Archive: 12 posts

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http://lbp.me/v/4qhw2f Hey I just recently published a really good level that took me 3 months to make. Im just wondering how some people are able to get thousands of plays in the first hour. Like is there something im doing wrong??? Its called A Lost Sackpet by the way. http://i9.lbp.me/img/ft/529303c6e35a394089b09b14d458ef161b6519bf.jpg http://i8.lbp.me/img/ft/c58b92a775da09fe4df46cf866d43c9eb23b56c6.jpg http://ia.lbp.me/img/ft/c4a5a0780857b1ca04b681c5fde2fa2fe385e5dc.jpg

2011-08-05 20:14:00 Author: Unknown User

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I hear alot of people who levels get on "cool pages" get alot of plays.

2011-08-05 22:35:00 Author: zzmorg82 Posts: 948

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its all about the play to heart ratio in the first couple of hours, or so I've heard. Basically get your friends on board to play and heart your level when you release, that way it has a better chance of getting up high on the cool pages so more people can see it, then its a snowball effect. The current system is horribly broken. sad but true.

2011-08-06 01:42:00 Author: Epicurean Dreamer Posts: 224

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Wow thanks for the tips. I agree about the system sucking, Theres really good levels out there that get ignored.

2011-08-06 02:04:00 Author: Unknown User

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So I noticed you left a comment on my level earlier saying it was "amazing and very detailed", promptly followed by you asking me to play your level. That's all well and good, but you didn't actually play it, see LBP records exactly what someone does on a level and it doesn't have any records of you playing it at all, just you commenting. This isn't the best way to go about it, while F4F (feedback for feedback) is a very effective way of getting plays, not actually holding up your end of the bargain won't get you a good reputation, anyone can say they'll leave feedback - doing it is a different matter. If you go ahead and do actually play my level I'll gladly play yours and give you some feedback regarding it. If you haven't already done so, go and make a topic in the Level Showcase forum tagged as F4F, then play some other levels showing the same tag, that way you'll maximise the amount of plays and more importantly get heaps of useful feedback.

2011-08-06 03:21:00 Author: Xaif Posts: 365

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dude for real i did actually play your level but there was a section where i had to align these things the camera zoomed out to show it but i walked left and it zoomed back in so i couldnt see it and i didnt want to restart and watch the cut scenes again. I agree though that would be messed up just to leave comments and not actually play it Also check your level history i just found my review i put about a month ago there. http://lbp.me/v/1m6fp5

2011-08-06 04:32:00 Author: Unknown User

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Interesting title: check. Description that actually says something: check. Decent level icon: check. Uploaded pictures: check. Looks like you're pretty much doing things right for the most part (I hate when people put out levels with generic titles/descriptions/icons and then wonder why they can't get plays). If I saw this level while browsing, I'm not sure that I would give it a play but that's a matter of taste. In general, most levels I've played with "sack" in the title have been pretty generic and bland, so that's a turnoff for me personally (there are, of course, exceptions--Morganna's "Sackrificed" is a recent example of a **** good level with "sack" in the title). The icon is pretty good but nothing flashy (the title and icon are the first things I notice--if they pique my interest, I'll read the description and check out the screenshots)--I would maybe do a little more with the blue sky in the background to break it up a bit: there are clouds but due to the way pictures work in lbp, they're almost invisible, making it look plain blue. Sadly, even if I decided to take a look beyond the title and icon, the screenshots would turn me off and I'd end up moving on to other levels. Don't get me wrong--you definitely want screenshots--but I just don't see anything that would get me excited. There just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of detail. I realize that three months is a lot of time to put into a level and that you want that time to be rewarded, but I would guess that you're still relatively new at this and it usually takes practice to get to where you can put out a level that will be able to attract a lot of attention. I only see two levels published by you. The other one is lbp1--I'm not sure how old it is but I only see comments going back about a month: hence the supposition that you're new at this. My advice: check out the popular levels out there and try to learn from what their creators are doing. There are a lot of amazing levels in Mm picks that you can glean some design tricks from. Gameplay is more important, but a prettier level is more likely to get plays due to the more exciting screenshots. As for gameplay, if you don't already, have as many friends as you can get check out your level with you and tell you what they think and what you can improve on. My friends' advice on my most recent level was invaluable and one of them ended up contributing significantly to the design--I ended up adding a boss fight just because of him. Titles and icons are your primary weapons for attracting initial attention, so I would try to make them as exciting and attractive as possible. I actually wanted to title my most recent level simply "Jedi Arts" but I figured I'd get more plays with "Star Wars: Jedi Arts - Lightsaber Duels" because it instantly grabs the attention of Star Wars fans (yeah, it's pretty much pandering) and tells people that there will be lightsabers--at the very least, they should be wondering how well I pulled off the lightsaber mechanic or how badly I screwed it up--they should at least be curious, and that will earn me plenty of plays--whereas "Jedi Arts" would be a more artistic title but fails to deliver the same punch (I don't mean to plug my level here, but it's my most successful level and I used every trick I know to make it that successful so its the best example I can think of). I picked the most impressive looking things in my level (the lightsaber blades and the Darth Vader costume that a friend contributed) and used them to make an icon that I thought was impressive looking and eye-catching (the red/blue contrast against a smokey red background creates a dynamic visual with high contrast that grabs attention). There are many artistic styles that will work, so I'm not saying that high-contrast colors is the only way to go, but just try to make your icon exciting and eye-catching. Your description is your chance to "seal the deal" with players who are intrigued by the title and icon but not quite ready to plunge into the level. Make sure you use the description to "sell" your level. Sometimes this is done with the story behind the level (this can be risky unless it's an exciting sounding story). Sometimes it's done by outlining the features that make your level stand out from the rest. And absolutely do NOT apologize for your level in the description--don't tell people that you're new or that the level isn't that good or anything like that. Only say good things (preferably without lying ). As has been mentioned, play count and play to smile/frown ratio will affect whether you land on cool pages, which is the single biggest factor affecting how many plays you'll get so try to drum up as many plays and smilies as possible from friends immediately after publishing. Start a thread in the level showcase section with screenshots on this site and any other lbp sites you hang out on. Unfortunately/fortunately (depending on which side of the coin you land on), luck plays a big part in how successful a level is as well. You might do everything right, but there just didn't happen to be enough people playing your level early enough to get it onto cool pages or another amazing level might have been published right around the same time you published and it stole your thunder (or another of those inexplicably popular copied/pasted levels). Maybe you happened to publish at just the right time when few others are publishing but lots are playing and you get a bump in plays and popularity that you can ride onto cool pages. I hope you don't feel insulted by my comments about your level. I haven't played it yet so I don't know how good it actually is--all of my observations were based on what I saw on your lbp.me page and they're colored by my personal tastes. Your title and icon, while not exactly my taste (I have very particular and sometimes quirky taste) are actually very good and I like the way you talk up your level in the description. I've queued it and I'll give it a play the next time I'm on lbp and leave you a review. Also, keep in mind that while I know a bit about what makes a level popular, so far I'm pretty much a one-hit wonder so it's possible my success has more to do with luck than strategy. So, while I think it's pretty good advice, you might not want to consider it gospel [edit] I wanted to add that you're not exactly doing badly. I just checked your lbp.me page and it looks like about 15 plays in the last half hour which is an average of one play every two minutes. That's pretty good and you're on cool pages (I had to hit "MOAR" four times to find it, but it's there). I'd say your level is on track to be pretty successful. [edit again] Just played it and I have to say that the screenshots don't do it justice. I really wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. I hope you keep getting plays and this level does well.

