Return to the weird and wonderful world of Sackboy and friends in the highly anticipated sequel on PlayStation 3.
LittleBigPlanet is a game built on its community; it's about sharing, playing and creating, and Alex Evans and Mark Healey, the founders of Media Molecule know that. "We've got more ideas than we could ever possibly fit in ten LittleBigPlanet games," says Evans when eu.playstation catches up with both him and Healey at the unveiling of LittleBigPlanet 2 on PlayStation 3. "What the community helps us do is focus. The community helps us cut down on these ideas and give them what they want." That's exactly what Evans and the team at Media Molecule have done with LittleBigPlanet 2, the colourful sequel to the smash hit original.
Two million and counting
While the original LittleBigPlanet allowed players to build whole levels using the ingenious creation tools included in the game, LittleBigPlanet 2 is set to go one step further by granting them the ability to build entire games. That includes everything from racing games to arcade shooters and even real-time strategy titles too. The idea of play, share and create has evolved completely since Sackboy burst on to the scene in 2008 with over two million levels available to download via the LittleBigPlanet community. The good news is that every level crafted by the community will seamlessly work with LittleBigPlanet 2 when it's released later in 2010.
Interestingly, both Evans and Healey have seen players not only use the tools provided with the game to conjure up hordes of new levels, but also for stranger things such as a level designed to represent a marriage proposal. "That was pretty interesting. It actually had Yes and No entries at the end of the level", explains Evans. Other cool additions to the universe included levels based on the US presidential election and even players using LittleBigPlanet as a way to present their homework to teachers in school.
For Evans and Healey, the hope that players take things to the next level with these exciting new features is high. "I really do believe that someone is going to invent a whole new genre with the stuff that's in there," says Healey of the advanced creation tools set to feature in the game.
Say hello to the Sackbots
Aside from these new features, one of the most interesting inclusions are the Sackbots, characters that you can use to populate entire levels, which can be manipulated to behave whatever way you see fit through a series of commands available to you in the options menu. Sackbots can be ordered to follow you, patrol certain levels and can even have different personalities such as a fear of heights or anything dangerous in the environment.
Along with the Sackbots there are 30 new levels set to appear in the game when it launches, all of which feature various looks and styles. Some are influenced by the Renaissance, others by Steam Punk and technology, while one level in particular that the developer demoed owed a great debt to neon lighting and propaganda posters, which the team had aptly titled Neon Propaganda.
Another fantastic new addition to the LittleBigPlanet world is movie making. In LittleBigPlanet 2 players will make their own movies, or tell their own stories and record them before sharing them with the community. With this feature you have the ability to set up three different cameras for multiple angles and populate your scene with Sackbots. Once you have recorded your footage you can then share it with other LittleBigPlanet 2 players.
With a wealth of new creation tools to play with including movie making, Sackbots and 30 brand new levels, LittleBigPlanet 2 is set to revolutionise the world of play, create and share on PlayStation 3 later in 2010.
‘Clash Of The Titans’ May Propel Luke Evans Among The Hollywood GodsLittleBigPlanet Contraption Challenge 11 kicks off
