Archive: 31 posts

---

I'd like to know some building techniques that others use, or just the way some people build things. This may also help when others are looking for advice. There's no real "right" way, nor quite an "efficient" way, cause some people do this, and others do that, and it works for them. Like a shoe. A smelly, broken-in shoe. I just barf stuff all over the canvas. I don't know what I'm doing, but I have a faint idea of what I'm GOING to do. It's like painting without a model. I also tend to put in most of the easy detail as I go, because I'm just like that, and it keeps me from thinking it's ugly. I kinda just merge the gameplay in there and see how it works, and if it's good, then I leave it. If it's poo, I take it out and rearrange to try something new. Now you. Derp.

2012-07-03 18:24:00 Author: Sackpapoi Posts: 1195

---

I am the same to you. Some people like to do loads and then go back to detail, but I just make a small chunk of my level, make it look good and then move on to the next bit. I think it is a good method because then you feel proud of what you see when the level starts, and you can also have a better understanding of the detail theme. The only real problem with this method is the thermo can jump up massively because the area is too complex, and also it takes a long time to do and by the time I have finished detailing a tiny piece of the level I hate in and scrap it lol. The cruel world that we live in huh?

2012-07-03 19:17:00 Author: LittleBigSnooth Posts: 454

---

I start with the idea, then I build the main path of the level, then, I add all the details like decorations, stickers, scenery etc. I usually make all the contraptions / logic based objects separately and then implement them in the level as I'm building the main path I always choose materials carefully, to make sure I stick with my theme, this is something I think everyone should do! Oh, and I use Modular level design in ALL my newest levels, if you don't know what it is, then let me explain It's the best, most efficient way to design and build a level! instead of gluing everything together, you place a ''Anti gravity tweaker'' on every single thing in you level, this makes it really fast to re-arrange stuff! This way of designing is also used by the pro's when they designed the actual story levels! If you didn't understand my way of explaining it, here's a more detailed tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J4TX1mNY7M

2012-07-03 21:41:00 Author: AcAnimate Posts: 174

---

I don't, unfortunatly :c And when I do, I have no idea, hence why I don't.

2012-07-03 21:49:00 Author: Valeview Posts: 1581

---

AcAnimate, Modular is defo the way forward! I have the method all I need now is the inspiration and the idea lol

2012-07-03 21:51:00 Author: LittleBigSnooth Posts: 454

---

I get a few friends and we just completely improvise around an idea.

2012-07-03 23:37:00 Author: lemurboy12 Posts: 842

---

I get a few friends and we just completely improvise around an idea. Your way is really good but only if you have a group of friends that you can trust, rely on and in general have a good time with (plus it doesn't hurt if they know what they're doing ) I am struggling to find good creating friends at the moment and that might be a cause of why I haven't got any inspiration to create at the moment :'(

2012-07-04 00:35:00 Author: LittleBigSnooth Posts: 454

---

I build from beginning to end or in the order I would play the level in. In each section, I work on the logic. Then I make test runs to make sure that there are no insects (game errors) with the logic and level design.

2012-07-04 04:19:00 Author: Apple2012 Posts: 1408

---

AcAnimate, Modular is defo the way forward! I have the method all I need now is the inspiration and the idea lol I get my inspiration from other's levels ( my levels are inspired ALOT by RikiRiki-ita, Lockstitch, poms and snakeowl ) If you don't know them then go find them! 4 of the best platform creators ever! xD and when I can't find any inspiration from other peoples levels ( without copying them of course ) then I find inspiration from my everyday life.. like, my level ''Wackania'' is inspired from some Chinese wooden brain puzzles i got at home, the way I made all the platforms ( first a light piece of wood, then a dark piece and then a light piece again. And also the shape of the two light pieces ) I just one day looked at it and got the idea ''Hey, I could make a level with that design''

2012-07-04 10:33:00 Author: AcAnimate Posts: 174

---

I get my inspiration from other's levels ( my levels are inspired ALOT by RikiRiki-ita, Lockstitch, poms and snakeowl ) If you don't know them then go find them! 4 of the best platform creators ever! xD and when I can't find any inspiration from other peoples levels ( without copying them of course ) then I find inspiration from my everyday life.. like, my level ''Wackania'' is inspired from some Chinese wooden brain puzzles i got at home, the way I made all the platforms ( first a light piece of wood, then a dark piece and then a light piece again. And also the shape of the two light pieces ) I just one day looked at it and got the idea ''Hey, I could make a level with that design'' Yeah I know all of those creators and have witnessed some of there fantastic work. I think you're right it could be a good idea to play more Platformers. It's just a shame because at one point there was a great mix between platformers and mini games on the cool pages. Now, I only ever view friends activity, level showcase, newest levels and MM picks. I think I need to play a few more, then hoepfully I can get creating agian because when you have a weekemd, and a good idea, it's an amazing feeling

2012-07-04 10:56:00 Author: LittleBigSnooth Posts: 454

---

Usually an idea just comes to me and I recreate the thought, and sometimes, I too just do whatever, and often it turns out to be unexpectedly awesome, so I keep it and add detail to it. But I always keep the materials to a low, if I go nuts with lots of different materials then like what I see, I'll just material change it all to fit in with the level's theme.

