Little Big Zone
October 15th, 2008
When Little Big Planet was first announced, I knew I was seeing something special. However, I had no idea what kind of depth was possible with the amount of customization in the game. In fact, I’m still not sure what the limitations are. Can you change the physics of the game? Can you make Sackboy run faster or jump higher in certain levels? That would make the game truly limitless. Either way, I’m certain that the above comic would be true if Ray had a PS3, since he’s always talking about how he’d make a better Sonic game than Sega!
LBP looks great, but it’s not hard to make a game that’s better than ANY Sonic game ever made. This is coming from the mouth (fingers?) of a ex-die hard sega fanboy. I owned a Genesis for 5 years before I got my N64, and I only played sonic games. I look back on those days and wonder, “What did I see in those games?”
It’s the truth.
In my opinion, Colors (DS version) was pretty damn good. It was short, though–even when I finally found the last Chaos Emerald and fought the secret final boss.
Nice comic! I thought the title was funny, too.
Just don’t let Sonic team see that… They may think that its a great idea and make Sackboy versions of all the crappy Sonic characters. The last thing we need is a Sackboy Charmy or Black Doom.
I still have hopes for Sonic Unleashed….
But I’m also looking at my Little Big Planet preorder with a nervous twitch and hoping my half completed Rocket Ferris level remains intact….
Also, Ray, you lost perspective on the second line left from right. It’s a bit too sharp an angle. Gawd I’ve been concepting for three weeks straight. Any other time, I would have missed it.
Then I guess you’ve already seen this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYMZFPkI7Uk
And why no change in the 2P Start!-logo?
We’ll have a logo up tonight or tomorrow, figured it was better to release the comic without the logo than hold off on both for a day!
Is Super Sonic in the game?
I am considering buying a PS3 for the sole purpose of Little Big Planet. Luckily, I have a cousin who has a PS3 so I will get to play it.
I really think that Ray nailed the look of both LBP and early Sonic in this comic. Interesting. I especially like Sonic the sack boy.
The thing is, I’d really like to play LBP, but I don’t want the whole PS3.
I
Hahaha!
Dang, guys. That’s a little cold. But still a funny comic! Nice job guys!
put amy in there and have sackboy sonic being chased by sackboy (sackgirl?) amy.
LOL
that should be your next comic!
Can’t tell for the full retail, since it’s much bigger, but you couldn’t do that in the Beta. Kinda a big let down, since I was really hoping for these kinds of things myself.
But different stuff has different physics, like glass feels like ice when you walk on it.
I love, love, love the illustrations in this one. And the concept, of course! But mostly the illustrations. How beautiful are those little shoes? Great job, you guys 😉
But, eh, has the voting been disabled? The stars are rejecting me.
Loooca,
voting should work unless someone with your IP address already voted.
I chuckled at the first panel. And the reason I say “first panel” is because I thought there would be more panels for other games…when there wasn’t…that’s when I laughed. XD
I don’t really understand the promise the ‘game’ gives us. Make your own levels and share them with others…. That’d be great and all, but I don’t want to hook up my system to the internet. If I wanted to play online, I’d make it for the PC
Luddite….
Words cannot describe how wonderfully indubitable this profound masterpiece of a comic is.
And for the younger generation:
OMG U PWN NCG BBQ!
when i first saw it I thought of a rag doll then i found out what it was… and i have one question: is that a photo shop or a vector or even a little of both?
Ouch! I first checked my RSS via my cell phone before checking them on my computer. Guess I voted while scrolling down, or something. Gosh, I hope it sent away a 5 stars rating.
Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me.
(even though I don’t know what that means…)
It’s not that I don’t like the game, It is just that all they show is the online stuff… I just wonder if there is an offline mode or something…
Yeah, I don’t get the appeal either. I haven’t seen a whole lot of it, but if it’s just creating and sharing levels…what’s the point? Where’s the goal? I mean I know that type of thing can be fun (i.e. Endless Ocean…well actually that seems to have more of a goal than LBP), but no point to a platformer doesn’t sound like much fun. What am I missing?
It looks good, but the actual platforming looks meh. Maybe if I actually played it I’d like it, but the videos make it look way too slow and floaty.
It was done entirely in Illustrator with vectors. It’s one of the only times where making it look bad actually made it look good…..
Luddite started as a term describing artisans who’s livelyhood was threatened by textile plants in the Industrial Revolution. In modern times, it’s taken on the form of people who are afraid of technology or somehow angry or resentful towards technological advancements. As an example, Stephen King is a luddite. There, I expanded your vocabulary. Use this word well and march forward into the night. Just be sure not to invoke the wrath of Godwin’s Law.
ANYWHO, majority of their focus has been the creation tools though they’ve always said the game will come with a single player campaign. The real extension of the game, however, will come from the expansive user created content. To ignore this aspect is to say MySpace, Youtube, and Facebook are barely a blip on the internet culture. This, in essence is the meat of LittleBigPlanet. Some will just play with the tools and those will be fun, others will create great, great levels that are really imaginative.
