Archive: 6 posts

---

I am interested in hearing LBP creators' design/development stories. I'm constantly playing levels where I wonder "How long did that take them?" or think "That part must have been really hard to get right". I'd love to read some creators' insights and then go play their levels (or vice versa). If you're interested, please reply and answer the following questions as best you can. Feel free to include anything else interesting as well. One level at a time, please. 1. What is the name of the level? Include a link if you don't already have it in your signature and give a brief description for those who haven't played it. 2. Who worked on it? Optionally, include your age and occupation. If multiple people worked on it, how did you divide up the labor? 3. How many hours did it take to build? How long (days/weeks) did you work on it? 4. What were your inspirations? These could be other games, other LBP levels, movies, books, art, etc. 5. What was the most difficult part, or the biggest problem you ran into while designing/building? 6. Tell us about your design process. For example, do you sketch everything out or do you just build free-form? What parts did you build first or last? Anything else interesting. 7. What do you hope people appreciate about your level? 8. What was the biggest thing you learned after publishing your level or by creating your level? I'll get the ball rolling: 1. Level name: Junkyard Jailbreak (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=50862-Junkyard-Jailbreak). It's a three-part platforming adventure where you travel through the various areas of a junkyard in an attempt to escape. It has many different gameplay mechanics, some surprises and a unique method of presenting the story and hint text in rhyme. 2. I worked alone. I'm a 28 year-old software developer for a company in the travel industry. 3. It took about 90 hours over 3-4 weeks, not counting pen-and-paper design time. 4. Inspirations: -- Any old-school platformer with spikes, pits, crushers, etc. -- Great community levels with original designs and characters that don't rely on existing licenses or intellectual property like other games, Nintendo, movies, etc. -- The rhymes are touch of Dr. Seuss. -- The old man's name, "Mason", is a nod to Sean Connery's character in The Rock. He was the only one who knew how to escape Alcatraz, and my character is the only one who knows how to escape the junkyard. 5. The biggest mistake I made was starting with a MASSIVE piece of earth and cutting my tunnels and rooms out of it, instead of building up piece by piece and gluing things together. I thought that would be the easiest way to build the terrain I wanted -- and it was, until I kept getting "This shape is getting too complicated" error messages. I also had some problems with emitters having their spawn points and tweak values modified automatically -- I believe because I was modifying the huge shape they were glued to. I ended up having to "cut" the massive piece of land into pieces several times in order to keep building, and I still had to make some sacrifices to the complexity of some of the rooms. Another thing I struggled with was finding the right hat for the security guards. You wouldn't think it would be so hard, but the only straightforward baseball cap I could find was only given away as a freebie with an old episode of Sony's Qore digital magazine. I tracked it down, bought it, and downloaded the roughly 2 GB file just for that hat! 6. I keep a notebook where I write down any and all ideas. I had some very rough sketches (I'm no artist) of the general areas I wanted to cover and the general flow they would be in. I kept a list of possible gameplay mechanics I wanted to incorporate. I sketched a few smaller sections specifically, but mostly I played it by ear when creating the individual obstacles. I also wrote down rhymes for the various sections as I thought of them, which was sometimes in the shower or while driving! One of the very last things I did was add the music to each section. I listened to every track I had access to and narrowed it down to what would fit best for each area. It didn't hurt that this helped prevent me from getting sick of hearing the same songs constantly. 7. Things I hope people appreciate about the level: -- Creativity. I tried to include a lot of different mechanics, including some I haven't seen anywhere else. I'm particularly proud of my guard dogs that are distracted by steaks you throw at them, and fall asleep once they've eaten a few. I've also gotten several compliments on my dialog. -- Theme. I chose the junkyard theme and stuck to it the whole way, trying to only incorporate elements that made sense for that theme. I also tried to design the environment and general flow so you really get a sense of making your way across the entire junkyard environment to the exit. I didn't want it to be one of those levels where you basically run back and forth randomly until you find the scoreboard (although those can be well designed and fun). -- Challenging but fair gameplay. Some levels I've played are difficult, but for the wrong reasons. Often they have poorly designed terrain or environments that don't work that well with LBP's slightly unique/floaty controls or they have unreliable mechanics that are hit or miss. In my opinion that can make levels difficult, but not in a good way. I get more frustrated by that than I do by a well-designed trap or obstacle that kills me a bunch of times in a row, but I know it's pretty much my fault. 8.) Biggest lesson: people love checkpoints! I already had infinite checkpoints everywhere and I thought I had quite a lot of them. But people gave me feedback in my level showcase that it was still too hard. I ended up adding several checkpoints and tweaking one troublesome section to make it more forgiving and saw an increase in the level's completion rate after that.