2012-07-04 13:33:00 Author: Ironface Posts: 432

---

My last 3 levels have been logic based, and my current level is quite conceptual (if that's the right word), so I usually start with 'CAN I get this to do that', eg "can I replicate the movement of the Snake?", "CAN I get it to pass from one side of the arena to the other". I usually do this in a testing area. Once I have the basic idea in place, I put it into practice. I'll add things as I go, both to the logic to get it to work more efficiently, and by adding new ideas to the gameplay... things that I think might be pretty neat. For my current level, the main logic is about 90% complete, there are a couple of things I need to work on in that sense, but that can wait until the end. A LOT of my buiding time is spent staring into space, getting frustrated, swearing, testing, crying. I'd say only about 20% is actual physical creating.

2012-07-04 15:01:00 Author: Ali_Star Posts: 4085

---

I only make platformers, and I swear by the modular level design.

2012-07-04 21:42:00 Author: L1N3R1D3R Posts: 13447

---

I only make platformers, and I swear by the modular level design. Yes, Yes and Yes, Plat forming using the modular method is the way forward

2012-07-04 21:48:00 Author: LittleBigSnooth Posts: 454

---

Your way is really good but only if you have a group of friends that you can trust, rely on and in general have a good time with (plus it doesn't hurt if they know what they're doing ) I am struggling to find good creating friends at the moment and that might be a cause of why I haven't got any inspiration to create at the moment :'( The only friends on my friends list are the ones I know I trust. I NEVER accept friend requests from random people. EVER.

2012-07-04 22:52:00 Author: lemurboy12 Posts: 842

---

The only friends on my friends list are the ones I know I trust. I NEVER accept friend requests from random people. EVER. Yeah I am the same. I used to have a group of friends including Vandz and myself and we would help where needed but we kind of went our separate ways and I got sick of helping people with big chunks and never being credited for the help. I make sure I always name my helpers if they contributed. So I deleted them and then it's just the two of us now lol. I keep looking for upcoming creators. For example JayHawk_ER. I played his level when he has very little hearts (under 50) and reviewed etc. a few month later, he has thousands of hearts ha-ha. I love how tight knitted (no pun intended) LBP is.

2012-07-05 01:03:00 Author: LittleBigSnooth Posts: 454

---

I'm not that good at visual details, so my best levels depend heavily on logic, like Little Big Pac Man, and Laser Chess. The platforming levels I've made, I pretty much just winged it. I learned the hard way about modular level design, when you add that one detail and it says "this area is too complicated", then you can't even cut it (well, you can slice and dice now, but this was before that) or reduce it.

2012-07-05 01:10:00 Author: Brannayen Posts: 438

---

I like to draw up the starting area in Paint. It sets a theme for the level that I like to build off of in game once I've noticed all of the materials and such I have. If I get really stumped, I go back into Paint and continue planning for the next section. I often like to plan out the contraptions in Paint too. The drawings are often of extremely bad quality, but they still turn out well in the game.

2012-07-05 02:51:00 Author: aar2697 Posts: 143

---

I'm not really into Modular Level Design. There's no soul.

2012-07-05 02:55:00 Author: Kalawishis Posts: 928

---

I start out with a theme. Then, before I start creating the level itself, I think of ways it could look, some obstacles, parts of the level, maybe a few sketches, then I start construction. I build the level the way I see it in my head first. I build it all at once, withOUT the use of modular level design. I like to keep the amount of different "things" I use in my level limited, so I can create as much as I want. Then, after a couple months of procrastination I stop continually playing community levels and finish my level. Once that's done I add any little details that are needed (this usually consists of scenery) and VOILA! A level! I tried doing the method of creating everything in cardboard first then changing it to the materials I want, but I found that to actually slow down my creation process.

2012-07-05 03:31:00 Author: Cobaltor Posts: 222

---

Well. My talent is film, which I'm excellent at. If I'm making a film, I start off with an idea. After that I come up with a WHOLE storyline, and write it down. (characters, problem/climax, additional drama, comedy, beggining, middle, ending. (Sorry if this is allot). Now, If I am making a platformer, I usually come up with something that sounds dumb, but interesting.. (something to confuse and intrigue the kid minds of lbp). (etc. A Pointless Cardboard Platformer).So, a kid would be like "pointless? Hmm.. Looks interesting.". Anyway. If I'm in a happy mood and want to make a scenery based pformer (forest... Etc.), I make the beginning part ( the first 20 steps ), I over detail that part, and add on to it, as the rest of the level, as if it was part of the 1st part, and once I'm done, I'm like wow. Next, logic. First of all, USE MICROCHIPS. Put them everywhere! It will save space. If your making a menu, NAME THE MICROCHIPS. (start, music, high score...etc..) Well sorry for talking to much, this was typed on an iPod (Whew!)

