LittleBigPlanet Karting

[OmniStalgic]

Wow...I was waiting for LBP3 or perhaps LBP on PS4 to have my preferred version of the game (tight controls/jumps) but it just might be the karting spin-off, which doesn't seem to be much of a spin-off at all...

Nothing has yet to beat the classic Mario Kart, but as in usual fashion, Sony's WWS is the only company that's ever come close to Ninty in hardly anything. Really looking forward to this one, could potentially be my GOTY as I really miss fun, easy, local multi-player game sessions.

[Gribble-Grunger]

i hope they use Stephen Fry again

LittleBigPlanet Karting And Going Back To The Things You Love

"You have to make games for someone you love," says William, "because that way you can imagine who you're making it for.

"You can imagine the smiles the game will bring to their face; you can imagine the good times that people you care about can have with your game."

William Ho, Design Director at United Front Games, is making LittleBigPlanet Karting for someone he loves.

LittleBigPlanet Karting And Going Back To The Things You Love We're in the Penthouse at the Andaz Hotel in Los Angeles. William Ho is in the midst of introducing LittleBigPlanet Karting to the press. He says he loves three things: the first is Kart Racers, second is LittleBigPlanet and… the third, conveniently, is the combination of those two things.

But that's just rhetoric – William Ho's first real love was cars.

"I've always loved them," he laughs. "Even when I was a kid I loved cars."

And, of course, he loved video games. Video games about cars.

"I played every system when I was a kid, all the way back to the VIC 20," says William. "I played all of the classic racing games - games like Spy Hunter, Jump and Bump - all of those games are part of my DNA. I really love that age, and I'm inspired by that age - when anyone could pick up and play a game, with no instructions at all, and enjoy it right away! There's something cool about that."

It's easy, especially in the wake of Sony's PlayStation All-Stars announcement to treat the announcement of LittleBigPlanet Karting with cynicism. Sony, of course, has attempted to hijack this sub-genre with games in the past – but there's something about LittleBigPlanet that works seamlessly with the idea of a kart racer.

It could be a strange type of nostalgia, the idea of reclaiming the lost memories of childhood – racing frantically on bicycles, trying to build your own Kart with pram wheels. Kart racers don't have any claim to realism - they're about surrendering to your own childlike imagination and accepting a primitive set of rules.

And the same could be said about LittleBigPlanet.

"I think Kart racers appeal to the kid in everyone," says William. "There's a universality to driving around in a go kart in fantastic places - and there's a universality to the materials in LittleBigPlanet.

"Who, when they were a little kid, didn't play with construction paper, cardboard, felt and cloth - cutting it, piecing it together. Sticking things together, acting out scenarios – that's LittleBigPlanet. To have that in a modern game taps into all those base memories and those base instincts, those notions of imaginations without boundaries. We didn't care when we were little kids; we weren't self conscious back then…"

"With LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet Karting, maybe we should be able to express ourselves like we did as children," continues William. "It should feel like revisiting that childhood."

LittleBigPlanet Karting And Going Back To The Things You Love When the young William Ho wasn't dropping quarters into Jump and Bump, he was terrorising the streets with his buddy, pretending to be the highway patrol from CHiPs. His buddy was Jon, he was Ponch.

"When you're a kid you imagine with your box cars, you imagine with your pedals," he says.

"And there's no reason why we couldn't place the ChiPs scenario into LittleBigPlanet Karting! Everyone has their own vivid memories to be inspired by. I think there's going to be that common thread, people are going to be like, ‘I recognise that. That rings true to me'."

William hopes that creation will be a huge part of the LittleBigPlanet Karting user experience. Much like UGC's last title, ModNation Racers, LittleBigPlanet Karting will allow players to customise their karts, their Sackboy and, of course, create their own tracks. LittleBigPlanet Karting will provide more options for creation than any other racer ever conceived.

And in many ways that makes sense – LittleBigPlanet is about appealing to our inner child, reinvigorating that creative spirit. It's about abandoning our normal rules of what makes sense and letting our imaginations take control.

"When I was young I used to play with my Matchbox cars," remembers William.

"My father was a cook in a kitchen, and I would hang out there - I would take the soup cans off the shelf and take my Matchbox cars and drive them around. It was like a makeshift racecourse! That to me was so satisfying."

William hopes LittleBigPlanet will embody that same spirit.

