Archive: 12 posts

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Since i'm purely interested in just about everything, what are your recquirements of a good lbp level? You don't have to write an essay, just 3-10 things you want in a good level. Dont be shy!

2010-06-28 20:40:00 Author: mutant_red_peas Posts: 516

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It has to be fun. And of a good quality, not a copy.

2010-06-28 20:48:00 Author: trip090 Posts: 1562

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-Not a copy -Fun -Good Aesthetics -Correct spelling and grammar -No H4H (including anti H4h, Save the community levels) -Multiplayer friendly -Bits that reset if you die -Fun unique bits

2010-06-28 20:55:00 Author: Kern Posts: 5078

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Hmmm... -Good atmosphere -Not H4H as Kernel said -Simply fun -Challenging -Nice looking -Backtracking -Brain-bending puzzles -I enjoy 1-player levels the most -One of a kind! -Catchy level badge, name, and description or else I probably wouldn't play it in the first place.. :/ lol

2010-06-28 21:09:00 Author: piggabling Posts: 2979

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Pretty well first and foremost is that it must be fun. Of course what may be fun for some is torture for others. (bomb survivals come to mind) Pleasing to the eye. Puzzles that are solvable with out being a rocket surgeon.... Doable physical challenges as long as they are not way extreme. Ted

2010-06-28 21:10:00 Author: Muskwa_1 Posts: 213

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Getting Started 1.1 Getting Inspired All levels should be original. HOWEVER, it's still a good thing to get inspired first! Whenever I'm making a level with a lot of story to it, I play the LittleBigLand Series by amazingflyingpoo, and I always think of a bunch of new ideas on what to add to my level! No level should be copied a ton of times, but using a basic concept or a tiny little platforming part that someone else used before might be good for your level. Again, keep things fresh, but don't go making a level with no ideas that you COULD get from playing! 1.2 A Basic Idea You should ALWAYS have a basic idea on what your level is going to be like! Otherwise your level just may end up as an unplayable mess that no one understands and is called 'The New Ramp'! Think about what your level is going to be like and stick with it. 1.3 To Plan or Not to Plan... (from someone elses guide to creation ) Personally, I love to plan my levels out. I have an idea on pretty much the whole level before I even start. Some people like to wing it, and that's OK! It's all about whatever you prefer. However much you plan is up to you. 1.4 I've got Creator's Block! Can't think of anything else for your level, and you've barely begun? Try asking friends for ideas and advice. Try making a few random items for your level. If you really can't think of anything to add to your level, your idea may not be as good as it seemed! 1.5 Don't Hurt Yourself, Now! If you're sick of creating, creating more to your level will only make you want to tear your hair out and/or delete your level more! It may also make your level worse without you realizing! Take a break from creating and play some levels. Maybe take a break from LBP for a bit. Heck, here's a wild idea... go outside JK. But never create more than you want to. 1.6 Don't Just Save... If you lose a lot of work because it doesn't save, odds are that you won't bother remaking it. That's why you need to gaurentee yourself you won't lose it! -Save every 20 minutes or so. -Whenever you save, ALWAYS return to your pod. LBP will NOT save your level unless you return to your pod. -Publish the level locked in Antarctica (where no-one looks) before you get out of LBP. This will guarentee that your level stays in existence, even if it's deleted off your moon. You can always copy it back. -NOTE: Quick-players can accidently play your level. If it's secret, add a simple lock to the begining. -Always wait for that little simble of Sackboy running to disappear before you leave LBP! Making it Look Nice 2.1 Choosing Materials This is a BIGGY when it comes to making your level look nice! Materials eat thermo, so always stick with a low amount... but have some variety! I tend to stick with 3-7 main materials for my levels. The materials should always match and look nice together! Other than looking nice, materials have to WORK also. I'm sure that you know dark matter is unnmovable, glass is slippery, ect... but here are a few things you may not know about materials that could help your level! Dissolve- Another neat thing about this material is that it is the lightest material. Using very precise and low weights at one part? Try using this. Tin Foil- While this material is in the 'Cardboard' catagory, it actually weighs as much as the other metals! Wood, Stone, and Metal- These are the strongest materials (besides the unbreakable dark matter). They can take a lot of pressure! Stone and Metal- These are, obviously, the heaviest materials. Sponge, Cardboard, Dissolve, Peach Floaty, Orange Floaty, and Polyestern- These materials can be damaged and destroyed by explosives. 2.2 Using Stickers to Your Advantage This is kind of ironic for me to be typing, since lots of people say I need to use way more stickers in my levels Stickers and decorations can really help make your level look nicer, as long as they match what you're making! 2.3 Keeping the Almighty Dark Matter Hidden (and Other 'Ugly' Materials) 99% of people hate seeing Dark Matter in the level, so try to keep it hidden! Why they do, I'm not sure... it just seems to be more of a tool than a material. I agree with keeping it hidden, FYI! A way to make it hidden can be found in my level, 'Step-by-Step Glitches'... whoa, shameless promotion! BAD HECKBOY! Also, Dissolve material is also prefered to be hidden, or at least not so obvious, as it isn't the prettiest of the materials. A clever way to do this is to simply take a picture of the material you desire it to look like and place it on it! You can also use a CREATURE BRAIN to make ANY material disappear (except dark matter, I think), as long as it isn't connected to anything important... otherwise it will disappear too! Don't like the sound a creature brain makes? Make a block of wood far away from the level and connect a string from the block to whatever it is you want killed, like the option above. Then put the brain on the block and make it trigger whenever you want. Viola! They both die... silently! (as long as the block is far away enough) 2.4 Don't Touch the Floor! This is the most personal of all the catagories here, but I HATE it when you can see the floors, walls, or ceiling of a level.... but only if it's a level with no background, otherwise I'm fine with it. Do whatever you want, just a little thing to consider. 2.5 Invisibility: Yay or Nay? Do you want the switches, pistons, ect. to be invisible in your level or not? Think about the pros and cons of each... invisible switches usually look nicer, but making the switches visible can show newer creators how your level works, and can often look neat, too! (that's mainly if you don't want tons of comments saying 'HOW YOU GET BLOCK TO MOVE WITH NO ROCKETS??