2012-07-05 04:18:00 Author: SuperROBO1 Posts: 358

---

Well. My talent is film, which I'm excellent at. If I'm making a film, I start off with an idea. After that I come up with a WHOLE storyline, and write it down. (characters, problem/climax, additional drama, comedy, beggining, middle, ending. (Sorry if this is allot). Now, If I am making a platformer, I usually come up with something that sounds dumb, but interesting.. (something to confuse and intrigue the kid minds of lbp). (etc. A Pointless Cardboard Platformer).So, a kid would be like "pointless? Hmm.. Looks interesting.". Anyway. If I'm in a happy mood and want to make a scenery based pformer (forest... Etc.), I make the beginning part ( the first 20 steps ), I over detail that part, and add on to it, as the rest of the level, as if it was part of the 1st part, and once I'm done, I'm like wow. Next, logic. First of all, USE MICROCHIPS. Put them everywhere! It will save space. If your making a menu, NAME THE MICROCHIPS. (start, music, high score...etc..) Well sorry for talking to much, this was typed on an iPod (Whew!) I am not very good at film. I can use the movie camera in a platformer but I never make films to be honest. However, you have exactly the same way of creating as I do. I like to over complicate the start and then I can sit back and gaze in awe, then I have to push myself hard to continue. If I can do this then I can hopefully create something that is beautiful to the eye, and not that bad to play either

2012-07-05 18:23:00 Author: LittleBigSnooth Posts: 454

---

The main focus on my levels is the humor. The Dups team always tries to come up as many jokes as possible while making the level. A lot of our jokes come from when things don't go how they should, like say, when I un-pause, something I haven't edited falls from above and lands on something else while testing. I'm not the greatest with gameplay, so I'm a much better movie maker.

2012-07-05 18:58:00 Author: lemurboy12 Posts: 842

---

Since my last post on this thread, I've started creating. It's a mess. A brilliant, proud-it's-mine mess. It has no creating style. I've switched from Modular to normal, Grid to non grid and everything else. I even considered almonds. It's wholly inspired by Acanimate's Wackania level. I liek it, and I may have found "my style" (Which is, no style)

2012-07-05 19:03:00 Author: Valeview Posts: 1581

---

Since my last post on this thread, I've started creating. It's a mess. A brilliant, proud-it's-mine mess. It has no creating style. I've switched from Modular to normal, Grid to non grid and everything else. I even considered almonds. It's wholly inspired by Acanimate's Wackania level. I liek it, and I may have found "my style" (Which is, no style) lol Sounds intriguing haha. I look forward to seeing it on page 15 of the cool pages. You know, under all the copies and smut!

2012-07-05 19:18:00 Author: LittleBigSnooth Posts: 454

---

I just start with a square and start corner editing.

2012-07-05 19:32:00 Author: VelcroJonze Posts: 1305

---

i build most of the object, get bored, and drop it. lo jk, if i dont get bored of it ill save it and work on it later. i cant build like i used to, now i need some kind of motivation to keep me working on the object, or i just end up saving it and not working on it for a long time

2012-07-05 21:04:00 Author: Killzone3652 Posts: 78

---

I look at old games I enjoyed as a kid like Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario World, and Crash Bandicoot and take lots of inspiration from those most memorable levels. Then I give them a littlebigplanet twist by finding a theme that I like that's both colorful and fits. Next I sit there for hours on end figuring out how the entrance should look. Once I get past that point I basically just keep building room by room, trying different things and experimenting. I never really used those tutorials comperc posted, but I figured out basically all of that stuff out on my own just building levels that I never seem to publish. What he failed to mention in that video that Acanimate posted was that you need to place a material tweaker on objects controller by pistons and set the friction to 0 so they don't rub against materials. The games grid setting is extremely useful, but it's not 100% flawless. Reducing the friction gets rid of that annoying sliding motion getting stuck now and again and makes sure your levels are well oiled machines

2012-07-05 21:56:00 Author: Nick930930 Posts: 878

---

sum times i copee a lvl and give myselg creadit 4 itt, or illl slap some crap togeter ina hour o monite and pubish it to clog up the cool pages with piontless uter carp Just kidding I usually build by having a great idea of what I want to build first, and I spend the first day creating random stuff as a placeholder, maybe the final version, to fill the void and get past creator's block. After that, it's on to the logic. And then, I get stuck and none of my levels ever see the light of day. (My project Zombie Epidemic should have its public beta ready by 7/15, however.)

2012-07-05 22:13:00 Author: BIGGamerer Posts: 182

---

I pull out a wand and say the magic words.

2012-07-08 06:00:00 Author: Megaboy93 Posts: 77

---

First, I choose from my collection of fabulous ideas. Then, I create the story and basic idea for the game with paper, a pencil, and a word processor. (Now, how I actually do the building) I do the gameplay first, first drawing out my ideas on paper, and then creating it with nothing but cardboard and sticker panel. Once I am completely done with the gameplay for the entire level, I make it look magical (visuals). Then I add in the characters and story and cutscenes and points. And since I'm overly ambitious and I refuse to make just a lonely 'level', I move onto the next level. That is why I only have one level published. I've scrapped three ideas after working on them for months, . I also create at a painfully slow pace.

2012-07-09 16:33:00 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.