Archive: 19 posts

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Creator should look to outsides sources for inspiration more. I can't help but to noties alot of creator tend to go for the sames types of levels In style and gameplay. Not that real games devs are any better. :/ Plenty of devs who only look at what's selling in the game market. Try to make a better Mario, Zelda, CoD, GoW and so on, but do they ever do better then the game they cloning? Seeking outside inspiration can result wonderful unique and original ideas for LBP Take Shigeru Miyamoto who don't play alot of games, Inspiration for Zelda was inspired by Miyamoto's childhood spent playing outside, or Pikmin, which was inspired by gardening, and Super Mario Galaxy? A hamster that right lol a hamster in a ball and on the wheel. Fumito Ueda inspiration for Ico was The Nostalgia of the Infinite a painting by the Greek-Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. I just feel like alot of creator are looking too inwards and why limit yourself? PS I know this is like preaching to the quire XD

2010-02-08 21:23:00 Author: jump_button Posts: 1014

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You are 100 percent correct. I made my "Attack of the Green Aliens" series all thanks to my 6 yr old little girl. I asked her what i should create. And she said "Dad! Make Green Aliens on a spaceship that you have to shoot!" from there i just kept asking her "What next?" and the level just kept going! lol. Look to the youth for inspiration too! They have the best imaginations.

2010-02-08 22:35:00 Author: fijski8 Posts: 159

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So true. Most of the levels I'm working on were inspired by school and vacations I've taken. Outside sources are probably the best places to start.

2010-02-08 22:39:00 Author: Frinklebumper Posts: 941

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I suppose this is slightly off topic but in all my half finished levels (I don't have a single published level) I always try to make something spectacular about it, something that will make people think wow that's cool or that's an interesting idea but what I've always want to do is make a simple level. Most likely it will be a platformer but with a really simple style. I'm talking about the sort of simple design that isn't just plain cardboard used for everything but more a the style that people will enjoy without quite realising why, you know the type of thing that you can say what's good about it but you can't say anything bad about it. Simplicity is the hardest thing to do right.

2010-02-09 10:02:00 Author: SR20DETDOG Posts: 2431

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Thing is most people aren't artist and thus won't harvest such inspiration. LittleBigPlanet is sort of an utopia itself thinking that everybody can create equally. Reality is you're bound to see a LARGE majority of uninspired creations. It's perfectly normal. But yeah, I wish people would be more artistic.

2010-02-09 16:56:00 Author: RangerZero Posts: 3901

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I find myself more and more going away from traditional level themes for this reason specifically. It's pathetically easy to make a cave, temple, or VR level and it's no wonder that half the community does it. My latest inspirations have been from a retro board game and a university textbook on insects. A lot of object designs come from reference images I dig up on google image search. I stick with platforming gameplay because it's what I enjoy making, but in every level I promise something big and innovative the likes of which nobody has seen before. I'm trying hard to up the creativity in my levels now, part of which involves taking my "wow scenery" and building them directly into the gameplay or pathing itself. Turning something beautiful into something more than just scenery...

2010-02-09 19:35:00 Author: Thegide Posts: 1465

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Yeah, some research can really help flesh out a level's theme or gameplay. I also use wiki a lot. Even if I never end up using it, at least I've learned something new.

2010-02-09 19:50:00 Author: Rogar Posts: 2284

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I always tend to look at outside influences for my levels/inventions. For example, I based my hoverboards off of the Silver Surfer. It's so easy looking for influences these days that I can just look out my window and get an influence right there (the birds sitting softly in the trees; an old, worn-out pickup rusting away; a pool-turned-swamp lagoon). Now the only thing you have to do is make it into something...

2010-02-10 06:54:00 Author: Outlaw-Jack Posts: 5757

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Fumito Ueda inspiration for Ico was The Nostalgia of the Infinite a painting by the Greek-Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico Huh, didn't know that. That's where the JPN boxart came from then. That's pretty cool. I agree you can find lots of inspiration for creating in the outside world. Whatever the theme of a level is, just read up on it on-line while in a creating mindframe and ideas should come.

