Archive: 11 posts

---

I know you guys in the community are tired of the repetitive "How to Make a Level" threads, but I want to share my ideas! (Note: The details of these steps are only shown in detail for basic platformers.) 1. Planning First, before even turning on your PS3, think of the style of level you want. You may doodle it if you can and/or want, but even thinking is good enough. 2. The Basics Now enter create mode. Choose a background you want and add some atmosphere. A story background is perfectly fine. I'd recommend not leaving it blank, but you can if you decide to use the 3D glitch. Then make a palette of materials for your level. In it, have light matter, basic cardboard, hologram, sticker panel (if you have the Move pack), and then materials that fit your level. 3. The Start Start off by making your start area. Remember to not have it touch the level floor; no one likes a level that is built on the level floor. Build it in the air, making it look like your theme; you should use the corner editor if your theme is not a high-tech theme. Sometimes, you should use cardboard with stickers on it to make a sign, etc. Finish sprucing it up by adding music that fits the level (and you shouldn't resort to "Sleepyhead"). 4. The Story (NOTE: You can skip this section, but it contains vital information to make even better platformers.) Make a simple obstacle perhaps inspired by the community, then have an area where the story is shown. Allow the player to move unless the story setup is far away. For noobies, you can use sackbots dressed up as your characters. For pros, challenge yourself! Try to make a non-sackbot character, using cardboard as the base element, then adding stickers. (You should make the characters one layer thick, but more than one layer is okay if it is absolutely necessary.) 5. The Body (NOTE: This section is the biggest. Make sure you pay attention!) Have a way to exit your story-telling area, then make that level! You can choose a type of level you want: a) Short and Very Decorative b) Long and Not So Much Decorative c) In the Middle (If you want to make a long and very decorative level, fill up the thermometer, then use a level link.) Continuing on, make some puzzle elements and some platform elements. Make sure you give the players a hint or the option for a hint in hard areas. Also make sure you can easily complete the obstacles so others can complete them as well. Use logic if the level is at least somewhat technical. USE THE THREE LAYERS WISELY! They help make a fun and interesting level. ADD CHECKPOINTS! They relieve players of agony from respawning all the way from the start of the level. ADD SCORE BUBBLES! They reward players for traversing your realm of randomly placed obstacles (no offense to anyone). Also, if possible, put the score bubbles in shapes, like pyramids of 3 or squares of 4. You may choose to put prize bubbles, but only do so if your prizes are worth using, like an alphabet or, for example, a slow-down mechanism in a level that uses it (not like a singing sackbot). Slowly introduce more of the story as the level progresses. Use a variety of powerups to enhance the gameplay. Try to make your level compatible with any number of players. If you truly can't, set the player recommendation to the right setting. USE GOOD SPELLING AND GRAMMAR. Maybe add races if they make the level fun and exciting. Maybe change the music, especially right before and right after races. Make inventive gameplay (like in mnniska's level "Flowerbucket", when he disables your jump and makes gameplay based on emotion, or in his level "Hop to It!", where he disables the normal layer-changing mechanic and instead has you manually swap between two layers with the Square button). DON'T USE STORY OBJECTS THAT YOU CAN MAKE. Only use story objects like the Balloons, the Busted Cardboard Box, etc, which you can't make. Finally, add sound effects to further spruce up your level. [For inspiration, check out some levels by famous members of the community (mnniska, comphermc, lockstitch, etc.)] 6. The Big Secret (literally) Add some secrets to your level. When placing score bubbles in the secret areas, make sure you give them EITHER more than normal amounts of point bubbles OR prize bubbles. Make some secrets not obvious how to get to it and make others hard to get to. Or make multiplayer challenges, but make sure the single player can not reach the bubbles in the challenge. If you do make a multiplayer challenge, make sure you signal that it is a multiplayer challenge by adding a x2, x3, and/or x4 sticker(s). You may choose to reward the players at the end for how many secrets they found; to learn how, check out comphermc's YouTube video. 7. The Ending Make this just like the beginning except for a few things. First, maybe have the end of your level show your last story element. Second, don't use the normal 3-layer scoreboard. It takes up too many layers. Instead, change the bottom of the scoreboard to dissolve and dissolve it using anything. This makes a scoreboard in the thin layer, allowing you to choose the amount of layers your sackperson can stand on while in front of the scoreboard. Lastly, make your secret counting devices, score counting machines, etc. at the end. 8. Publishing First, choose a nice name. It can be a play on words or a normal name, but try not to make it over 4 words long (besides the player recommendations). Again, use good spelling and grammar. Next, choose some tags that fit your level. If your level is short, stick a "Short" tag on it. If your level is challenging, stick a "Challenging" tag on it. Anything that helps signify a level is worth adding. Then make a good description. Describe the basis of the story, the type of level, or whatever, but make sure, yet again, to use good spelling and grammar. Next, make a good level icon. I recommend making it with pete007d's "Free Level Badge/Game Icon Maker". One thing: don't have your level icon be a single story sticker. Lastly, publish your level for the world to play! 9. More Recognition One way to have your level recognized more is to advertise it to an LBP forum, such as this. Another way is to upload pictures to your level so people on lbp.me will see your pictures and might play your level. Yet another way is to keep republishing so it will end up on the "Newest Levels" page. The final way is to keep playing it so people see that a player is playing that level. They will then play, and then the cycle will repeat and your level will get tons of plays. That's all I've got! Tell me if I missed something.