LittleBigPlanet Karting And Going Back To The Things You Love "I've been playing Kart games for decades now, literally decades," says William. "It seems so long ago…"

William Ho is making LittleBigPlanet Karting to satisfy a lifetime of creative curiosity; he's making it in the spirit of the kid who played CHiPs and made makeshift tracks with cans of crushed tomatoes – but most of all he's making it for someone he loves.

William loves karting games, but his early memories of those first steps into are intertwined with memories of his sister – who he played with constantly, competed with, threw green shells at. In a lot of ways LittleBigPlanet Karting is for her.

"When Kart racing came along I was like, wow, this is a game I can play over and over again," says William. "This is a game I can play with my sister.

"And I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that was making this game for my sister and me to enjoy all over again, to help us relive those memories."

http://kotaku.com/5906915/littlebigp...hings-you-love

[KRA]

GameTrailers.First Look Interview HD

[OmniStalgic]

Ironically, Mario Kart on N64 is the first game I played with my big sister, and it is a fond memory.

Besides frequent terrible reviews about control issues (which will likely not happen) this one is all bought and paid for baby! Congrats to Sony for picking up MM and starting a great franchise...

UGF looks to do the franchise justice...

[Gribble-Grunger]

watching it being played makes it seem even better:

http://uk.gamespot.com/littlebigplan...-demo-6374662/

[Gribble-Grunger]

comments from the dev on the blog:

Steering will be available on both the Left Joystick and the directional buttons. Also, we’re providing throttle on either the X button or the R2 button. So everyone’s control preferences should be covered!

How about CIRCLE for braking?

Level editor:

Our Level Editor is going to blow you away. I can assure this, because it blows me away everyday!

Customization options:

You will be able to customize weapons and create your own from scratch. We’ll have more details about this in the near future.

You can customize karts just as easily as you can with Sackboys. We’re still locking down the thousands of customization parts we’ll have in the game. More details when we know them…

This game couldn’t be called LittleBigPlanet if we didn’t allow you to customize as many things as possible. We will have ways to customize performance. We’ll share specific details with you as soon as we can.

The future of ModNation Racers:

ModNation Racers is still a great traditional kart racing experience that’s still very active. It’s still got amazing new creations uploaded all the time — check out ModNation Mondays — that are playable on PS3 and the Vita. We’re still really proud of MNR and have the fan letters to prove it.

LittleBigPlanet Karting was conceived as a fresh new karting adventure, one that opens up new gameplay and creative possibilities that, honestly, you’ve never seen before in any racing game.

[solidsnakejej]

[Smokey]

so i havent played LBP for donkeys i thought it was basically a sidescroller when did this change?

[Gribble-Grunger]

so i havent played LBP for donkeys i thought it was basically a sidescroller when did this change?

this is LBPkarting made by UFG (Modnation racer devs). it's a 3D version of the PS2 engine with all the same features, tools and creative possibilities.

[Smokey]

aah ok cool i liked LBP

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Guess we ain't gettin' ModNation Racers 2, hahahaha.

[Gribble-Grunger]

Guess we ain't gettin' ModNation Racers 2, hahahaha.

nope. something much much better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...bYxVs#t=21117s

[Gribble-Grunger]

at last people can talk about the game! here is a write up from the game jam. many people were invited for a hands on preview and here are their thoughts. I would also advise you to read all the comments in that thread. THIS GAME IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLE:

Article by Tom Ross
(aka Taffey, PSN tsr13)


--------------------------------------

In June 2012, a small collection of lucky folks from around the community were invited to Sony's San Diego Studio for a week to get an early look at LittleBigPlanet Karting, a brand new game that features Sackboy behind the wheel of his very own ride. We spent five days in the very heart of the PlayStation universe and had a lot of incredible experiences; this is a chronicle of those events.

It was an average Thursday morning. I rolled out of bed, made some coffee, and sat down to check my email. A quick glance over the list of subject lines revealed nothing out of the ordinary: U ARE LOTTERY WINER... invitation to visit Sony... PlayStation Blog update... Wait, wait. Go back one. What was that again??

Yep, it was an email from the LittleBigPlanet Karting team, and they wanted me to fly to southern California and spend a week playing games! I carefully pondered my decision – a process that took about four seconds – and promptly rearranged my schedule.

