Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet was recently playable in Indio, California at the 2008 Coachella Music Festival. Gamers were able to take refuge from the sweltering heat of the desert sun and have a relaxing break with what Sony hopes will become the next big thing in multiplayer gaming. LittleBigPlanet's importance to the PlayStation brand is considerable: it's one of the few truly unique exclusive properties that gamers won't find on a competing console, and has been all the talk since it was first unveiled in dazzling fashion by former company executive Phil Harrison.
A Sandbox Like Never Before
LittleBigPlanet's premise is an intriguing one: the game presents a sandbox full of arts and crafts-styled tools that engender level creation and cooperative play for what is planned as an interconnected global community. Everything down to your sackcloth avatars is fully customizable. It's a game about creativity and pouring in those creative juices to power social gaming experiences.
There's really no limit to the ways in which the game can be customized, but the adorably cute Sackboy and Sackgirl avatars are always a big hit with those first getting their hands on the game. One Sackboy was dressed in a devil costume, complete with horns and fiery red tail. Another looked like he was ready to perform at a Chinese New Year festival, wearing a paper dragon mask, whose gaping maw revealed the smiling face beneath. Other character designs were more minimalist in approach, capitalizing on the already attractive basic design of the game's soft and plushy protagonists.
Describing the characters in a tactile sense isn't odd in this case, as everything about LittleBigPlanet, from the characters, to the environments, and even the global stage selection screen, has been endowed with textures that look like they're ready to pop out of the screen and into your hands. The odds and ends that are slapped together (or carefully intertwined) to create the stages look like they've been pulled from your local arts and crafts store. Dangling handles are suspended by bits of string, metal surfaces look strong and bear reflective properties, while foam-filled cushions and other soft objects have just the right amount of bounce to them. The way in which LittleBigPlanet applies realistic physics (or even slightly exaggerated physical properties) to the different materials in the game lend it the great variety that makes the level creation aspect so interesting.