2012-03-26 21:29:00 Author: L1N3R1D3R Posts: 13447

---

i think that was nicely done, sir

2012-03-26 23:29:00 Author: GribbleGrunger Posts: 3910

---

Yeah, nice job here man I'm a newbie creator working on a platformer at the moment so I'll keep coming back to this for tips!

2012-03-28 19:42:00 Author: Unknown User

---

Coming up with inventive gameplay is one of the top things on the list in my opinion. Try thinking of obstacles you haven't or rarely see in other levels, using the 3D objects, or maybe even the gameplay functions already included in create mode, in ways that the regular player/ creator wouldn't think of using it! For example, Mnniska used sackboy's emotions to control some of the obstacles in his level "Flowerbucket". RESTRICTING gameplay can also turn out to be quite innovative if done correctly. In another Mnniska example, "Hop to it" takes away the automatic layer change, and players must press a button to manually switch layers.

2012-03-28 21:13:00 Author: grayspence Posts: 1990

---

7. The Ending Make this just like the beginning except for a few things. First, maybe have the end of your level show your last story element. Second, don't use the normal 3-layer scoreboard. It takes up too many layers. Instead, change the bottom of the scoreboard to dissolve and dissolve it using anything. This makes a scoreboard in the thin layer, allowing you to choose the amount of layers your sackperson can stand on while in front of the scoreboard. Lastly, make your secret counting devices, score counting machines, etc. at the end. I didn't know that. Thanks.

2012-03-29 13:16:00 Author: Ali_Star Posts: 4085

---

Coming up with inventive gameplay is one of the top things on the list in my opinion. Try thinking of obstacles you haven't or rarely see in other levels, using the 3D objects, or maybe even the gameplay functions already included in create mode, in ways that the regular player/ creator wouldn't think of using it! For example, Mnniska used sackboy's emotions to control some of the obstacles in his level "Flowerbucket". RESTRICTING gameplay can also turn out to be quite innovative if done correctly. In another Mnniska example, "Hop to it" takes away the automatic layer change, and players must press a button to manually switch layers. Thanks for the response, I'll add that.

2012-03-29 20:57:00 Author: L1N3R1D3R Posts: 13447

---

I've got to second the "original characters" section. Nothing looks better than a set of platforming stages or a one shot stage that has a fairly original cast of characters or at least set if enemies. Really gives the stage a personal feel, and it's always cool to see other's ideas come to life.

2012-04-20 04:17:00 Author: Teknoman Posts: 9

---

Great tutorial you got there! This was really helpful to me, and also someone else too. Now i want to make platformers.

2012-04-22 15:28:00 Author: Unknown User

---

Good stuff there. Really useful checklist, just to make sure levels are as good as they can be. Cheers!

2012-05-05 20:13:00 Author: bluesteel789 Posts: 159

---

Thank you. It helped a lot! I think I'm ready to make a platformer (after my OTHER project is done).

2012-05-05 21:37:00 Author: Unknown User

---

Nice job. Went over all the basics. I think you should of stressed corner editing more, and maybe the clever use of shapes? But I digress. Oh! And the clever use of score bubbles to show which way your supposed to go. But it's quite a good tutorial. Very helpful.

2012-05-05 21:47:00 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.