PS3 Fanboy

Last week during an interview with Eurogamer TV, Media Molecule co-founder Mark Healey confessed that he was a little annoyed with the controls of LittleBigPlanet, namely the way Sackboy moves between the different planes of perspective. "The Z [axis] movement is an incredibly hard thing for us to get right. There's times when it annoys me actually, but we can work on that if we want, and refine it."

Healey assures fans that the problem can be corrected. "There's definitely room for improvement and we've got the channel to be able to do that as well ... I'd really love to be able to do backflips and all kinds of things with my Sackboy, and there's no reason why we can't add that and refine that." Thought we haven't had any major problems with the controls of LBP, we are more than glad to see the guys at Media Molecule are such perfectionists. How about those of you out there who are also in the beta? Are you experiencing the same problem Healey is describing?

Those of you who are thinking of using LittleBigPlanet as your ticket to champagne wishes and caviar dreams after reading our last post might want to rethink your plans. "SCEE and Media Molecule can guarantee that all consumer-generated content will be free at launch. We know how important this is to the LBP community and what we want most is for people to enjoy playing, creating and sharing their content," SCEE told Eurogamer after being notified of David Reeves' statements. They emphasized that Reeves "was talking about how user-generated content could potentially evolve in the long term" and that any future direction of LBP "will include the community and focus purely on enhancing the user experience."

Adding to the confusion, last month at GDC Paris during a keynote presentation, Media Molecule co-founder Mark Healey said "that's a fantastic idea" in response to a question of whether LBP user-generated content can be sold.

We think having the option of selling user-generated content, if implemented correctly, can be positive for the community. So did Reeves reveal something he wasn't suppose to yet? Can we kiss charging for LBP content good-bye?

Alex Evans and Mark Healey, co-founders of Media Molecule, revealed some information on the development of LittleBigPlanet and how the idea came to fruition at a keynote at the Game Developers Conference in Paris. Healey remarks on how he doesn't believe one needs a team of 200 or more people to make a "great, fresh and successful" game, naming Brain Age for the DS as such an example. Profits from games, Healey believes, will be increased by adopting a model of "user-generated content and a willingness to release early and often, combined with people accepting change, accepting patches." Server access to LPB was also revealed to be free and it was even hinted that gamers can potentially sell self-generated content.

Later, Evans sat down for an interview with Gamesindustry.biz and said influences on LBP were drawn from "this interesting timeline of user-generated content" such as the God game genre and games like Shoot-'em-up Construction Kit. Evans was "amazed" that people in the industry resonated with their idea of "creative gaming", commenting that Media Molecule had a "much more open and transparent process with the publisher (Sony)" and this was for them, "defining features of the development process."

Currently, the LBP team at the stage of "improving the quality and the polish" and promoting LBP; the pressure on them is a double-edged sword -- driving them forward at the same time while putting a large weight on their shoulders, especially with their relatively small team of about 30 people. Finally, the co-founder sounded rather modest about LBP being seen as a lead title on the PS3, claiming he had "no expectation(s)" in the beginning and it was "just ... ambition ... we didn't know we'd succeed", and that the "ultimate test" is "when the game is shipped, that's the best time to judge it."

For the latest episode of the PS Nation podcast, we chatted with Media Molecule founder, Mark Healey. He previously worked on Rag Doll Kung Fu, before moving onto the hotly anticipated PS3 exclusive, LittleBigPlanet. In our 40 minute chat, we covered a number of topics. For example, did you know LittleBigPlanet will have a story mode? Did you know that you'll be able to share "risque" levels privately amongst your friends? Finally, we have confirmation that Sackboy plushies are being made. Yes! Read on.

LittleBigPlanet has been evolving at every show. For example, enemies were introduced in the most recent build. How is Media Molecule staggering these features? What's the schedule and why are certain things only being shown at certain times?
To be honest, because we showed the game at GDC originally, so early on in the development process. Really, we've been showing things as they go into the game. People have been seeing the game evolve. Quite often, people show the game much nearer the end and are very careful about what they show and what they don't show. It's literally as we're designing the game that we're showing things. There wasn't one big master plan. At some point, we decided "we need enemies," so we put enemies. And then it was shown to people.

YouTube video uploading has been discussed for games like PixelJunk Eden and an educational title in Japan. Is it something that's being considered for the game?
We haven't made any plans to do that yet. But, like we've always said. We really want to listen to the community. Really, whatever they're most hungry for, we'll make every effort to feed them with what they're hungry for. Like the fluid, with YouTube -- I'm taking a guess, but those are going to be high up on that list. I don't really know what the logistics are, who you have to talk to at YouTube. If there's a huge desire for it, and it's possible, then I'm sure we'll have a go at doing it.

We can't wait to get our hands on Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet. The release is still a while away, so we're anxious to hear more information about this upcoming PS3 creation game. Mark Healey and Alex Evans, co-founders of Media Molecule, will deliver the opening keynote at the upcoming Paris GDC. According to the press release, "their talk will touch upon the ways in which game developers can incorporate creativity into their designs, and the future of user-generated content as illustrated by their upcoming title, LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation 3."

While PS3 Fanboy won't be attending the conference, we do hope that some intriguing newsbits will make their way out of the conference. Who knows? Maybe they'll surprise us with an early release date (we hope!).

Update: Paris GDC is the second French edition of the Game Developers Conference, and is scheduled for June 23-24 at the Coeur Défense Convention Centre in Paris .