Improvisation #1
Monday, November 24, 2008 at 12:01PM
Richard Terrell (KirbyKid) in Announcements, LittleBigPlanet, user gen

To illustrate the entire creation process, I have chosen to demonstrate my first LittleBigPlanet level; Improvisation #1. To play the level search for the title under the username: Berg443 location: Antarctica.

1) Range and Limitations

2) Influence

3) The Game Idea

4) Play and Push

  1. Arrange the elements/shapes so the player can jump from one to the next.
  2. Increase the spacing between some elements and add jump pads to move around giving the platforming some variety
  3. Pop the 2D painting into 3D by layering shapes and using the 3 lanes and 4 wafer thin layers.
  4. Make some of the elements move.
  1. Position sound objects to play notes when the player moves past them
  2. Limit the sound range to one instrument.
  3. Have a variety of switch activated sounds.
  4. Organize the base notes against the higher melody line according to the surrounding level elements so that a multi part song is created based on the natural ups and downs of platforming.
  1. Make each shape a unique platforming opportunity whether moving to, on, or from the shape. 
  2. Implement grabable objects so the player can maintain control.
  3. Utilize the momentum based jump to allow the player to platform far beyond Sackboy's core standard jump height. 
  4. Allow multiple paths so players aren't forced to go from the beginning of the level to the end in a linear fashion.

5) Development

6) Polish

I haven't completed all the polish passes on the level at this point. I want to let things settle and get a lot of feedback from other players before I finish things off. So before I talk about polish, I'll discus a few topics that pertain to Improvisation #1 this week.

Topic #1: Shapes & Space

Topic #2: Alternate Paths

Topic #3: Points and (P)Layered Level Design

Topic #4: Counterpoint: Suspension

Topic #5: (P)layered Elements

Watch a video here.

Stay tuned.

update: This article is continued here.

Article originally appeared on Critical-Gaming Network (https://critical-gaming.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.