&apos 2.6 Lights... Lights... ACTION! Lighting is a big part of making your LBP level look nice. Lights can make great effects for just about anything, from torches in a dark cave to strobe lights in a time machine. They can make beatiful designs, as I recently saw in an amazing level. They can be used in multiple other scenarios that you'd never think of, such as fireworks, snow (LED lights fall very slowly) or a timer. Use them to change the atmousphere of your level... and don't just stick with spotlights and LED lights! See which ones work best and look best in YOUR level... is it a fantasy theme? See if the fairy lights work instead! Some of the Basics 3.1 Your OWN Obstacles The sad thing is, MM obstacles are MM's obstacles! I think they were given to you just to experiment with, not put in your level. Always try to make your own obstacles, not just slap down some of MM's. 3.2 There's a Song for Your Level... Don't just put any song in... it should match the level theme. A good way to do this is to use the interactive music tracks, where you can change what instruments you want playing and how loud. The music should also change just a few times in a lengthy level, or if the theme vastly changes. You can also make the intensity of a level increase by using interactive tracks; starting with one quiet instrument, and gradually making your way up to a full blown orchestra! 3.3 Leave No Scoreboard Ugly A simple thing you can do is paint the scoreboard to match the level! This is a common little 'nitpick' that the LittleBigReviewers often point out! 3.4 BOOM! BAM! Sound effects are majorly important in making your level the best it can be. When a machine breaks, use a sound effect. When the big bad boss roars, use a sound effect. When you blow up the whole friggen planet... you get what I mean If you have a very specific theme to your level, say, Horror, you'll definitly want to find an assortment of sounds to use in your level... of course, there is a horror sound effect kit for DLC to consider! 3.5 Don't Add for the Sake of Having it there After water was released, I noticed a lot of people were putting water in their levels just so they could say there was water in their level. No, no, no! Don't put something in your level just so it's there. Everything should have a point to it. This MAINLY goes for big things, such as water and the Paintinator. But really, it can be for anything, from dragon matter to blue monkey faces. If I'm walking through a fun level when suddenly I get to a huge pit of random water that has nothing to do with the story or theme, it just feels out-of-place. If I'm playing a calming zoo level, I shouldn't see a paintinator laying out with no reason. Add things to your level when you feel they will truly make it better, not just appeal to some peoples' tastes. 3.6 The Worst H4H... just don't do it. 'Nuff said. Pacing and Difficulty 4.1 A Road to Nowhere Players don't like to have to aimlessly walk down a long corridor for EVER, not knowing if their's even going to be anything at the end. Make sure that it's clear which way you're supposed to be heading! 4.2 Confusion Basiclly the same thing as above. Always let your player know what they should be doing. If I have no idea what I'm supposed to do next, and I can't find out in a minute or two, I usually quit the level. Of course, there are always some levels where you are supposed to be kind of confused as to where you're meant to go... 4.3 ESCAPE! Make sure your level is 'unexcapable'. What do I mean? Sometimes, levels have problems in them that allow the player to fall through the level... or swing out of, fly out of, explode out of... you get the point. A good way to do this is to simply put gas wherever you don't want the player to be. 4.4 A Broken Level and a Broken Heart Make sure your level won't break while playing through! If that rocket car of yours can't hold 4 people with out breaking, it must be fixed! If you accidently fall off of the elevator and can't get back on, mess with the logic a bit to see if you can change the way it operates! Many people will not restart a level once they're too far into it. 4.4 It's Too Hard... Face it; a huge percentage of LBP players are just leaving the story mode and aren't ready to fight dinosaur bosses with a paintinator on shifting platforms while having deathrays firing around them! If it's too hard, they might not only quit, but rate it badly! Don't make your level insanly easy, though. Balance the challenges so it isn't a cake walk, but won't make the average eight-year-old cry in frustration... unless this is what you're going for... 4.5 Checkpoint Locations and Types Checkpoints = nessecary. Without enough checkpoints, any level is too hard. Too many, and it just seems dumb. Balance your use of checkpoints right. Try putting them before a very hard obstacle or after a long platforming scene. You'll also have to decide which checkpoint is right for the situation. Most people simply use infinite-life checkpoints now. Does this seem right for your level? Or do you want it a tad more challenging? Some even dare to make one-life only levels, which often get negative feedback, but it might be what you want! 4.6 Still too Hard? I consider two of my levels too hard for the average player, so I added a 'Hint System'. This is just an idea where if a player can't figure out what to do or how to do it, he can recieve a hint... for a price. The way mine works is simple... there are a few green 'H's (for Help... or hint... or HECKBOY!). If you sticker them, a magic mouth gives you a hint... but you'll loose bubbles at the end. Make 'em Happy 5.1 Make em' Happy BUBBLES! These are like little rewards for the Sackperson after doing something hard. There should not be too few or too many, either. Landing in a pit of bubbles is just silly. See, bubbles make strategies... by chaining them together, you make combos! So, make them easy to get but a tad bit challenging to 'combo', and the player will be trying their hardest to get that top score! Keep in mind that there are lots of fun ways you can make bubble-collecting better. Bubbles can be painted or glued into shapes! 5.2 Prize Bubbles NO ONE likes an unnavoidable prize bubble. NO... ONE. Always make your prize bubbles, if any, opitonal. Prize bubbles should be hidden and harder to obtain than normal bubbles. Put them in secret areas, hard-to-reach places, ect... you saw how MM did it! If you don't have a good prize to give, don't bother using prize bubbles, either. We don't want a picture of you in your pod! 5.3 Ending Prizes It's up to you on placing prizes in the scoreboard or not. Remember, they'll be unnavoidable this way, which might make some people a tad bit upset if it makes their profile to large. I do like a good prize given away for acing the level, though! When you think you're done... 6.1 THINK AGAIN! TEST PLAY MULTIPLE TIMES! You can never test play enough! If you've spent this much time making the level, you might be sick of it by now.... but STILL test play it! Make sure you let other people test it, too. They will try things that you won't. 6.2 Get Opinions Play it with friends and get some final suggestions! You never know, there may just be one major flaw, or an epic boss battle idea you're missing out on! 6.3 Hire a Reviewer I won't get into level advertising here. However, if you want your level to be better, find a review group and request for a review. They can almost ALWAYS help you make your level better! Originally posted by mutant_red_peas You don't have to write an essay... *wink wink*

