The Idiot’s Guide to LittleBigPlanet Level Creation

If you’re anything like me, you anxiously awaited the release of Media Molecule’s groundbreaking PS3 title, LittleBigPlanet. It offers gamers a plethora of head-scratching levels, some interesting social environments, along with customizable characters and spaces all displayed within a beautiful art concept. Among all of these traits, LittleBigPlanet stands tall (ha) beside the competition as arguably the best platform title available for purchase this year. But its best feature is perhaps viewed as a bit more like a bonus; and that is the option that enables users to create customizable levels. All this creative freedom can amount to a bit of a headache for those trying to design beloved levels among the online masses, so this guide will provide you with the necessary steps to cleanly and concisely construct the creation of their dreams. So grab your controller and engage your thinking cap; this is Level Creation 101.

Although it may seem like a no-brainer, it should be noted that you should go through the variety of the tutorials offered by LittleBigPlanet to acquaint yourself with the controls to designing your level. After all, the chances of you being a naturally gifted level designer from the start are slimmer than you being able to actually float down a green tube into a room full of coins. So let’s organize these tips into a few categories that will have your level hearted in no time.

Play Through the Entire Game First

I decided to list this tip first because I believe it is the most useful and helpful of them all. Sometimes all those materials, objects and switches don’t make much sense until you see them in action. Playing through the game will provide you with the necessary means to see how certain objects work in game. Use the pre-made levels as a springboard for your own and don’t be hesitant to simply copy a section from the game itself. Sometimes the best way to master a craft is to remake an original, so keep a keen eye as you run, jump, and fly through the game. Playing through the game first will also give you a much broader range of items to choose from when it comes time to creating, so get to it.

Create a Concept

Designing a level is just like any other creative process; sometimes the ideas flow easily, and sometimes they’re a bit more troublesome to encounter. When you have your inevitable eureka moment, make a note of what your thought was, and start brainstorming ideas to bring your thought into the LittleBigWorld. If you want your level to be dark and scary, find frightening sound effects, lower the lighting levels, and add some fog. A little detail will go a long way into giving your level the feeling you imagined in your LittleBigHead.

Map Out Your Level

Nothing is worse than taking the time to load a level created by someone who clearly didn’t give their creation very much thought. Lesson learned? Don’t be that guy. Once you’ve come up with a concept, think back to the levels you’ve gone through. Which obstacles were the most fun, challenging, or time consuming? It’s good to include a mixture of all three to keep the player from being bored. Mapping out your level will also save you a lot of time when it comes to the actual level construction, so do yourself a favor and draw it up before you plot it out.

Please be Kind and Rewind

This is another time saving tip that will shave hours off your creation time and will keep your frustration to a minimum. If you end up constructing a portion of your level that displeases you, don’t waste your time deleting the objects you’ve added. Simply tap the directional pad to the left to start rewinding. Rewinding acts as your undo key, and if you’ve ever created anything on a computer before, you know how useful it is.

Master your Gadgetry

Finally, it may be in your best interest to practice specific pieces of your level outside the main project itself; LittleBigPlanet provides the gamer with thousands of combinations to create different do-dads and gadgets. Use all the tools at your disposal to create a lever-launched rocket that flies into a jetpack zone, or a sloping sheet of ice that launches the player into oblivion. The choice is yours, so practice a bunch to make your decisions easier when it comes to creating your actual level.

Hopefully you found these tips to be helpful, and maybe they’ll even help to clear that clutter in your head space that should be used for creating LittleBigPlanet levels. If you think you have some helpful tips for others creating levels, feel free to leave a comment below.