LittleBigPlanet

Author: Andy Fair
Published: 19th November 2008
Comments (25) Stumble

LittleBigLevelCreator

One of the most talked about features of LittleBigPlanet is the level creator. This is an absolute stroke of genius on the part of Media Molecule, as it not only allows you to create your own levels, it allows you to share them with the world.

As you travel through Media Molecule's premade levels, you'll collect parts to create and decorate your own levels. First time you fire up the level designer, you'll need to sit through a whole bunch of tutorials that go through the individual parts of level design – there's a lot to listen to, and you can't proceed until you've done a mini tutorial on any part you want to use, and even Stephen Fry's voice gets a little annoying after a while.

Still, you can design levels that are as complex or as simple as you like. If you never use a particular part, you'll never have to sit through the tutorial for it, so perhaps there is some merit in starting small and getting more complex as you get used to the vagaries of level design.

LittleBigPlanet LittleBigLevelCreator
Click to enlarge

You're not just limited to ramps and obstacles in your levels, either – there is a whole range of linkages, triggers and switches to allow you to make your creations more than just simple run and jump affairs. It's not as if you're using a cut-down set of developer tools, as with some games – you probably could, if you really wanted to, recreate any of the pre-made levels from the story mode.

The clever part about custom levels in LittleBigPlanet is the physics. Because every part is modelled at least semi-accurately, it's possible to connect them all together and make a fully-working machine which the developers probably never even thought of. Indeed, even in the short time that the game has become available, we've seen working calculators and even side-scrolling shooters. If previous games are anything to go by, user-created levels will go way beyond Media Molecule's or Sony's wildest imaginings, and will keep people coming back for more long after they've finished the twenty-odd levels of the story mode.

LittleBigPlanet LittleBigLevelCreator
Click to enlarge

Once you've designed your level, you can then put it online for others for play. Once they've played it, they'll be able to rate it, give it a description tag and "heart" it. Hearting a level means that you really love that level, and is the ultimate accolade for the level designer. The more people that have hearted a level, the better it is.

When looking for a level to choose, you can search on a number of criteria, such as difficulty, specific tags and so on. Once you've found a suitable level, you can also then extend the search to find similar levels or other levels designed by the same person. You can even see which levels your friends have hearted, and which level their creators have hearted too. Given the myriad of ways in which you can search for levels, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to find a new level to play.

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