“It meant obviously the sort of completely unique handcrafted aesthetic and making sure that we took that and applied it to what is now a 3D world. “That meant having signature gameplay elements that everyone is going to recognize, whether that’s score bubbles or bounce pads or scoreboards or whatever else,” he says. All the while, the team recognized that it was important to ensure that the game was true to the core of LittleBigPlanet. Waterhouse says that the goal was for every level to provide surprises to the player, whether it was its setting, a new mechanic, or something else. We basically said at the start of this game our ambition was to make sure every level felt unique.” We need a compelling, highly interactive world to take you on this journey. They need to be easy to pick up and play, but they need to have depth and nuance to them. They need to be responsive, they need to be fluid.
“We made the decision to say, ‘We’re going to make the best 3D co-op platformer we can.’ Right. “We figured at the start of making this game we made the decision to focus on play,” he says. Waterhouse is similarly diplomatic when he describes how the team first approached the idea of a dedicated LBP platformer. LittleBigPlanet does a lot of things exceptionally well, but when I think of great platforming it’s not even in the same room as that list. Sackboy is kind of a floaty dude in a strange sort of way. I’ll be diplomatic here by saying that the LittleBigPlanet games have a unique take on platforming physics.
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It’s Faithful To The Series While Being *Ahem* A Fun Platformer “We felt that by starting the game and showing where he was from and showing his friends and giving that context, that gave us this platform to really show his growth on this journey to become a knitted knight, which is sort of part of his quest, if you like.”Ģ. Waterhouse says the team thought providing that kind of context was important. I was a little surprised to hear all of these story beats for a series that’s put more of a premium on aesthetics and player agency, I wasn’t expecting all of this, well, lore.
As you may imagine, that’s not a great scenario. If activated, this machine will turn Craftworld upside-down and inside-out. Perhaps slightly unexpectedly, but also perhaps predictably, he gets his chance because one day: The game’s villain, a nefarious trickster called Vex descends upon Loom and he kidnaps all of the sacklings that live there and enslaves them to build a machine.” Sackboy is a bit different from the other sackfolk he’s always dreamed of adventure, he’s always wanted to see what lies beyond the borders of his village. “This is where all the sacklings of Craftworld live. “We start in Sackboy’s hometown, which is the village of Loom,” Waterhouse says. Sackboy is a pretty adorable fellow, but what does he have beyond his good looks? A Big Adventure isn’t going to be exploring his inner demons or diving into his deepest thoughts, but Sumo is stuffing a little bit of story and context into the game. Here are six of the biggest takeaways from that conversation: 1.
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I spoke to Ned Waterhouse, design director at Sumo Digital to learn more about the team’s latest game before it launches on PS5 and PS4 on November 12. It’s not the studio’s first foray into the LittleBigPlanet universe Sumo Digital also developed LittleBigPlanet 3.
Sumo Digital’s new game may not offer the world-creating tools that much of the series is known for, but its focus on co-op platforming doesn’t appear to be short on surprises. A few months back, Sony revealed the character’s latest outing, Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Since then, it’s seen several sequels and spinoffs, but one thing has remained a constant presence: the immeasurably cute Sackboy. LittleBigPlanet has been a PlayStation mainstay ever since it debuted near the beginning of the PS3’s lifespan.