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LittleBigPlanet 2

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LittleBigPlanet 2
LittleBigPlanet 2 European Box Art.
Developer(s)Media Molecule
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
SeriesLittleBigPlanet series
Platform(s)PlayStation 3
Genre(s)2.5D platformer, multi-genre
Mode(s)Single-player,
offline / online multiplayer (co-op)

LittleBigPlanet 2 (commonly abbreviated as LBP2) is an upcoming puzzle platformer video game, centred around user-generated content. The game is developed by Media Molecule, published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for PlayStation 3 and was originally scheduled for release in November 2010 but has now had its release pushed back to January 2011. The North American release date was later specified as 18 January, 2011

Unlike the first game which was marketed as a platform game, LBP2 is being marketed as a "platform for games". It is a direct sequel to the critically acclaimed 2008 title LittleBigPlanet and the third game in the series following a PSP version released in 2009. Most of the more than 3 million levels created by users in the first game will carry-over and be playable and editable in LittleBigPlanet 2.

Plot

Players continue Sackboy's journey after the events of the first game and the portable version are brought to an end. An inter-dimensional vacuum cleaner appears over the skies of LittleBigPlanet and begins to suck up its inhabitants, including Sackboy. Larry Da Vinci, the leader of a semi-secret semi-organised group known as "The Alliance", comes to Sackboy's rescue saving him from what they call "The Negativitron." The organisation is dedicated to battling with "The Negativitron" and defeating it before it destroys Craftworld.

Gameplay

While still retaining the three-layer, 2.5D nature of the original title, with the player controlling their Sackboy characters, players are not restricted solely to platforming levels, and can now choose to create many types of levels including racing, puzzle and role-playing games. The player may also choose to create and customise their own heads-up display to accommodate their game type. New animation recording options are available and players will be able to create full-motion cut-scenes to go with their level design, manipulate the camera for both cut-scenes and gameplay, and record their own sound effects for use in the level. As well as including a wide selection of original and licensed music, the game also includes a robust music sequencer. Multiple levels can be linked together, so that finishing one level immediately takes the player to the next in the series.

Sackbots can be programmed to follow Sackboy.

A new tool to assist in gameplay creation is the "direct control seat". This allows players to assign specific actions, such as button presses or Sixaxis motion control, to specific aspects of their gameplay design. Players are not restricted to using the direct control seat on level elements, however, and they may use it to direct the actions of the player's Sackboy character, allowing greater freedom of movement; Media Molecule made this design choice in response to the large number of homages to early platforming games, in which players had to "hide" and manipulate the Sackboy character in specific ways to replicate the style of gameplay. In addition to this tool, more gameplay items, similar to the Metal Gear Solid paintball gun released as downloadable content, will be available including a grappling hook, the "Creatinator" - a hat which is worn by Sackboy and can be configured by the Creator to fire any object - and Grabinators which allow Sackboy to pick-up and throw grabable objects. Media Molecule plans to regularly update the game with further items.

Enemy creation has also been improved. Players can now create "Sackbots", which are non-player characters whose AI can be controlled by the level creator. Options include determining weak points on the Sackbots, as well as programming routines for the AI to follow. Sackbots can be customised using costumes and decorations in the same way that the player character is and the AI for may be copied and pasted between multiple Sackbots. Sackbots may also be controlled by the aforementioned direct control seats.

All downloadable content from the first game will be usable in this sequel, as will most user-made levels from LittleBigPlanet.

Community

LBP.me will allow people to search for levels from a web browser.

The online community of the game will also be improved with the creation of the LBP.me website. From there, players may synchronise with their PlayStation Network IDs in order to check statistics on their own levels, as well as find new levels from the community, where they can queue them for automatic download when their PlayStation 3 is next online. Further to the official community website, improved API features mean that scoreboards and photos taken within the game can be displayed on a player's website or blog; website owners may also use the API to add live feeds and data from the game itself. Creators will also be able to generate QR codes for their levels. When scanned by a compatible device such as a mobile phone, they will provide a link to the level on LBP.me or will take the user directly to a level if scanned in-game using the PlayStation Eye.

Development

The game was first hinted at by a Sony representative in March 2010, who stated that the game was in production and would support PlayStation Move controllers, and in April 2010 by musician Ochre who revealed one of his songs had been licensed for the game. It was then formally revealed by video game magazines Edge and GameInformer in their June 2010 issues. On 8 May 2010 Media Molecule officially confirmed that they were developing LittleBigPlanet 2 on their Twitter account and hinted that the game would be formally revealed on Monday 10 May 2010. On 10 May 2010, the official website launched an announcement webpage and news article announcing the game with game details and an announcement trailer. The announcement was also made on the PlayStation Blog with a Q4 2010 release date. Numerous gaming websites reported about the game when an embargo lifted, including EuroGamer and IGN.

The game engine from the first game (left) has undergone major improvements for the sequel (right) including enhancements to the lighting and particle systems.