2011-03-05 02:23:00 Author: Roo5676 Posts: 62

---

1. What is the name of the level? Include a link if you don't already have it in your signature and give a brief description for those who haven't played it. Industrial Platforms is a platforming level that I made. Its very dark and lots of metal and "heat". Its on the first page of highest rated. Lots of pipes from various decorations are used as detail. Also, for those who have or will play it, the darkness level is all the way down and the light all the way up; the Edna Modes home background provides all the lighting effects. 2. Who worked on it? Optionally, include your age and occupation. If multiple people worked on it, how did you divide up the labor? Im 15, and I worked on it by myself. 3. How many hours did it take to build? How long (days/weeks) did you work on it? It took about 60 hours over 3 weeks to complete. It got really tedious after a while, but boy was it rewarding. 4. What were your inspirations? These could be other games, other LBP levels, movies, books, art, etc. Not really anything, I just wanted to create a platformer. I love platformers mostly because of Lockstitch and Jakeputz, so you could say theyre my inspiration. 5. What was the most difficult part, or the biggest problem you ran into while designing/building? The most difficult part was making a vertical conveyor belt the moves downwards at the same speed that the one next to it moves upwards at. It wasnt too difficult though, my level isnt very complex. 6. Tell us about your design process. For example, do you sketch everything out or do you just build free-form? What parts did you build first or last? Anything else interesting. I just built everything as I went along, I had no idea what I was going to do next half the time. I think its more fun that way. 7. What do you hope people appreciate about your level? That it took a lot of time to create and it was something that its creator cared about, not some slump somebody threw together for a trophy. I made it so people would have 5 minutes of fun, nothing more. 8. What was the biggest thing you learned after publishing your level or by creating your level? That long tedious building pays off. Dont scrap something just because it doesnt work or you dont like it. If you create something good, it will get noticed.

2011-03-05 16:13:00 Author: ATMLVE Posts: 1177

---

1. What is the name of the level? The name of my level is Fetch Quest: The Search for Frilly Panties (http://lbp.me/v/yczfgd). During the creation of the level it was actually "Fetch Quest: The Quest for Frilly Panties" until I realized I had used "Quest" twice and changed it. Yes, you actually can obtain the panties in question, but only if you find all the secret items/areas in the level. 2. Who worked on it? I did all the work myself. However, my girlfriend did a lot of play testing and suggested ideas. A few forum members also leant advice. It was quite a learning experience. All the logic within the level is pretty basic, as I am very new to the world of LBP. My personal victory was getting two characters to have a conversation, once and only once. I was pretty pleased when I figured it out. 3. How many hours did it take to build? How long (days/weeks) did you work on it? I can't answer this one. There is a "Beta" of my level that I worked on and ended up not using as I came up with better ideas. I started over using what I learned during that early attempt and ended up with a level I am happy with. I did get the 1440 pin/trophy, so at least 24 hours. 4. What were your inspirations? These could be other games, other LBP levels, movies, books, art, etc. My inspirations were varied. Fetch quests are a regular feature in a lot of role playing games. The chicken in the level is inspired by the Legend of Zelda games. The idea for the level came from reading the LBP terms of service. (No, I did not read it all.) 5. What was the most difficult part, or the biggest problem you ran into while designing/building? The logic. Some people see the logic system, jump in and make amazing things. I struggle and have to do a lot of trial and error to get the game to do what I want. That said, I am very pleased with the boss fight in the level. I received some good advice from these forums, and now I love the boss fight and go back and play it regularly. It's a shame that Laundro-tron had to die. I may bring him back in future levels. 6. Tell us about your design process. For example, do you sketch everything out or do you just build free-form? What parts did you build first or last? Anything else interesting. I have two sketch pads. The first is for characters and in game items. The second is for logic. As I've gotten used to the interface, I am getting better and better at recreating my hand drawn art of the pads in the game. I am happy with the mermaid (so much so that she's in the level, even though she does nothing but look good) and the villian, Baron Von Underwearin. 7. What do you hope people appreciate about your level? I hope they like the art design, the humor, and the hidden areas. Judging from feedback, I am meeting my goals. 8. What was the biggest thing you learned after publishing your level or by creating your level? People will play your level in different ways than you knew possible. In the beginning of the level, the player comes across a frog in need of help. Past him is a large crate blocking your progress. The intended way to pass the crate is to return to the beginning of the level (a short distance away) and retrieve and item. Once you carry the item back to the frog, you are rewarded with points and the crate disappears. However, several players discovered that I had not secured a smaller crate and were dragging it over to the larger one and simple jumping over. The smaller crate has since been glued down.

2011-03-05 17:16:00 Author: Unknown User

---

1. What is the name of the level? Include a link if you don't already have it in your signature and give a brief description for those who haven't played it. The name of my level is Monster Pinball 2 Found here (http://lbp.me/v/x0keyx). It's a pinball level with a monster theme. 2. Who worked on it? Optionally, include your age and occupation. If multiple people worked on it, how did you divide up the labor? Just me. I'm 37 years old, and I manage a kiln drying operation. ( in the lumber industry ) 3. How many hours did it take to build? How long (days/weeks) did you work on it? I put in 125 hours on this one. I published 2 weeks ago, and worked on it since the games release. 4. What were your inspirations? These could be other games, other LBP levels, movies, books, art, etc. Just about any pinball table I ever played. 5. What was the most difficult part, or the biggest problem you ran into while designing/building? The balls going through flippers, walls, and getting stuck inside of walls and stuff. Lag lag lag.. 6. Tell us about your design process. For example, do you sketch everything out or do you just build free-form? What parts did you build first or last? Anything else interesting. I'm always a total free form creator. When I'm doing a pinball level I always get a good framework up, with flippers bumpers, and the basic elements you need to play. Then I just jump around, and keep adding stuff wherever I feel like. When I get tired of one aspect, I'll jump to a different part. 7. What do you hope people appreciate about your level? I just hope people appreciate the time I spent on it, and try to enjoy it. While also realizing that I'm not perfect, so the level isn't either. That way maybe people won't be so judgmental, and harsh over just one or two aspects. 8. What was the biggest thing you learned after publishing your level or by creating your level? That you have to keep at it. I never really thought my level would get MM picked, so the biggest thing I learned is don't give up. It can happen to anyone if you just hang in there.

