Someone really needs to tell me what the fuss over LittleBigPlanet is about, because I don\’t see it. It\’s a level design toolbox for a fairly average platformer, and it looks like you can\’t modify the basic mechanics in any way, so…what\’s the big deal?
The only thing I can think of at this point that might get me to buy the game is the fact that Stephen Fry does the tutorial voiceovers.
(Next post will be about King of Fighters XII, now that I\’ve had some time to sit and think about the ramifications of the new system)
I think it’s the “level design toolbox” part. People don’t care about the platforming, they just want to create crazy stuff. Look at some of the promo vids Sony has put out, people want to do things like create their own monster movie. It’s the same reason the Spore Creature Creator was such a hit.
LBP is having such a blast because it’s the first good (exclusive) game the PS3 has had since… damn, forgot its name but it’s an awesome looking game with tons of exploration.
@KK, my question is WHY does everyone think it’s a good game.
I gotta say I don’t see the appeal either. Sure you can apparently make neat levels but if the actual gameplay relating to those levels is unremarkable then who really cares? I’m not condemning it just yet mind you – I’d like to try it out first and make my decision then. But so far I find it hard to get genuinely excited about it.
It’s not even a platformer, it’s a puzzle game.
If anything, that should nuke the validity of your preconceived notions, but however, it shouldn’t psych you up about playing it. Regardless, people are getting way to skeptical about hype, the only games I ever see that never live up to hype are fps and 3rd person action/platformers. Everything else usually manages to stay in their ballpark.
@Oro, There’s also the friends aspect…just saying.
@Oro:
The game has you controlling a character and jumping around platforms…sure seems like a platformer to me. Puzzles can be an element of platformers too, mind.
The social aspect to it is somewhat novel, but I’d much rather be sharing something that I had complete control over than something I constructed using a limited toolbox.
@sonictempest, Well, it’s as much a platformer as I would consider Braid to be, personally, it seems like more of a puzzle game to me than the former, but such things can be left to the eye of the beholder (but not soulja boy, if you ever saw his review of Braid).
As for limited, I see a lot of people doing pretty spectacular things with the tools. Someone even made Tetris, not sure if you saw it, but it was quite impressive. On the other end of the spectrum, someone made a level that consisted of a penis flying into a vagina, and ended when you brought the two genitals to climax. Everyone I know in the beta says possibilities are limitless. For me, most games should be a social aspect, even fighting games, if I didn’t have people to play, I wouldn’t even bother gaming in the first place (yes, exceptions abound).
As for everything else, dunno, seems like you’re being skeptical for the sake of being skeptical.
I have seen some videos. That one where the guy made a calculator using the tools was rather impressive, if only because of the amount of time the guy must have put into it.
My main gripe is that they’re charging $60 for something – a game design toolkit – that I can in effect get off the Internet for free. This is more of a personal gripe than anything else – I am a programmer, and if I wanted to create my own version of Tetris (or any other game for that matter), I’d grab my C++ compiler and go to town.
And even considering that personal bias, much more full-featured game design tools for non-programmers have been available for much longer – tons of Sonic fangames are created using them. They don’t have a realistic physics engine, but otherwise they arguably offer you more creative leeway.
That’s fair, but you shouldn’t let you personal bias stop you from at least trying it before you condemn it.
@Oro,
Oro ;~;
[…] posted a while back that I was rather unimpressed by what I had seen of LittleBigPlanet. One of the common replies I got was that I couldn’t make a proper judgement without playing it […]