LittleBigPlanet Level Design Tips

games, littlebigplanet, design

I recently shared my first LittleBigPlanet level (PSN: ambalek, level name: Saturn 5) and I kept notes as I was making it. It turns out that even though it’s easy to make cool stuff, it’s actually quite hard to make levels that players can understand and play through successfully.

Design tips

  • Think of a solid theme for your level
  • Do some research on your level (I was all over Wikipedia researching Saturn 5 and the Solar System for mine)
  • Make a blueprint with a pencil on paper (it doesn’t matter if you can’t draw)
  • Research other levels to see how to achieve your idea — it’s sometimes hard to create seemingly simple things without a bit of research
  • Use the different grid sizes to quickly lay out materials for the overall structure of the level (press Start for grid options)
  • Get a feel for the camera. I started off creating huge scenes that weren’t visible with the in–game camera (press start for camera options, you can also press down on the d–pad to stop flying)
  • Undo keeps its history even if you switch to play mode, which means you can switch to play mode as much as you like
  • Move the level’s entrance gate to test parts deep within your level
  • Think about who will play your level: I included some education tidbits about the Solar System in mine because I thought kids would like it

Navigation

  • If the player backtracks they should always be able to progress again. It’s easy to create puzzles that can trap the player if they backtrack.
  • Most MediaMolecule levels have a single path, with extra areas for multi–player puzzles and bonuses. It’s probably worth following this scheme so people understand your levels and so they’re easier to test.

Design language and usability

  • Colour code objects the player can grab (default sponge colour)
  • Colour code moving platforms that are part of a puzzle (Mirror’s Edge red object style)
  • Know when to imitate the design language used by MediaMolecule so players can quickly understand your level
  • Clearly mark puzzles that require multiple players
  • Show your working: if you leave buttons visible it makes it easier for the community to learn from you

Building and Complexity

  • Make complex shapes by connecting simple ones: try not to cut complex shapes out of huge blocks (else you can get shape errors).
  • Try to use materials that are close to your desired colour scheme. Using stickers on large objects sometimes causes glitches, and stickers are less vibrant.
  • Using lots of stickers and decorations is a good way to add interest to a scene without raising the level’s complexity too much.
  • Try adding stickers to similar shaped objects, and try over–sizing the sticker so it wraps around the edges of the material. For example, adding the Earth sticker to a circle creates depth.
  • Lifts: Anything that moves needs to come back. Don't take a player somewhere in a lift that doesn't return if they fall off!

Lighting

  • Use lighting to create depth and visual interest, but also to direct the player
  • In a dark level you can use lights to give hints to the player

Physics

Carefully test and adjust mechanical objects to ensure they don’t move too fast or strongly. Strong, fast moving objects can kill the player.

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Rails Doesn't Crash a Lot

programming, rails, sysadmin

DHH wrote this: Myth #2: Rails is expected to crash 400 times/day – a response to a myth about Rails processes regularly needing restarts.

I’m a big Rails hacker, it’s 90% of what I’ve done for years. I’ve designed and developed these apps: Tiktrac, Ebiwrite, Helipad, Deadline, Loom and Reuters Real Estate, this blog, not to mention work for smaller clients I haven’t included here. They’re real live applications with constant development, performance and error monitoring.

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FOWA 08: Social Notes and Observations

fowa

Social notes

One of the great things about the Future of Web Apps expo was how polite the speakers were. I caught up with a few during the conference and in the parties afterwards. Simon and I had a chat with Alvin Woon from Plurk (who likes his beers apparently), the guys from Swirrl, the people from Meebo and PhoneFromHere.

I also wandered around the Friday night party weeding out the hackers from the Diggnation fans, thankful to find fellow Ruby and Cocoa programmers present. The amount of UK/EU Microsoft/PHP/Java developers seemed to outweigh the number of Ruby folks, but I found them in the end.

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FOWA 08: Day 2 Talks

fowa

This is a summary of the talks I went to at the Future of Web Apps on the second day of the conference. Read the first part here: FOWA 08: Day 1 Talks

The Fear Factor – Tim Bray

Tim changed his talk to one about how to survive in the current economic climate. He basically described my career (I graduated in 2001 – during the dot com crash) so I felt some encouragement from his ideas.

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FOWA 08: Day 1 Talks

fowa

I visited the Future of Web Apps conference last Thursday and Friday in London. The talks were by large excellent, and the speakers were personable and gave detailed answers to questions. Talks were split into Business and Developer, which made choosing difficult for me because I'm involved in both. Videos of all the talks are here: All FOWA 08 Videos

The Future of News – Kevin Rose, digg

Kevin’s talk was given in a more formal way than you might expect from his Diggnation presenting style. He gave details on how Digg’s looking at bringing in new tools to improve the quality of recommendation and conversation on the site.

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