[recall= Spider-Jew]I was shocked. I sent a couple messages to confirm they contacted the right guy! Then I saw codibear8383 and Crazy_S on the list and quickly contacted them so we could all share in the excitement.[/recall][recall= JustinArt]My jaw seriously dropped. I jumped up and down like a kangaroo.[/recall][recall= LamboLover4898]I was actually checking my email for a Vita Beta code. Sadly I didn't find it but once I opened my invitation a wide grin spread across my face and I didn't care at all about the Vita Beta anymore.[/recall][recall= ConfusedCartman]I was really excited. I've done stuff like this before, but I still love it so much that I take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.[/recall][recall= codibear8383]I was definitely shocked and awed. I have no words to describe how I felt to be honest haha[/recall][recall= Crazy_S]I was really surprised that I was invited to the event and had to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming. I also did jump up and down a couple of times.[/recall]

Day 1 was a whirlwind of events. I arrived at San Diego airport bright and early in the morning and immediately encountered ConfusedCartman at the baggage carousel. We exchanged hellos, grabbed our bags, and embarked on what would become the most terrifying taxi ride of our lives. Pedal-to-the-metal acceleration was occasionally interrupted with screeching stops while the "driver" typed things into a GPS. After what seemed like an eternity of white-knuckle car chase action, we paid our ransom of $53 and were set free vaguely near our hotel.

No sooner had we landed on the pavement in a heap than one of the hosts from Sony showed up to greet us. We were led to the lobby of the hotel and introduced the other invitees: JustinArt, LamboLover4898, codibear8383, Spider-Jew, and Crazy_S. I also spotted none other than LittleBigPlanet Community Manager Steven Isbell hiding behind a potted fern. Once we had said our hellos, we went on a short walk down the road to San Diego Studio, a place I like to call Gamer Wonderland. Walking inside was like visiting Santa's workshop – I've played an awful lot of games that were produced in that very building. Resisting the urge to hug a Patapon 3 poster on the wall, I followed the group down a hallway and into a large room that would be our home for the week. A huge LittleBigPlanet Karting graphic covered one of the walls; around the perimeter of the room were arranged many flatscreen TVs and PlayStation 3 consoles. This was going to be a great week.

[recall= LamboLover4898]I was extremely nervous and excited at the same time. I was thinking "I'm actually going to test out LBPK!!!" It's hard to explain meeting people I only know from PSN's and great levels. I now know all these great people by their first names of their PSN's.[/recall][recall= ConfusedCartman]Walking over to the studio was an exercise in restraint. I was so full of nervous energy, I don't know how I just didn't break out into a sprint heading over there. Hanging out with other people from the community was like we had been friends for a while. There's something about getting everyone from a similar community together in one place - you don't have to really get to know each other very much. The conversation just flows.[/recall][recall= JustinArt]I was excited. Being inside a Sony game studio is like being in a really fun job. I was in an amazing group to hang out with. This was my first time being part of a LBP meeting.[/recall][recall= Crazy_S]I felt a little nervous and anxious to see the studio and meet everyone. It was awesome being in the studio and getting to see the environment the developers work in. Everyone from sony was awesome and made me feel like I was home and everyone from the community was really cool and had great personalities.[/recall][recall= Spider-Jew]I was more excited than anything. I just wanted to go to every cubicle and office to ask each person what they were working on and find an empty cubicle I could convert into a fort so I could live there forever! It was fun hanging out with people from the community and putting faces to PSN names. It is nice to talk with a person in real life about games and they actually know what you are talking about. [/recall][recall= codibear8383]I was extremely nervous and excited at the same time, because I didn't really know what to expect since I hadn't done anything like this in the past. It was incredible being in the studio. I felt like I couldn't touch anything, like it was a sacred area haha .. Meeting the Sony guys was awesome. They were all very welcoming and hospitable. They really did want our opinion on the game without it being sugar-coated, because in the grand scheme of things, we were a representation of the community.[/recall]

In the calmest fashion possible, we each picked a workstation and settled in for a day of LittleBigPlanet Karting. The development team requested that we play a few of the story mode levels to get a feel for what the game was all about, and we happily obliged. First impressions were very positive. The game looks and feels exactly like LittleBigPlanet, except of course for the fact that Sackboy is driving a kart instead of running. We enjoyed a few different Gardens-themed tracks and arenas, as well as one on Huge Spaceship – it was all comfortingly familiar and excitingly new all at the same time. The arena-based gameplay was a blast (literally!) and the minigames we played were all very entertaining as well. Overall this game is just plain fun. We were all quite impressed.

With a taste of play mode (and a bit of lunch) under our belts, our attention was called to the front of the room. We were given a rundown on some of the new tools, watched a few tutorials, and set loose on create mode.

This was the moment we'd been waiting for.

