Hey guys,
Lots of new info this week, specifically for LittleBigPlanet (PSP), which hits store shelves on November 17th. So without any further adieu…
LittleBigPlanet (PSP) Pre-order Announcement
As teased last week, we’re pleased to announce the official pre-order goodies for LittleBigPlanet (PSP). If you pre-order before November 17th, you’ll get a valuable pre-order voucher to redeem (via the PlayStation Store) for six costumes from some of your favorite PlayStation games, featuring:
- UNCHARTED 2‘s Nathan Drake and Chloe Frazer
- Killzone 2‘s Helghast Officer and Tank costume
- MotorStorm‘s Lucky Jack Flynn and Candy Buzzbomb
Pre-order now at any of the below participating US retailers:
***If you’re in Canada, pre-order now at your local EB Games/GameStop, and online at Amazon.ca.
“What’s New” in LittleBigPlanet (PSP)?
SCEE Cambridge has been hard at work developing a completely new adventure for Sackboy. We’ve asked them to give us some insight on the PSP version through a series of articles to explain what’s new.
“Sackboy – An Animated Diary” by Martin Binfield, Senior Artist
LittleBigPlanet is a world of fun, and a big part of that fun comes from its diminutive denizens; the Sackpeople. They’re a bunch of expressive explorers with a natty line in fashionable clothes. Making the transition from the big PS3 screen to the little PSP screen has resulted in a whole new way of interacting with the little dudes. If a player wants to show quite how their Sackboy feels about a particularly dastardly level, or an impressive feat of daredevilishness, they can pull off an excited greeting, a jubilant celebration, a dismissive taunt or even a snazzy dancemove. There’s an emote animation to suit any situation!
So where does a Sackboy learn kung fu? In the “Animation Dojo” (otherwise known as Maya) where an intensive course of being posed, keyframed, scrubbed forward and backward on the timeline, and tweaked and tweaked and tweaked will teach him the ancient arts of being animated.
And it’s not just the limbs that get seen. When one is performing a convincing ‘nail-bitingly-scared’ routine, one must make sure one’s expression is appropriate, dear. Thankfully, Sackboy was born with a fully expressive face, driven by blendshape deformation no less, which helps him achieve that academy-award level performance with gusto.
Coaxing such a performance from Sackboy is simplicity itself. Simply choose your emotional state by pressing up on the directional pad to make him happy, down to make him sad, left to make him scared or right to make him angry. Now that you’re in a mood, it’s time to show precisely how moody you are – press and hold the L shoulder button and press up on the directional pad to make Sackboy celebrate, left to make him vigorously taunt, right to make him greet and down for a surprisingly miscellaneous gesture.
“Adventure Awaits…Part 1” by Gareth Hughes, Lead Designer
Having completed his PS3 adventure, Sackboy thought it was about time he took a well deserved holiday. Even a Sackperson needs a bit of relaxation time! Having visited so many wondrous locations across the LittleBigPlanet already, Sackboy decided it was time to go portable and experience a walkabout. What better way to unwind his threads than the peace and quiet of down under.
After a warm and fuzzy welcome from the locals, it was time to head out into the Outback. Oh my, so much to see and do! A veritable fabric-based feast of new Stickers, Costumes and Materials.
Sackboy’s walkabout had not gone unnoticed! Impressed with Sackboy’s exemplary, exploratory endeavours, the Mystic summoned Sackboy to the Cave of Dreams. A place no LittleBigPlanetian should miss visiting! Exploring deep into the cave, Sackboy was soon having a great time swinging through ancient caverns, solving devious puzzles and bagging himself plenty of new prizes. However, this was no time for such silken shenanigans! A hop skip and a jump later, Sackboy was before the Mystic.
The mystical events that followed this meeting are now the stuffing of legends, best you experience this yourself when you visit LittleBigPlanet on the PSP.
What’s that, don’t leave you hanging? Oh very well, perhaps there are a few more threads of this story that I can weave together for you!
After being shown a wonderful vision known as the Dreamtime, it was revealed that a new quest awaited Sackboy; to make sure that all the Creator Curators can attend the upcoming Carnival of Creators! The first of the Creator Curators to be invited is the Emperor of The Orient; a pint sized Prima-Donna who is having trouble with a fire breathing behemoth.
Can Sackboy free the Emperor from this unwanted distraction and get him to attend the Carnival? That’s a question only a PSP owning player such as you can answer!
“The Popit Tool” by Craig Abraham, Associate Producer
The one must-have accessory that all Sackboys and Sackgirls just can’t live without is the Popit. It’s a fun-sized box of tricks that allows them to do all kinds of weird and wonderful things. If you want to customize your Sackperson’s attire then the Popit is the place to go. Or maybe you just want to show your artistic flair and brighten up a level? No Problem! Just open the Popit and choose one of the hundreds of stickers you may have picked up on your journey across LittleBigPlanet.
Create Mode is where the Popit really comes into its own though. There’s just so much on offer, you won’t know where to begin. Rummaging around the tools bag there’s all sorts of bolts and pistons, buttons and switches. Not to mention creature bits, sounds and music, or backgrounds to make your levels come to life. Emitters, cameras… the list goes on and on.
All the familiar tools are back too. There’s the material changer and the ever-so-useful capture object tool. Electricity, flame or deadly gas are all great ways of lethalizing your level if you’re feeling particularly nasty. The corner editor is essential for fine tuning, and so we’ve suped it up so you can edit multiple corners at once.
The goodies bag is where you’ll find all of the objects you’ve collected on your travels. It’s also where you can create new objects, and there are a few new settings in there too. You can place pre-made shapes or, if you prefer, ‘paint mode’ does exactly what it says on the tin. And the Popit cursor will allow you to manipulate all your objects, or tweak their settings as you see fit. You can even tweak things you might not have thought possible before!
Whoever you are, wherever you are, let your own personalized Sackperson take you on a ride and show you the plethora of potential waiting inside the perfectly proportioned portable Popit!
LBP (PS3): Game of the Year Edition – User Spotlight
In this week’s spotlight, we learn more about Chris Miller and his thoughts on “Great Gratuitous Raid of Goblin-Berg!”, his bonus level in the LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition. We hope you get a chance to play his level and special thanks to “thekillermiller” for inviting us into his home.
New on the PlayStation Store
We’re excited to introduce a new type of downloadable offering on the PlayStation Store – Music Pack 1 ($3.99).
If you’re looking to fill your level creations with some new music, this pack has got what you need. Head on over to MediaMolecule.com for more details from Kenny himself. And if you’re in the mood to preview the new songs, here’s a preview video (with audio, of course).
Also, on Wednesday, SCEA announced a PlayStation Store on Amazon.com – so in addition to gettin’ your LBP DLC on the PlayStation Store or through the in-game store, now there’s a new way to get your costume, sticker & level packs. So don’t forget to drop subtle *hints* to your friends / family to gift these purchases for you.
For more LittleBigPlanet updates, head over to LittleBigWorkshop!
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