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Techno Renaissance: No list of periods of enlightenment would be
complete without the Renaissance. For this first theme, Media Molecule
mixes da Vinci-esque contraptions and period architecture with
modern-day technology like microchips.
What I'd love: Let's start off with baby steps and say a Mario
clone. (Hey, he's Italian, right?) Instead of jumping around a mushroom
kingdom, our little plumber friend can jump onto beautiful, crafted
scaffolding and run through gilded landscapes while trying to jump onto
the heads of the patrolling sackbots I've customized to look like
Statues of David (but family friendly). And just like Koopa troopas, I
can program some of them to be stupid enough to fall off the side of
platforms instead of turning around to continue their patrol.
Of course, for this to be a proper Mario level, Sackboy is going to have
to get rid of his "floaty" controls. But since LBP2 had to be backward
compatible, revising Sackboy's controls was out of the question, as that
would break many of the first game's existing levels. To get around
this, I'd customize a sackbot to look like Mario, and jump like Mario.
Then, I'd hide the actual sackboy from view and use the new direct
control device to map the sackbot's left and right movement to the D-pad
(or even Sixaxis motion control tilt, if you want to play Mario that
way) and jump to the X button.
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Steam Punk and Cake: It's a funny juxtaposition between Steam
Punk's junk-filled tinkering and decadent, cake-filled sensibilities of
the Victorian era.
What I'd love: This one is a no brainer for me -- Alice in
Wonderland. Aesthetically, this theme makes a lot of sense for the
theme, not only because Alice is decked out in Victorian garb to begin
with but also because a Steam Punk Mad Hatter would be fantastic. And
just like in the Techno Renaissance theme level, I could use the direct
control mechanism so that sackboy could control giant (or miniature)
sackbots behind a curtain when necessary in order to simulate the
effects of the Eat Me and Drink Me scenes.
In terms of genre, I'd prefer this level to be more story-based and
cinematics-driven. Certainly, recording my own voice-overs for
characters like the Walrus, or the Queen of Hearts, would be quite
enjoyable, and it would allow me the freedom to take the retelling of
the story as seriously or jokingly as I choose. The new camera switches
in LBP2 would also help me keep each narrative scene visually
interesting, since I could control exactly when and where to switch
camera angles, much like a movie director would.
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Neon Propaganda: This theme pulls out bright, florescent tubes of
color and uses it to bathes the sometimes creepy '50s imagery in light,
turning everything all bright and cheery... but still kind of creepy.
What I'd love: A Bionic Commando clone. From what I've seen of this theme so far, the looming buildings
and intense lights make this theme seem appropriate for a Bionic
Commando clone. Little Big Planet 2 will also have a new grapple hook
device which allows your Sackboy to shoot out a hook and attach himself
to just about anything. If you hook onto a rotating wheel, you can swing
across large pits, or get pulled up into the air, reeled in like a fish
on the line. You can even hook onto enemies, other players, or pull
loose objects towards you.
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Fluffy High-Tech: This theme combines the smooth, cold sexiness
of futuristic machines -- all white or clear and plastic -- with the
soft nature of cute fluffy animals.
What I'd love: Muppets go to space. Jim Henson's Muppets seem as
though they could easily be re-created in LBP2 using the new sackbot
creation tools and the Fluffy High-Tech theme materials. I'd probably
want to start the level off with some narrative about why Kermit and
gang have to hop into a spaceship and fly off into the cold beyond, but
after that, I kind of like the idea of the game turning into a
side-scrolling shooter as they blast their way through alien worlds,
which shouldn't be too hard because in LBP2: you can design flying
vehicles that shoot projectiles. And thanks to the new circuit boards
feature, which allows me to save on the level's physical space in build
mode by condensing
a lot of the triggers onto a single chip , I have more room for my
epic, multi-phased boss battle at the very end, where Kermit has to
destroy an army of Miss Piggy aliens.
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Designer Organic: The theme puts the wild beauty of nature
alongside the deliberate craftsmanship of man-made designs.
What I'd love: Tarzan racing game. I'd set up the jungle
as a racetrack of sorts, but instead of a road, Tarzan would be zooming
down tree trunks and chutes made of vines. LBP2 has a camera view that is especially useful in this instance, one that's almost an
over-the-shoulder third-person perspective. I'd probably need sackboy to
be riding in a vehicle for this concept to work, since there is no way
sackboy could move fast enough on his own. But, to keep him looking like
Tarzan, I'd design the vehicle to be shaped like a skateboard made of
bark.
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Handmade Arcade: This theme is homage to games in general, with a
bunch of stickers and materials that will help gamers everywhere
re-create some of their childhood favorites like Space Invaders .
What I'd love: I know, I know. This has been done to death, and
recently to boot (Hi, 3D Dot Game Heroes ),
but Zelda is one
of my all time favorite games series. When LBP2 comes out, you are free
to re-create your own all-time favorite game, but for me, I'd take the
Handmade Arcade theme and use the square blocks fashioned to look like
8-bit pixels and lay them out in my, most likely pathetic, attempt at
pixel art. I can also probably simulate Link's full health sword effect
by making the sackboy ride a giant sword vehicle that shoots
projectiles. Also, as mentioned before, LBP2 has a grapple hook that
Link can use like his hookshot. If I really wanted to, I could also use
the holographic overlay materials to create the look of a HUD floating
over the screen that would display how many hearts my Link has.
I realize these are not the most imaginative levels, and all of them are
based on some sort of existing franchise. Like I said earlier, I'd
prefer to play your masterpiece, so if you have an idea
yourself, please share in the comments below.