In October 2008, BBC reported before the original game was released that Media Molecule had already begun development of a sequel to LittleBigPlanet. The statement was later clarified in an interview with IGN, in which Siobhan Reddy of Media Molecule stated, "we see LittleBigPlanet as a platform... There will be a lot of additional content and it will vary in size and what it does. And we've already started that, yes." The "huge emotional investment" users have made in LittleBigPlanet, Alex Evans stated, is the reason he does not want to ship a traditional sequel. Because they don't want all of the user-generated content to be made obsolete, their focus will be to "expand the game without partitioning the audience".

In July 2008, Media Molecule mentioned that should there ever be a LittleBigPlanet sequel that the game would feature backwards compatibility with the original game's user-created levels. In November 2009, Media Molecule Level designer Danny Leaver said that a sequel would fragment the LBP community, calling it "the most counter-productive thing you could do".

On 23 March 2010, IGN reported LittleBigPlanet 2 was in production and would support the upcoming PlayStation Move controller. Sony later denied this report saying that future content for the original title would be compatible with PlayStation Move. Later on in May, along with the release of the trailer, Sony confirmed that LittleBigPlanet 2 would be compatible with Move. Keyboard and mouse support in Create mode was initially announced however it was later confirmed that this feature will not be in the game at launch.

Stephen Fry will narrate the game as he did with the first one. The game was originally due for a November 2010 release, but was later moved to January 2011. Various pre-order incentives involving free costumes are available.

References

  1. ^ "LittleBigPlanet 2 Now Launching January 18, 2011 in North America – PlayStation Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  2. ^ "Important news regarding the release date of LittleBigPlanet™2 - LittleBigPlanet™ - United Kingdom - UK". Littlebigplanet.com. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  3. Robert Purchese (2010-07-23). "LittleBigPlanet 2 dated PlayStation 3 News - Page 1". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  4. "LittleBigPlanet 2 Updates: Official Date and Retail Goodness!!! – PlayStation Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  5. Mark Valledor of SCEA (July 23, 2010). "LittleBigPlanet 2 Updates: Official Date and Retail Goodness!!!".
  6. ^ Eric Levine (May 10, 2010). "LittleBigPlanet 2 for PS3 Officially Announced for Winter 2010!". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  7. ^ Media Molecule Staff. "LittleBigPlanet 2 Official Site". Sony Computer Entertainment. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  8. ^ "GameInformer". June 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. "LittleBigPlanet 2 Adventure Trailer". Media Molecule.
  10. "Media Molecule: LBP2 may not be 100% backwards compatible". GamerZines.
  11. var authorId = "67932151" by Matt Wales IGN UK (2010-05-10). "LittleBigPlanet 2 First Look". Ps3.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-09-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. Cocker, Guy (2010-05-10). "Little Big Planet 2 Hands-On". Gamespot.com. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  13. Alex Evans. LittleBigPodcast Episode 70. Event occurs at 5:30.
  14. Luke Plunkett (16 April 2010). "LittleBigPlanet 2 Will Feature...Electronic Music". Kotaku. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  15. "Out Now: E215". Edge-online.com. 2010-05-10. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  16. "June Issue Revealed - News". Game Informer. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  17. Media Molecule Staff (May 8, 2010). "It's all true!". Twitter. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  18. "LittleBigPlanet 2". Media Molecule. 10 May 2010.
  19. "Announcing LittleBigPlanet 2". Media Molecule. 10 May 2010.
  20. Christian Donlan. "LittleBigPlanet Preview".
  21. Matt Wales. "LittleBigPlanet 2 First Look".
  22. Darren Waters (24 October 2008). "Game on for British developers". BBC. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  23. Kolan, Patrick (2008-11-05). "LittleBigPlanet: The Future". IGN AU. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  24. Alex Evans (speaker). The Making of LittleBigPlanet (Flash video) (Video). New York, NY, USA: Wired. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  25. Michael McWhertor (July 8, 2009). "Media Molecule Envisions LittleBigPlanet Backwards Compatibility For Possible Sequel". Kotaku. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  26. "A LittleBigPlanet 2 would be "counterproductive" say Media Molecule". Critical Gamer. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  27. Martin Robinson (23 March 2010). "LittleBigPlanet 2 Confirmed". IGN. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  28. Jim Reilly (24 March 2010). "Sony Denies LittleBigPlanet 2 Report". IGN. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  29. var authorId = "192818379" by Jim Reilly (2010-05-10). "LittleBigPlanet 2 Includes 'Move' Supported Levels". Ps3.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-09-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. Tom Hopkins (May 10, 2010). "LBP2 To Support Mouse And Keyboard". NowGamer. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  31. "LBP 2 Won't Support Keyboard and Mouse at Launch". LittleBigLand.
  32. "LittleBigPlanet 2 for PS3 Officially Announced for Winter 2010! – PlayStation Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. 2010-05-10. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  33. "It's Stephen Fry! - Media Molecule - We make games". Media Molecule. Retrieved 2010-08-21.

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