Newspaper Page Text
PLAY IT,
DESIGN IT,
SHARE IT
LittießigPlanet, a new
Play Station 3 game, lets you rule
virtual worlds like never before.
BY CRAIGH BARBOZA
Anyone who regularly picks up a
video game controller knows there are
ways to customize your avatar or edit
key elements of the gameplay. Several
titles are packaged with creative tools that let you
tinker to your heart’s content
As far back as 2000, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
gave players the thrill of designing their own park,
using a variety of killer skateboard ramps. Series
such as Doom and Half-Life were hits, in part be
cause fans were able to create their own unique
level of play within them. These levels (also known
as “worlds” or “stages”) typically involve a set of
challenges as well as a goal that players must
achieve before advancing to a higher level, where
they’ll encounter bigger challenges and a bigger
goal Along the way, players often
can solve puzzles and collect
“coins” that let them upgrade
their skills.
Unfortunately, the creative
tools needed to do this stuff
were so sophisticated that they
demanded endless hours of ap-
'The goal
was to make
something
to entertain
and inspire."
plication, not to mention a degree of technical
savvy that few of us outside an MIT laboratory
possess. Basically, you had to be an ironic-T-shirt
wearing armchair programmer fluent in computer
code to do anything even halfway cool.
That all changed recently with the debut of
LittießigPlanet ($59.99), an award-winning plat-
14
USA WEEKEND -Nov. 14-16,2008
I \
18
LittießigPlanet s animation has a
homemade arts-and-crafts charm.
form adventure for the Play Station 3. In the game,
a villain is robbing the world of its dreams. Players
control Sackßoy, a protagonist made of burlap who
travels through a wild variety of stages say, a
South American wedding or Indian temple in
pursuit of the bad guy. But LittießigPlanet s big
draw isn’t the story as much as it is the powerful,
intuitive creative tools integrated in the game.
Any object or environment you can think of, any
obstacle course or fierce enemy you want to see, can
be pieced together on screen with a simple high
light, drag and drop from the “Popit” menu. The
game’s developer, Media Molecule, made the tool
based system’s interface user-friendly, with tutorials
along the way to guide you.
“The goal was to make something to entertain
BH 9
Kj i through .(hii hluv hi ,itiun Net ajrk J
and inspire people,” says Molecule’s creative di-
m
point of view and add sound effects. And you can
put yourself in the action if you take a picture with
the PS3 Eye. When a given level is completed, you
can share your interactive masterpiece with the
LittießigPlanet community via the Play Station Net
work. Thousands of user-created worlds—ranging
from Indiana Jones-style actioners to a quiz board
that blows up when players choose the incorrect
answer already are online. ( Read about our
“USA WEEKEND”IeveI, below.)
As the camcorder was to directors and the elec
tric sewing machine was to fashion designers, Little
Big Planet is that democratizing force that’s open
ing the door for a new r generation of game makers.
And while Healey and his design team say they’ve
had a blast working on the game, he admits they’re
most excited to see the “strange and crazy stuff”
their game will foster “Who knows? Maybe the Next
Big Thing will be made using LittießigPlanet.’’ a
i Play the USA WEEKEND
level of LittießigPlanet.
We definitely get our'fun on' putting together your
favorite magazine. And now that USA WEEKEND is in
video games, you can join in!
Using the same creative tools available to every
one in LittießigPlanet, U.K.-based Media Molecule
designed a new game level that simulates our weekly
newsroom operation. In this level, players navigate an
obstacle course (sounds familiar!) as they print and
deliver the latest issue of USA WEEKEND. And check
out the snapshots of some of our dedicated editorial
staff in the background.
Our game level, titled "USA WEEKEND," can be ac
cessed through the LittießigPlanet community on the
Play Station Network.
rector Mark Healey, adding that
LittießigPlanet was made using
the same tools that are found in
jSt the game. “We wanted to em
power people to make things and
■ share them.”
AS YOU progress through
LittießigPlanet, you unlock
new powers and commodities
that you can use to build your own
level. You can adjust lighting, change
Visit us at usaweekend.com
UTTIIBIGPtANCT SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAWMENT AMERICA