Archive: 27 posts

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I'm sure I can't be the only person to sink 24+ hours into making a level and having it get no attention at all. I was hoping LBP2 would be different as far as that goes , but it seems two minutes after you publish it just sinks to the bottom of a giant pool of mediocre levels. I'm not saying mine is the best ever but I did spend many many hours on my latest level and am very proud of it. And when I publish it to get 1 play, that's very demoralizing. My highest played levels are my first two from LBP1 , they both had 500+ plays. I did advertise on the IGN forums however for those, so maybe that's the magic ticket. I'm not sure. If anyone could offer advice to get more attention to your levels, practically, (I'm sure there is a thread about this, I'll check after I post) or how you deal with the frustration of getting one play on something that took you 24+ hours to make; your advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

2011-02-06 00:00:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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When I saw that over a thousand new levels were posted in less than ten minutes, I was a little discouraged. But we must be humble, and make levels for the fun of it, in the hopes that maybe one person will like it. That is all we should really hope for! I have not posted any levels myself, but I do have three that I am about to post. I hope that maybe posting them together will get them noticed, if not then I will just keep making levels, until someone comes along and plays one then decides to try my other levels. Also I like to check out levels that people list in their signature. I will do this as well.

2011-02-06 07:13:00 Author: adalond Posts: 84

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I think things will pick up once "recent activity" starts working like it should. Most of the levels I played in the beta, I found them by looking at the recent activity of my friends rather than searching the community level pages.

2011-02-06 13:11:00 Author: Ungreth Posts: 2130

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Maybe if you spent 50 hours on a level it will get more plays.

2011-02-06 13:32:00 Author: CENTURION24 Posts: 266

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Maybe if you spent 50 hours on a level it will get more plays. I'm guessing your serious? I guess I will try to spend more time on my next one. I'm sure it was close to 30 hours on this level.

2011-02-06 16:04:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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It never hurts to advertise...I'd start by putting it in your signature and also open up your privacy settings on lbp.me so we can find your stuff

2011-02-06 16:39:00 Author: Chazprime Posts: 587

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I kinda wish Mm made it where the longer you've been active in create mode for that level the higher it is for your level to get out there. But people could just mess around in create mode just having fun and then after like a month make a level with just dark matter and a score board so that idea wouldn't really work. i wish it could be a factor tho :/.

2011-02-06 22:18:00 Author: Ghost Posts: 114

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It never hurts to advertise...I'd start by putting it in your signature and also open up your privacy settings on lbp.me so we can find your stuff I just made a thread on these boards, I'll prob do some F4F's to force people to play it lol. I just advertised on Gamespot forums too, got some traffic from that. Good idea on the privacy settings, thank you. I wasn't even aware that it was set to private. I will update my sig too. Thanks! I kinda wish Mm made it where the longer you've been active in create mode for that level the higher it is for your level to get out there. But people could just mess around in create mode just having fun and then after like a month make a level with just dark matter and a score board so that idea wouldn't really work. i wish it could be a factor tho :/. Hey Ghost, long time no see bro. How've you been?

2011-02-06 23:51:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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Hey Ghost, long time no see bro. How've you been? O_o do I know you? or maybe I took someones name from early LBP central.... lol...

2011-02-07 01:42:00 Author: Ghost Posts: 114

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O_o do I know you? or maybe I took someones name from early LBP central.... lol... Yea, you must of He was a buddy of mine. I should've known something was up when you didn't greet me lol. BTW, your idea of time in create mode could work. They would just have to add more to it. Like the amount of stuff you add too it etc. To ensure it's just not dark matter and a scoreboard. Like you said.

2011-02-07 08:13:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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BTW, your idea of time in create mode could work. They would just have to add more to it. Like the amount of stuff you add too it etc. To ensure it's just not dark matter and a scoreboard. Like you said. Perhaps if they had a "content density rating" or something, combining such aspects as how high the thermometer is, the time taken to create it, how much of it is Mm-created or community objects (as opposed to stuff you made yourself), etc. etc. You could probably put together a decent metric from that. Maybe call it Level Polish.

2011-02-07 14:52:00 Author: Unknown User

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@Hamsalad I must say your level is not that bad compare to others, just need polishing (most noticeable issue was direct instructions, try indirect them) I say ignore that or if stats are really low, republish the level from ground up and try to advertise more. Try to continue working, when some other level go published and be mroe popular thanks to new user earth centric UI people gonna be visit your other less played levels.