2011-08-06 07:39:00 Author: Sehven Posts: 2188

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dude for real i did actually play your level but there was a section where i had to align these things the camera zoomed out to show it but i walked left and it zoomed back in so i couldnt see it and i didnt want to restart and watch the cut scenes again. I agree though that would be messed up just to leave comments and not actually play it Also check your level history i just found my review i put about a month ago there. http://lbp.me/v/1m6fp5 Hey man, now you mention your review I do remember someone leaving a comment about that. I apologize, but at the same time it was over a month ago and I don't remember the names of everyone who has played, obviously. =P If you had mentioned you'd already played my level and were looking for a return play I would have gladly done so. Instead I got the impression you were going around random levels posting comments to entice plays from people - which I've seen quite a lot. Either way, I'll give it a play and let you know how I get on.

2011-08-06 14:20:00 Author: Xaif Posts: 365

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This is something I have had quite some trouble with as well. There were ways to make sure that you could get your level plays back in LBP1. My Big Thunder Mountain level accumulated more than 25,000 plays and it held a good heartlay ratio. But I got it recognized by republishing the level a bunch. This kept putting it back near the front of the list so it acquired more plays. Eventually it just stayed there after enough plays and hearts. Now, when I publish a level, I get 1-3 plays (if I'm lucky!)where I used to get 50+ just after publishing it. There must be a way to get players to play your level without having to promote your level like crazy, because that isn't how a level gets to the "Cool Levels" pages, or at least, not in my experience.

2011-08-10 00:12:00 Author: Unknown User

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I finally got a level that made it to the 2nd page of the cool pages. (Through A Nightmare, Darkly) I constantly modify it after I publish it to ensure people will see it more often that way. Modifying it meaning I add a sticker in a spot unseen in the level, just so I can save and republish. Just clicking publish all the time won't do the trick. Also, I let all my friends and people who have hearted me know that I just published a level. Some have quite a few hearts of their own, so others will see what they had played recently and will go play the level. Or they will bring people in with them to play. That's about all I know on trying to get plays. Hope that helps! (NOTE: I just noticed A Lost Sackpet has over 16,000 plays! Mine got a measly 600, which I thought was awesome. You are obviously doing a good job getting noticed and don't need my advice. lol)

2011-08-15 23:04:00 Author: InfiniteTwilight Posts: 159

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It can be difficult to get a lot of plays. All it takes is good effort and luck. If you have freinds, ask them to play it!

2011-08-16 02:27:00 Author: Unknown User

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Didn't this level make the cool pages?

2011-08-16 05:15:00 Author: Unknown User

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