2010-06-28 21:29:00 Author: Heckboy88 Posts: 179

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I quite like a good story, but I'll say: Gameplay Visuals And a unique point that sets apart your level from everyone else's.

2010-06-28 21:42:00 Author: kirbyman62 Posts: 1893

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-Fun, smooth gameplay -Nice Visuals -Your own work -Good title, description, and icon -Don't make it annoyingly hard -Bug free

2010-06-28 22:29:00 Author: Nuffles Posts: 132

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-Not a copy -Fun -Good Aesthetics -Correct spelling and grammar -No H4H (including anti H4h, Save the community levels) -Multiplayer friendly -Bits that reset if you die -Fun unique bits All of these!

2010-06-28 22:49:00 Author: Weretigr Posts: 2105

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Marsupials

2010-06-28 23:17:00 Author: Ungreth Posts: 2130

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Ramps, sharks, enough bubbles to crash a PS3, and of course, everyone's favorite- skateboards glued to tiny checkpoints and rocket cheetahs!

2010-06-28 23:34:00 Author: Tyler Posts: 663

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-Good grammar always shows that the creator cares abut what players think -a custom-made level badge - a good name, not something like 'ZOMG BOMBS SURVIVALZ WIT TEH RELA WARRTORZZ!!11!' -lighting, hide the lights unless for visual purposes, and usually if you go online and look up complimentary colors you can end up with a pretty set of colors Hope that helps.

2010-06-28 23:37:00 Author: X-FROGBOY-X Posts: 1800

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