretty much begin and end with penis-themed level design. This is probably why Sony has tapped New York's Parsons The New School For Design and not us to host a LittleBigPlanet level-making competition.

The event, taking place in New York City from September 21-22, aims to pit 120 students in teams of five against each other over a 24-hour period in order to see which group can create the best custom level as judged by developer Media Molecule, as well as members of the media and Parsons faculty. Winners will see their creation make it into LittleBigPlanet as "a specially branded Parsons section" of the game. We can't wait to see what comes out of the competition. As for the penis levels, that's something best left to the masters.

The LittleBigPlanet breakdown session was a little different than most. We've been seeing the game at every trade show since it was revealed at GDC 2007. As a result, the session took a more informal Q&A approach, rather than a showcase for the game's features.

Those present – producer Pete Smith and interface designer Jim Unwin – did start off by volunteering some information: Firstly, the game is finished and pretty much ready to go. The European release date has been finalized as October 29th, with other regions to be confirmed later. Barring unforeseen circumstances there's no reason at all why this game shouldn't ship in time.

We were also told that when LittleBigPlanet was first shown at GDC, Media Molecule had only about five members. As much as the presentation at GDC was a glimpse into the PS3's future, it was also a hiring pitch. Media Molecule was looking for new members in order to work on this incredibly ambitious project. The level shown at GDC was the entirety of LittleBigPlanet up until that point. In fact, they hadn't even finalized the name until a few days before.

Don't panic, but famed British comedian and noted Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy voice (he's done the audio books and narrated the movie) Stephen Fry will provide narration for LittleBigPlanet. Media Molecule's Alex Evans made the announcement during a press briefing for the game, although he had the TV muted at the time. Seems fitting for when we make our whole sort of general mishmash.

Following a LittleBigPlanet press briefing, we had a chance to ask Media Molecule's Alex Evans about their participation in Sony's E3 2008 press conference. (In case you missed it, a LBP level was made for the company's power point slides. We've embedded video of the level above.) According to Evans, SCEA approached the dev two days before their press conference. They spent the first day making the level and the second day tweaking.

We're hoping this sets a precedent for all future press conferences. Rare, we're looking at you to show how Banjo can make Xbox sales data fun.

We admit that we have an obsession with Little Big Planet, bordering on addiction. It's something with which we're trying our best to cope, a therapy helped somewhat by Media Molecule co-founder and technical guru David Smith. We like to think of his recent interview with Eurogamer as a kind of patch, letting information seep into our bloodstreams, taking the edge off as we pine for the game's October release.

Among the number of topics discussed, Smith spoke out in support of the game's beta testing, something he noted as being "in progress," and -- contrary to earlier reports -- that "it should gradually grow to include more people." In addition, with the recent addition of Trophies, he stated that the team is "having a lot of fun working out what trophies most fit" Little Big Planet, teasing that one will involve "making your sackperson be thrown at some huge velocity." Check out the full interview for more words strung together about Little Big Planet. We'll be quietly twitching in the corner.

Sony announced today that SingStar for PS3 will finally cross the Atlantic on May 20. That little bit of information was buried deep inside a press release about Sony America's presence at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

Coachella revellers will have the opportunity to try out SingStar and upload their embarrassing renditions of songs to the intertubes, that is, if they're not too busy viewing demos of Little Big Planet and playing some Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Sony America will also host the "TMO Tone Def Party and SingStar Lounge" on Saturday night.

We were promised a LittleBigPlanet demo in late 2007, but a sample of the user-generated-content-fueled platformer never materialized. It should come as no surprise then that (as rumored) the game will be missing its originally announced launch window of early 2008. Eurogamer's reporting that inside sources indicate a September release for the game.

Though we're saddened to have to wait, can we at least look forward to a LBP demo sometime in the spring? Or maybe Home? Anything? Hello? All we can say on behalf of all the PS3 owner out there is that Metal Gear Solid 4 had better be awesome.

We gave this new trailer for Little Big Planet a hard time during last night's VGA liveblog, only because it seems like a really bad way to introduce the game to mainstream audiences. The game's premise (what little we know of it) is pretty complicated, so it might have been smarter to feature a trailer that included a little more explanation, just so Johnny Halofan could get the concept.

That said, if you're already familiar with the game, the new trailer is a confirmed magical treat. Not only is it full of whimsy (a plus) but we're also finally given some idea of the extent to which LBP can be used to generate pirate-related scenarios, the true watermark for all entertainment software. The answer seems to be a resounding "Win ho!"

[Via PS3F]

Long ago, cynicism hardened the hearts of the Joystiq staff to lumps of coal (or in Ludwig's case, a conflict diamond), so it's hard for us to get too excited about anything. That said, we're almost certain we feel a few cracks in our ticker when we watch these videos of Sony R&D using the PlayStation Eye to customize games.

In one video, a staffer draws a spaceship and a planet surface on a sheet of paper then the PS3 generates an impromptu game of Lunar Lander with them on the fly. In another, a Combat-esque game is interrupted when another player wants to scan his own hand-drawn tank into the game. This is all just research at this point rather than an actual product, but it's hard not to be excited about the possibilities. (Little Big Planet object creation? Dare we dream?)