2011-02-07 15:03:00 Author: Shadowriver Posts: 3991

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I like the idea of a create mode meter. You could combine time, with thermo, and saves to get the most info...possibly creator thus preventing copied levels, and captured levels in one. But then again people tend to like short and simple.

2011-02-07 18:05:00 Author: celsus Posts: 822

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That'd run mini games and short levels into the ground.

2011-02-07 19:50:00 Author: RottenAvocado Posts: 319

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Yes. I 'd love there to be better ways of getting stuff noticed, and sorting the wheat from the chaff, then the current system that is basically like all arts, 10% creation and 90% marketing and publicity. My most popular level on LBP1 was my most generic, but I spammed the front page enough to get enough attention that it carried itself for a few thousands plays and a lot of positive feedback. But whatever systen you use will have some shortcomings. Some artistic levels may be pretty empty and not score highly ont he proposed complexity measure, but be worth experiencing. I do feel the smiles and hearts per player rating should gain emphasis though. If you get ten hearts out of ten plays, you've probably makde an awesome level, but the selection process doesn't seem to recognise quality. Although to be fair I've spent most of my time creating, and haven't looked into LBP2's results for highest rated levels etc. Still, there are thousands and thousands of levels released all the time. Players can't be expected to play them all. In that respect LBP is a victim of its own siccess, a platform on which everyone is creating and there's too much creation for recognition. I don't think it'll ever be right, and just as the world is full of musicians and writers and dancers and actors all struggling to get noticed in an overcrowded market, most LBP creators will forever be obscure, watching sadly the rare few who get any notice an wondering if they'll ever get a chance.

2011-02-07 20:42:00 Author: Shifty Geezer Posts: 131

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Very well said Geezer. I really wish they would implement a system similar to what we have been suggesting, that would be great. @Shadow I think I will try indirect. I had one direct direction, after the roofs collapsing. And was actually worried people not figure it out so considered being more direct. Maybe I'll change the first power thing to..........There must be some way to turn the power on. Or something to that effect. @Rottenavocado It wouldn't ruin those games if the system had to do with how much time spent making the level. Because even great mini games require a lot of time to make.

2011-02-07 23:29:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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I did think about minigames in that, but I figured that wa a rating for those who did not want to play minigames, but honestly, survival games and the such could never be run into the ground, some of my LBP friends play those all the time. Just have a seperate listing for mini games.

2011-02-08 07:22:00 Author: celsus Posts: 822

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Wow, so much for indirect directions only lol. Some guy just told me my level was broken because the bounce pads won't turn on. RIGHT before that I have a forced cinematic that says "I have to turn the power on, then I should be able to use the jump pads." After showing you where to go.....OMG I wouldn't be surprised if that's where all my frown faces came from......Stupid people are stupid.

2011-02-08 17:24:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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Wow, so much for indirect directions only lol. Some guy just told me my level was broken because the bounce pads won't turn on. RIGHT before that I have a forced cinematic that says "I have to turn the power on, then I should be able to use the jump pads." After showing you where to go.....OMG Well.. there are other tatics rather than spoon feeding a player with text they probably won't pay attention to or won't read. Even if you say it via recording your voice and do a cinematic scene, that might be the time they they reach for their soda or more cheesy poofs. For example.. rather than saying "turn on jump pads" or however you have it... Have it so when they go to jump on them, there is a bit of a warning sound and red lights under the pads showing they are off. Then when they turn them on.. all green and a "engage" sound of some sort. Sometimes other visual queues are better and relaying the information to a player rather than a cinematic that quite a few would rather not see or simply ignore.

2011-02-08 17:34:00 Author: jwwphotos Posts: 11383

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Well.. there are other tatics rather than spoon feeding a player with text they probably won't pay attention to or won't read. Even if you say it via recording your voice and do a cinematic scene, that might be the time they they reach for their soda or more cheesy poofs. For example.. rather than saying "turn on jump pads" or however you have it... Have it so when they go to jump on them, there is a bit of a warning sound and red lights under the pads showing they are off. Then when they turn them on.. all green and a "engage" sound of some sort. Sometimes other visual queues are better and relaying the information to a player rather than a cinematic that quite a few would rather not see or simply ignore. I do see your point, and I will probably add that to the bounce pads. But, i honestly think it was more of an isolated incident, I hope at least. I really didn't think it was that difficult to figure out, there is one extra way you can go on the way to the jump pads, and that is down stairs. After you kill all of the zombies down there, there is a switch on the back wall, flip that and the lights and jump pads come on. Maybe I'll make a light next to the switch so they can't miss it. Unless he just missed the downstairs entirely, I'm not sure. Great idea though, thanks.