As an example, one of my designs in the beta could never be completed because I could never test it. But I had a giant monster slowly inching towards the castle at the left. Two players were needed to control a catapult and two other players would be launched skyward to try and take the monster down. The launched characters would often try and climb the monster to hit the switches needed to break away his armor. Players could also drag accessories into the catapult basket with them. The two things I never got to work was the long range crossbow device and getting an arrow from the crossbow to actually stick to the monster which was a bad thing since the arrows had rocket pack accessories attached which were needed to navigate some trickier spots. The level end computer was basically hidden inside the beast so it would only be accessable if the dissolve material was triggered via switches. Course I have a feeling majority of my problems will be solved once I get my hands on the FULL toolset. Now just think, how complex my level sounds and people were doing stuff even more complex than that.
And fact of the matter is, with this game, you could NEVER enter the editor and still have a TON of content to play. And the final case for Little Big Planet? Stephen Fry…. he narrates the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1ctoT7ezTE&feature=related
http://www.2pstart.com/forum/stuff/d3vins-exclusive-coverage-of-dsi-sion-2008/page-1/post-8530/#p8530
Obligitory link to the continuing coverage of DSi-sion 2008.
@sheppy, If I ever get a Ps3 I’m probably going to get the game anyway… If only Ps3’s would drop to $200 or something like that.
I’m really not sure about this game either. I think it’s great to ship a kind of toybox and let you create whatever you want with it, but so far all the impressive levels I’ve seen have been “Wow, that’s incredibly well made”, rather than “Wow, that looks like fun to play”.
I really see this more as a game for the creators than for the players, which would be fine, but it’s not quite sophisticated enough for the creators. Any toolset which doesn’t have support for scripting, tweaking the physics and so on will eventually start to feel just too damn limiting.
Look at the amount of work needed to make a simple calculator:
LitleBigCalculator (Youtube)
Sure, it’s impressive that it can be done, but how many people are going to be able to map out a mechanical calculator? You should be able to write a couple of lines of script and add a fun numbers puzzle to the middle of a level, not spend weeks working on a machine that can add….
Hopefully there will be some genuinely fun platforming action to be had, but at the moment I don’t see anything that’s better than Sonic / Mario on the virtual console.
Oh c’mon, Fluffy Panda. At this point you’re searching pretty hard to find faults.
The calculator that you pointed out as a failure impressed Media Molecule because they didn’t know it could do that. That, at it’s core, is someone who understands computers at a core level and, if you noticed, it was working in hex code. That achievement should be something applauded, not derided.
Adding scripting is a fine idea except, at that point, what is the value of Little Big Planet? Why have a fun program to create a ton of new content when Ogre 3D works on a Linux equipped PS3? Little Big Planet doesn’t have scripting because LBP is NOT an API. People are intimidated by what LBP can achieve already and you want to ADD to that?
And I feel it’s more than a little unfair to say this game fails because the platforming doesn’t look any better than the greatest platforming games of all time. In that case, why bother with Super Mario Galaxy or SSBB? After all, SMW and SFII have them both beat on VC.
If you think it’s not for you, just say it’s not for you. Don’t try and push a nonlogic into it. I don’t like Mario Kart. I won’t give a lecture on how the absurdity of powerups built into a track makes no logical sense. I just don’t like it.
I got on to the LBP beta, and there was a level that was Green Hill Zone Act 1, and it was done very well. So yeah, with a coupld hours, Ray could definitely do better.
OMG, LBP in less then a week!!!! *drools*
Now that I’ve payed attention to the current conversation, another reply:
I can see why some of you have your doubts about the game. A lot of my friends do , to, and heck, even I did. Then I got onto the beta. Good bye, doubts!
The platforming is actually really good, something you can’t judge from just a video. The create area is AMAZING. I would spend hours just messing around in there, and eventually making a level. Heck, I was able to recreate the disappearing blocks from a Megaman game!!!
Also, there is the other levels made by other people. To say some of these are amazing can be an understatement. There is such a huge variety, some really good ones, its just so cool. One level was someone using magnetic key switches to play the intro to Sweet Child O’ Mine. Another was a claw grabber machine that you used to get points. The possibilities are endless, and you can almost definitely find something you would like on there.
And even if you don’t have internet, there is a Story mode with around 50 levels I believe, that helps you unlock stuff and gives you ideas. It is a great game you can’t judge by its cover, so if you have a PS3 or are considering getting one, this is a must get.
Lol, freaking awesome comic! I can’t wait to play LBP when it comes out on Tuesday. Is anyone else here getting it?
Hey Sheppy, you misunderstand me. I think the calculator was simply amazing. I’m just a little concerned that it pushes the complexity so incredibly high to add such a simple feature. I LOVE that you can make a mechanical calculator with the tools in LBP but I don’t like that it’s necessary if you want an adding puzzle somewhere in your level. A stunning academic exercise, but too much effort for normal use.