2010-02-10 12:24:00 Author: TripleTremelo Posts: 490

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I agree that such inspirations only stem from being artistic. Myself, I am hopeless at drawing or any form of art. The reason I am able to create in this game is simply because it is trial and error, I can mess around with things until I happy with them. The one thing I do have that I believe to be invaluable is a good eye. I can see when something is just right, or when even the tiniest thing could do with being moved a little. This works with not only visuals but mechanics as well. The one thing people seem to mention above all else is 'flawless mechanics', I believe this just comes from being able to tell what works well and what doesn't and not being satisfied until it all works perfectly. This is also why I don't really have people test my levels either, yet it is rare you will encounter an issue in any of them. I've just got a knack of being to tell what's going to work well and be fun, and define that line of when it will become confusing or frustrating. In terms of inspiration, I wouldn't really say I have any. Mm were my only inspiration back with Flaming Timberland, and from there it has just developed into my own style. My only inspiration now is my imagination. To bring it back round to the thread...I guess I'm on the total opposite side. With not being artistic, it would be difficult to be inspired in the same way that Jump_button does.

2010-02-10 12:56:00 Author: jackofcourse Posts: 1494

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I was actually going to post something similar to what jackofcourse said. I can try to be influenced by something in the real world, or in other media, but actually translating what I see into a visual representation in LBP is **** nigh impossible. Now if I trial and error my way through testing materials / sticker combos etc., then I can happen upon something that looks good, or even looks like something real. There is no point in me looking at something else and trying to reproduce it in LBP. I can't even reproduce my own sketches in LBP, unless they are mechanical schematics, I just can't LBPise my own aesthetic ideas. What I can do, is steal techniques from other creators. I have a decent eye for spotting unusual material combos and quite frequently strip stickers off of anything I can, so much of my visual inspiration comes from other creators. But I think that I get by because I can extract different aspects of a lot of different styles, mix it up with my own experiments to get something at least vaguely original. As for gameplay mechanics, it's a similar thing. Media molecule covered the majority of the basic skills that sackboy has and the basic obstacle types that are available. Some community creators have expanded upon that with some decent stock gameplay options, but beyond that, you have to be pretty creative and have a reasonable amount of skill to pull of something new. And new gameplay styles involve teaching the player how to play, and doing that in a subtle way is difficult. Even simple things lifted from other games, i.e. the sneaking that I lifted from abe's odyssey, or say a device that allows you to hang from the edge of a platform and pull yourself up at will - it's a challenge to get these things working well, and players just don't get it. The alternative is the simple, yet well crafted mechanics - jump buttons balloon mechanic and comhermc's brain chain (and his mid-layer floating box) - not actually original concepts, but crafted so darn well that you feel like you've never seen them before. Most creators can't achieve that, and very very few can achieve it more than once or twice. And actually, I'll tell you what. Originality is madly overrated. Just because someone has done something you've never seen before doesn't make it good, yet we are expected to commend them for it. Not only is there a high chance that someone's actually done it before but you never saw it, but also just because it's new doesn't mean it's good. Seriously. I'd rather see concepts I've seen before, balanced just perfectly, with outstanding visual quality, than something I've never seen before, executed in a sloppy manner. Take Kiminski's latest - I don't think there is anythign in there gameplaywise that I haven't seen before (maybe the invisible spinning sponges, but they are still spinning sponge gameplay), but by god is that one of the best levels I've played. So yeah, originality is overrated in my book. No points for doing something new, unless of course you do it outstandingly well

2010-02-10 13:27:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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If i had to say who my complete opposites was it would be you jackofcourse. All your level are Mm like, Not a bad thing but I love to see you take more a risk with a level. As for 'flawless mechanics' ^^; well if you cant tell I dont think they have to be flawless, It would be nice but get them as close as you can too flawless. I like to keep mechanics simple as I can, I know alot of creator go a bit over the top and complex with mechanics. leaning the player how a mechanics work can be hard, More so when you have to do it for every new level that use it.

2010-02-10 20:34:00 Author: jump_button Posts: 1014

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clone levels? OH you mean all the stupid bomb survival levels right yeah I agree. its fine to get inspired be some one ealses level but at least make it your own and not a clone.

