Media Molecule held a developer session on Saturday 2nd of October at the Eurogamer Expo 2010. Me Carl Daniel, Kieran Blackman and Rameez Quadri were all in attendance, and I am sure my colleagues will agree that it was one of the best games on show period. I said from the beginning that Little Big Planet was one of those games that put people off with the first look, but the old saying of “don’t judge a book by its cover” applies to the franchise. On the surface Little Big Planet 2 much like the first game looks like a toddlers dream with the perfect customizable cuddly character. In many ways it is that, as this game has no age cap. As explained in my interview, people well over the age of 40 have been known to play Little Big Planet. The fact is that everyone can get something out of the Little Big Planet universe.
So what does Little Big Planet 2 do that the first game didn’t? Well of course it carries over the same play, create and share concept as the first game; but to put it simply, it’s bigger and better this time around. The creation tools have now evolved so much that you are not just making linear levels, you are creating completely new gameplay types. I recall people saying the first Little Big Planet was just a bunch of running and jumping on stuff. Well it’s impossible to make that judgment this time around. During the developer session with Media Molecule they began creating a level with input from the crowd, just to show that the possibilities are endless. One of the things they created live during the session was a tank battle between two Sackboys (both controlled by a member of the MM team). They demonstrated how objects that you create can be set up to be used in certain ways with the Dualshock 3 (and eventually the Move). For example, they built a tank but needed to assign how it would work based on controller input. To achieve this you create a circuit board and wire up a Dualshock 3 to it all on screen. Any options you apply to the circuit board will effect whatever object you have attached it to. It sounds very complicated when being read, but we will have some videos later one to demonstrate just how it works.
Another great detail that was shown to us during the session was linking levels together to create longer less congested experiences. For those who have messed around with the first Little Big Planet’s level creation, you will be fully aware of the level creation meter that gages how much you can add to your level. Once it’s full you can create no more unless you take something out. Well this time around you don’t need to worry, because you can link multiple levels together to create one experience. Once a player reaches the end of the first part of your level they’ll experience a short loading time before the next part materializes.
Another great feature is being able to compose your own score for your levels. During the demonstration the team showed off a keyboard which lets you add different notes to create a piece of music to fit in with your creation. It reminded me a lot of fruity loops, and I am sure beat makers such as Carl Daniel would have a blast messing around with it. Lastly the Media Molecule team revealed that there would be a Playstation Move pack available for DLC shortly after the games release. Which of course allows you to use the motion controller within the game.
Apologies for the sound, you may need to turn up your volume for this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LKbh9OqlJo
Look out for more Little Big Planet 2 information coming very soon.
