LittleBigPlanet: Not Casual Enough?

LittleBigPlanet has been lavished with titles such as “system seller,” “innovative,” “cute,” “amazing,” “OMGWTFBBQ!!!” etc. As most people know, it is an interesting and ambitious game. But is it too ambitious? Is it, like Icarus, striving for something it cannot obtain? In order for it to be as successful as it’s been prophesied, it will need to cast its spell on the non-gamer. So I did an experiment. I found some non-gamers and made them play this game. The results are…well, see for yourself.

I packed up my PS3 (a lot bigger than I remembered it was) and hauled it to my sister Kerry’s place. She has dabbled in games in the past but mostly from the usual suspects. She hogged the computer back in the day playing The Sims and Roller Coaster Tycoon.  (All she would do was hire hundreds of entertainment people to walk around the park and dance in front of customers.) I once made her play some Mario Party. She liked to dig up fossils in Animal Crossing, but other than that, she hasn’t played games.

Hooking up the PS3 in her apartment, I was attacked with questions from her and her roommate Steph. “What is it? Is this fun? Is this going to be a dumb game? Why are you doing this? What’s this called? The controllers are wireless? Since when? I’m hungry.”

“SHUT UP!” I screamed as the title screen finished loading. I was sure the cutesy game would win her over, if only they could make it that far. The intro began to load with people dreaming and all of that imagination flowing to LittleBigPlanet. “This is weeeeeeiiiiiiird!” Before I could scold her about appreciating art in games, I bit my tongue. Soon, she would know the magic.

Finally, the game began. A little sackboy popped out of the hole in the wall and the two girls in the room instinctively went, “awwwwww.” So far so good. The narrator began speaking, and Kerry followed his every command. She sprinted across the level, jumping over barriers and admiring the colorful stage. The people on the screen confused her. “Who are these people?” I replied, “Um, they made the game. Obviously.”

Suspiciously Cute

Then her friend wanted a turn. I handed her another controller and she popped out of the next checkpoint. Just then, the narrator started telling the girls that by moving the Sixaxis Controller they could wiggle their sackboy. Soon, their arms were flailing around. Steph’s character’s head was moving left and right, as though it was on a swivel, while Kerry’s sack body was wiggling like it was hula-hooping. Their laughter could fill barrels. It was like watching babies with keys dangled in front of their eyes.

Finally, after five minutes of laughing, they finished the first level. They were then faced with a globe with a circle on it representing the next level. They were confused as to what to do. To stop them from entering the same level they just came out of, I had to direct them to the next. I mean, there is a line leading from one circle to the next. Don’t they know anything about progress?

In the next stage they were faced with greater obstacles like jumping, having to try again, and the ability to place stickers. Oh, those stickers. These girls must have never gotten an A on a test before, because these stickers amazed them to no end. They opened their “Pop-It” and looked for the shoe sticker to put on the man’s shoe to progress. Soon, they were sticking them on his body, then the level, then each other. Of course, this was accompanied with a symphony of giggles. With my direction, I got them to progress, but the rest of the level was nothing but a test to see how many stickers they could place. The level was over, and Steph had to go study. So I decided to take her place.

My sister and I pressed on through the world of LittleBigPlanet and entered the level where we get to pull things and get decorations to place. She was a bit confused about what “R1” was, but found it and soon adapted to the lifestyle of grabbing and pulling objects. She was not a pro by any means. She struggled with the simplest of tasks, but she caught on fairly quickly. Her interest was waning. As the game started to gather substance and became more than just holding right on the left stick paired with the occasional jump, she was getting antsy. Defying objectives made up of placing a donkey tail on a horse, she decided to make her own fun and cover me in donkey tails. I tried to escape but soon I looked like a hairy octopus and there was nothing I could do. Finally, we completed the level, but at what cost?

I asked if she wanted to try her hand at creating a level, knowing that she liked the creation tool of Roller Coaster Tycoon, albeit that was cake compared to LittleBigPlanet. Without hesitation, she declined. Instead, we opted for some of the bonus mini-game type levels. I figured they would be a hit with her since they were short, and the length of the regular levels put her to sleep.

I was right. As soon as we died, we would instantly restart a level up to five times in a row without missing a beat. She was not bored, nor did she try to make up her own game, but surprisingly stuck to the structure of the mini-levels.

It Even Brings Families Together

So does this game appeal to the casual crowd? After watching her fumble with the controls and become fatigued with the levels, I can’t say it does. Perhaps with a friend in tow, or someone to guide them, a casual person could get the hang of things. I know that she would not have persisted unless I was there to make her play another level.

But then I got this Gchat from her the next day:
Kerry: I wanna play that game
me: Really?
Kerry: With the spinny things that we couldn’t beat.
And put donkey tails on things
me: Oh ya.
That was a good time
Maybe next time you come over.

It seems she has, in fact, come down with a mild case of LittleBigPlanet fever. I’m not sure how long it will last, but the shorter portions did appeal to her. The funny thing is, it’s the mini-games that did it…not any of the real game. Not the online (which we tried, but it was so slow), not the in-depth creation or fancy level design. No wonder Nintendo has so much money and Carnival Games sells so well.

I still can’t shake the enjoyment Steph and Kerry had playing together and ignoring the objectives completely. Does this mean we are playing video games the wrong way?