2011-03-06 02:55:00 Author: smasher Posts: 641

---

1. BounceJump Factory. It's just a simple platformer that I made. 2. I worked on it by myself. I'm 19. 3. Didn't really count the time it took to make it. Probably within the range that most creators take to make a level...50-60 hours. 4. I wanted to see how the LBP2 tools worked. So many options and I learned as I went along. 5. Just the time it took to make it. Gets tedious and sometimes boring. 6. I don't really draw anything out. I just think of ideas as I go. 7. I worked long on it, lol. 8. I learned that good levels take very long to make. Building the level itself, testing for bugs, making sure that the logic works....

2011-03-06 12:24:00 Author: creator22 Posts: 162

---

1. What is the name of the level? Include a link if you don't already have it in your signature and give a brief description for those who haven't played it. SN! Building 2, its a platformer, with lots of puzzles, and a funny story, i will make more episodes (im working on episode 2) 2. Who worked on it? Optionally, include your age and occupation. If multiple people worked on it, how did you divide up the labor? well, i always worked alone, but in this level, my friend Lajuro helped me a lot, most of the ideas and concepts is mine, but he did make some stuff, he worked in almost every decoration, and some ideas about puzzles, i did everything else(story, logic, dialogs and everything else) i am 23, my objective is to become a game programmer, i love making games, i did a level in Starcraft II (the level got "featured" by blizzard) and did some work in RPG Maker and flash. 3. How many hours did it take to build? How long (days/weeks) did you work on it? it took more than 100 hours, in 2 weeks. 4. What were your inspirations? These could be other games, other LBP levels, movies, books, art, etc. i like games with lots of action but with some puzzles here and there, like Prince of Persia, or God of War, so i like to make the player think about something, but shake a little too! most of my levels is like that, this is my basic plan for every level! 5. What was the most difficult part, or the biggest problem you ran into while designing/building? its actually make things go right... because its really, but really hard to avoid any problem, you usually think: nah... no one gonna do that!... then, you see that someone just did... and he got trapped, sometimes the level got all doomed, and he need to restart, this happens a lot... and avoid any undesired hole, any 1 to 4 players possibilities, always break my balls...always... 6. Tell us about your design process. For example, do you sketch everything out or do you just build free-form? What parts did you build first or last? Anything else interesting. well, this one was my first level in Little Big Planet 2, so i got myself really lost with all the new stuff, and the possibilities was so huge, i really didnt knew where to begin, so, i was playing with lajuro, and got my monorail working, i said: lets do this fall all the way down, and crash trough a house!... so i did it, and i liked it, and them i started SN! Building 2, i didnt planed anything in the beginning, it was all: "lets do this and see the rest later" so, when i was building the train, i did a break, and begun to think about the rest of the level, thats when i got the idea to use elements, and stuff like that, the first idea was to use a cannon to shot on ghosts, every ghost have his element, and a weakness against other element, but the cannon didnt make it, because i have the idea to use a sackbot, so i created the Sackarmor, it was way better, and then, the story went on, and everything went right! 7. What do you hope people appreciate about your level? well, i hope people apreciate anything, anything is just fine for me, if someone played my level and said "its cool..." fine by me, but if he says he like some specific stuff, i will like even more, well, im just saying, if anyone likes anything on my level, its already fine... 8. What was the biggest thing you learned after publishing your level or by creating your level? well, its just not easy to get recognized, i think my levels is really good, i really do! but, not much people seems to play it, so, if you gonna do a hard work on something, get prepared, its possible no one plays it, its about luck, or doing well the marketing i supose... and another thing, is to always make your levels not tooooo complicated, if you gonna do a puzzle, make the answer noticable, not just for puzzles, for paths and everything else, because, you know how to get there, but no one else knows... even if it looks easy to you, its not easy for everyone, some players will get lost, and them, leave your level...

2011-03-10 22:44:00 Author: Unknown User

Posts: 1077139    Threads: 69970    Members: 9661    Archive-Date: 2019-01-19

Aus dem Archiv wurden alle persönlichen Daten wie Name, Anschrift, Email etc. - aber auch sämtliche Inhalte wie z.B. persönliche Nachrichten - entfernt.
Die Nutzung dieser Webseite erfolgt ohne Speicherung personenbezogener Daten. Es werden keinerlei Cookies, Logs, 3rd-Party-Plugins etc. verwendet.