2010-02-10 21:00:00 Author: Delirium Posts: 349

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Talking about outside sources, I got the inspiration for the levels I've been working on for some time now from the 2009 Iranian protests. I know this is some pretty dark stuff for a LBP level, but after watching what was happening here, I decided to make a level where the player was put in a torn-up, smog-filled city, stuck in very difficult times... in fact, now that I think about it, I have no idea how people are gonna receive such a thing. There hasn't been a lot of serious LBP level based on political events. Actually, I don't think there has been any. By the way, if you're wondering, I've experienced the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, back in 2001; I know where I'm going.

2010-02-10 22:04:00 Author: VincentVendetta Posts: 111

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I was actually going to post something similar to what jackofcourse said. I can try to be influenced by something in the real world, or in other media, but actually translating what I see into a visual representation in LBP is **** nigh impossible. Now if I trial and error my way through testing materials / sticker combos etc., then I can happen upon something that looks good, or even looks like something real. There is no point in me looking at something else and trying to reproduce it in LBP. I can't even reproduce my own sketches in LBP, unless they are mechanical schematics, I just can't LBPise my own aesthetic ideas. Around the 5th grade, my drawing skills stagnated, and everyone else surpassed me in ability (up till then I could draw a better ninja turtle than ANYONE on the playground). So to this day, I'm not one for drawing. When it comes to adapting images for LBP, I almost always need reference - and by trying my darndest to translate a reference into LBP, I usually end up with a perfectly cartoony LBP-style object that bears very little resemblance to the original. So I find that even with limited ability (aside from basic "copying" skills), with enough time and effort anyone can create striking visuals in the game, no matter what their original reference is. The more you fail at recreating your original image, the more you inadvertently invent the style and aesthetic of your level. but I think I know what jump_button's getting at. It's easy when you play and create in this game to get caught up in the universe of LBP, to compare levels to other levels, and to sort of live within the walls of the LBP "house". I know I found myself often playing other levels and getting ideas and inspiration from them, usually some slight twist on an old gameplay classic, or a puzzle idea, etc. Just slight ideas that exist comfortably within LBP. But then I might forget about LBP for a while and concentrate on other things - reading books, watching movies, going out into the "world" (shudder), maybe to a museum or an aquarium. This is where ideas might pop up for LBP that are starkly different from the brand you get by playing other levels. More abstract, more unusual, and existing way outside the walls of the LBP house. My point isn't that people should stop playing - it's simply that it's very EASY to get caught up inside those walls, and by crawling through a window you might find inspiration in surprising places. A 19th century novel, a documentary on space travel, a dream, a piece of surrealist artwork, that creepy abandoned refinery down the street. These are better places to draw inspiration I think than any videogame or LBP level. Better to keep you from painting yourself into a familiar corner. I totally agree that "brainstorming" for ideas and sitting around thinking about "what hasn't been done yet" is probably not going to end up with anything inspired. Original, perhaps, but maybe also insipid. I'm all for simple, classic gameplay, so long as the level itself is inspired somehow, and passion defined its making.

2010-02-11 01:51:00 Author: Teebonesy Posts: 1937

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I got inspiration from seeing a littered can while stood at the bus stop on Monday. Beat that. It will soon be seen in Industrial Assistance 2!

2010-02-11 02:02:00 Author: jackofcourse Posts: 1494

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I got inspiration from seeing a littered can while stood at the bus stop on Monday. Beat that. I got inspiration from a speck of dust. No kidding. I've also got inspiration from nothing. Absolutely nothing.

2010-02-11 02:04:00 Author: Outlaw-Jack Posts: 5757

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Hmmm, very intriguing, I recently got inspiration from a train station and the game Flower for a level series about colour being stolen from the world and you having to retrieve each colour from several environments to bring back beauty and imagination. A particular city that oppresses artistry and imagination could cause this. Just an idea.

2010-02-15 08:50:00 Author: Arctos13 Posts: 258

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For me, one of my real problems when i got "create blocking" is not push me to create. I wait and then the inspiration comes from any kind of place or feeling or Situation, and then some really cool ideas came and finally happens.... how to bring this lovely ideas to reality, im not very skill in logic. Thats my real problem, how to bring my inspiration to a good level. Because could be a GOOD idea, but not well executed... and that is my every day challenge when im creating.

2010-02-16 17:39:00 Author: Duckywolf Posts: 198

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