2011-02-08 17:38:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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i honestly dont think that plan is any more fool proof. doesn't work = doesn't work. coming to any other conclusions would require some critical thinking. a large portion of the population (even more significantly so when considering just the playerbase) arent really equipped to handle it... or interested in doing so if they are.

2011-02-08 17:41:00 Author: Deftmute Posts: 730

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I learnt to rather bitter disappointment that the reasoning level of LBP players isn't high. That isn't to say the people aren't smart, but they don't use their brains particularly. So in my first LBP creation, an adventure game where players had to read and follow word and visual clues on what to do, they just didn't get it. Similarly I had a level with three tokens that each had a power. No-one noticed that the orange lights indicated where the monkey token should be used. That's probably a large part for frowny faces, that levels aren't aimed at what users want. LBP lends itself to simple, immediate fun, and I think that's what most people are after and get frustrated when it's not straightforward. Speaking with other creators we all feel that a degree of dumbing down is good for popularity. Certainly my most popular level was just generic LBP-style platforming, deliberately avoiding anything even slightly cerebral. Still, that's more a topic of what makes for good LBP design than how to cope with the lack of feedback. I'm finishing up my tanks game. I must have sunk over 80 hours into it, wrestling with bugs for too much of that, and the fact no bugger's gonna play the thing has turned it into a real chore!

2011-02-08 19:01:00 Author: Shifty Geezer Posts: 131

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Partake in F4F. Petty much guarantees you at least a few more plays. If you work at it, it could get you many. Lockstitch, Foofles, Asbestos101 are all but to name a few who have taken part in F4F'ing. Don't know what it is? Click here. (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=7962-Feedback-For-Feedback)

2011-02-08 19:40:00 Author: Mr_T-Shirt Posts: 1477

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Partake in F4F. Petty much guarantees you at least a few more plays. If you work at it, it could get you many. Lockstitch, Foofles, Asbestos101 are all but to name a few who have taken part in F4F'ing. Don't know what it is? Click here. (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=7962-Feedback-For-Feedback) Thanks for the tip, I was actually in on the conversation that invented F4F. I've been around here for a while. I will probably start doing some of that. You're also right Geezer, I guess I will just have to accept that most the people don't want anything but straight forward levels without too much thinking involved. That's why I had the direct instructions, to prevent the frownies from not knowing what to do. But it seems that doesn't work every time.

2011-02-08 20:00:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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Lol, I got several frowns on my F4F level because at the start there are several speech bubble that explain exactly what to do, and several 4 or so skipped the text and figured the entire level was one little scene where you fight meteors...even though it said to turn on the power and return inside, I had light queues and such. I have re-done all the text and several other aspects just to make it so people know that was just a little bonus part to a level that takes up the entire create area...well the sun goes almost .5 the size of the create area out side of the create area. The best part is people that just randomly played it figured it out, but most of the F4F played it less than once and left a frowny...but maybe several people do not expect it to be more complex, and just figure it is the lame little minigame that is the entire level...so kind of a reverse prejudice against levels. I think I got good feedback from foofles, also blackhawk, midnightheist, and dragonvarsity leave good info in feedback...just hate bugging them every time...then again I don't think you ever gave me feedback when I checked out your Farmaged level.

2011-02-08 22:27:00 Author: celsus Posts: 822

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Lol, I got several frowns on my F4F level because at the start there are several speech bubble that explain exactly what to do, and several 4 or so skipped the text and figured the entire level was one little scene where you fight meteors...even though it said to turn on the power and return inside, I had light queues and such. I have re-done all the text and several other aspects just to make it so people know that was just a little bonus part to a level that takes up the entire create area...well the sun goes almost .5 the size of the create area out side of the create area. The best part is people that just randomly played it figured it out, but most of the F4F played it less than once and left a frowny...but maybe several people do not expect it to be more complex, and just figure it is the lame little minigame that is the entire level...so kind of a reverse prejudice against levels. I think I got good feedback from foofles, also blackhawk, midnightheist, and dragonvarsity leave good info in feedback...just hate bugging them every time...then again I don't think you ever gave me feedback when I checked out your Farmaged level. My bad, I kind of stopped playing after I published that and put it on here. I can make it up to you though.

2011-02-09 03:55:00 Author: Hamsalad Posts: 2551

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I think I never gave you a level name, just suggest a few...I was a bit passive on which level for people to try.

2011-02-09 06:28:00 Author: celsus Posts: 822

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