There’s certainly space for a tool box that allows anyone to create a game, but for the really creative types out there I think being able to add a simple bit of code would have made all the difference.
And the comparison to Sonic and Mario is justified, as far as I’m concerned, because people are clearly interested in making replicas of games like those two. Unfortunately the closest anyone will ever come is a slow, floaty sackboy version.
They were so close, but by not giving the option to alter things like speed, jump height, physics properties and item behaviours they are going to limit a lot of very creative people to making something which is only 95% of what they wanted to make. And judging from the vids I’ve seen so far, the 95% is the wow factor, but the missing 5% is the fun gaming experience.
Still, I would love to be proved wrong. If people are still making innovative and fun levels in a year after the release then I will happily eat these words. If there are dozens of level 1-1 clones and green hill stages that fall just narrowly short of being entertaining then I’ll be hoping for a patch which adds that last 5%.
Well I hate fighting games so Brawl is above SFII in my book = P
I think the main gameplay, being platforming, is kind of important. Who cares if you can make super cool looking levels if playing them is boring, but I haven’t played it so I’m not going to judge it yet. I just don’t like how it looks in videos. Also SMB3 > SMW. Yoshi’s Island > SMB3
YOSHI’S ISLAND IS PLATFORMING PERFECTION!
In case anyone wants the game, free $15 gift card with purchase from Circuit City.
I have no idea what anyone is talking about!
Why do you all have your long comments that go on and on?
There should be a comment length limit…
No because then everyone would just make another post to continue their previous one, making it even more confusing…
Little Big Planet’s content creation is pretty cool, but it’s let down by Sackboy. If I get it (I don’t have a PS3 at this time), I probably wouldn’t make a single level without some kind of vehicle of jetpack. He’s too slow and floaty, from what I’ve seen, and as far as I know, they can’t be changed. Their decision to not let you make stuff float unsupported in mid air was also a poor choice in my book, because of it, you’re going to see a lot of levels where they stick a giant posterboard over the entire background so they can make floating platforms.
Sry. Will keep cmnts shrt.
No dtail in futur.
It’s all physics driven and it’s MUCH easier to create platforms and objects in air and left them drop. The solution to the problem you have is using sticks and supports. Based on the material you make things out of, glue sticks most things in place. As for how many people will just create the posterboard, well, it’s a lot more work to do that than the sticks.
As to creating adjustable physics on the Sackboys themselves, well… who knows? That could be a future adjustment. Little Big Planet is hardly what I would call the type of product that has a definitive finished state. Just the opposite. Even Media Molecule has said they’ll be adjusting and adding tools way later down the road.
Also, this is just my opinion mind you, but people recreating other game levels in LPB fail. LBP’s gameplay isn’t suited for Mario levels, nor Sonic. LBP is suited for LBP levels. I mean, Yoshi’s Island is a better comparative point to LBP than Mario or Sonic.
Good point, I never thought of that…
But really, my point is that if it’s so complicated that they NEED a long comment, why are they posting it?
At first I thought it was Paper Sonic.
Because if you take subtract 3.14 from anyone’s Opinion, you’re left with Onion. But that’s not very funny…
Regardless, Wall of Text entries are simple. You see them and you decide whether or not to read them. I’m compelled to read them, I’m weird. And it certainly adds more than peoples feelings on the game were limited to “_______ sucks” or “________ rules”
But fine, I shall endeavor to create a little big thread on the forum to further the discussion.
As for how hard it is to make a calculator in the game, well… Now that there already is one, you can take it, shrink its components, then heart it. Tada! You can now put a reasonably sized calculator anywhere you want! I think it’s just a matter of time until they start making complex devices out of simpler components like calculators. The only real limitation I can think of is the amount of data allowed in a level. I do hear that praised level-makers will be able to make larger levels, so maybe one of those people will make a working PC in LBP. 😀
Or maybe a Mac! 😉
But Macs don’t play games… those are serious business…
I play Team Fortress 2 and other Orange Box games (through bootcamp) on my Mac on a daily basis. I also play Cave Story, one of the best indi games in recent memory (and I use the Wiimote as a controller :P). Call of Duty 4 also exists for the Mac, as well as Spore and World of Warcraft. Those are just a few recent games that I can remember off the top of my head, and I’m sure there is plenty more.
Hey, compared to the others this week on the Weekly Webcomic Wrapup, you guys are doing great again! I think the saying will now be, “This comic used to be bad.”
Maybe you should roll out some of these simple comics more often.
i agree. sometimes, the simplest things can be the funniest.
Does anyone know the Sarcasm tag so this doesn’t happen in the future?
Man, I am freaking HYPED for LBP. Only a few more hours to go.
that’s why I used the “;)”
You can always do this:
:sarcasm:
I really want this game but don’t feel like paying for the entire PS3. So far, this is the only game exclusive to the PS3 that even mildly interests me.
That would be pretty awesome to be able to make that in Little big Planet
LITTLEBIGMOBIUS! YEAH!