None of us really knew what to expect. Create mode loaded up, and there's Sackboy hovering in the air just like always with a nice background stretching into the distance. So far so ordinary. I began flying around the level left and right, up and down, and..... in and out!? Now hold on just a dang minute. I had thought create mode would be fairly restrictive but no - a quick turn of the analog stick swung the camera around in directions it never used to go before, and right then I realized: This was a fully three-dimensional sandbox to create in. Whoa.

I had some trouble thinking in three dimensions at first – it's a degree of freedom I am simply not used to, and my brain just didn't want to work that way. I created a chunk of material and began scaling and rotating it around in different directions simply to get a feel for what could be done, and it didn't take me long to realize you could do anything. Ouch, brain cramp. I needed to give myself more time to let the concept of that Z-axis sink in a bit more, so I started scrolling through some of the logic objects. I was assaulted with tools, tools, and more new tools, so many in fact that I couldn't possibly imagine what you might need them all for. Yep, this was a LittleBigPlanet game alright. The development team had definitely done their homework.

Experiencing create mode in LBP Karting for the first time is difficult to describe, but it's something like this: Imagine coming home at the end of the day and discovering that someone has installed a brand new refrigerator for you, stocked full of your favorite drinks. They've also added a soft serve ice cream maker, a home theater, a swimming pool, a machine that dispenses free pizza, and a roller coaster. It's still the home you know and love, only now it's way cooler than before.

Day 1 was over before we knew it, and of course none of us actually wanted to leave. We were lured away with the promise of a tasty meal (they finally got my attention with the words "mac & cheese") and sometime afterwards we all ended up in the lobby of the hotel, discussing the events of the day. All of us were impressed with the huge world available to create in and astounded at the new tool set. And, as it turns out, all of us were having a little trouble trying to come up with ideas that utilized that elusive third dimension. We were excited to give it a try on Day 2 though, so we headed to our rooms to get some rest.

[recall= ConfusedCartman]I think my first feeling was one of bewilderment. I don't think any of us - me especially - expected the game to support as much as it does. It really does support essentially everything LBP2 supports, plus an entire third dimension.[/recall][recall= JustinArt]The tools were amazing. I can do a lot more than what I expected. I was eager to start creating on day 1.[/recall][recall= Spider-Jew]Seeing the game for the first time made my brain explode because all the tools gave me millions of ideas. I was a bit nervous about creating in a 3D world, as I had not done this before and wasn't sure I would be any good. After messing around the with the tools for the first day and coming back for Day 2, I was very comfortable with the game and confident I could create an enjoyable experience for everyone to play.[/recall][recall= codibear8383]I remember when I first started LBP that I never thought I'd be good at creating just simply because there was so much that the tools were capable of. I felt the exact same way for this game.. However this game takes it to a completely different level.[/recall][recall= Crazy_S]I was a little bit overwhelmed because of the 3d but was really impressed on how well the tools were implemented.[/recall][recall= LamboLover4898]I was overwhelmed and extremely excited to get my hands dirty with a 3D LBP editor and the editor went way above my expectations![/recall]

Day 2 started much the same as Day 1, only this time we knew what was in store for us. I sat down at my station, loaded up create mode, and just like that I knew exactly what to do. The actions and objects that seemed so strange in concept the previous day appeared effortlessly on my screen, and I could barely keep up with all the ideas that were popping into my head. Hmm, maybe I'll make a skyscraper... and there it was just a few minutes later. Well now I need a city to put it in, don't I? Roads, intersections, sidewalks, parks – they all magically came to life at the end of my popit cursor without so much as a second thought. A quick survey of the room revealed similar processes going on with the rest of the group. Apparently all one needs to get a handle on this sort of thing is a healthy intake of pasta and a night's rest.

We were given free reign for the entire day to create whatever we wanted, and we went nuts with our newfound freedom. Around the room appeared tracks, arenas, desert landscapes, futuristic cities, circuit boards jammed full of wires, weapons, custom karts... the list went on. Our attention was drawn to a table full of delicious Hawaiian barbecue that somehow appeared in the center of the room, and we all suddenly realized we were starving. A short lunch break later and I was back at work on my top-down city adventure, struggling to decide between gameplay ideas. Should I be running from the cops or perhaps picking up garbage dumpsters in a race against the clock? I could make a checkpoint time trial, or maybe a post-apocalyptic eight-player war. Just when thought I had made my mind up, Steven would pay a visit to discuss gameplay options, and I would be set off excitedly in a whole new direction I hadn't even thought of before. (I suspect Steven relished in my creative agony, or perhaps he just wanted some cool levels to play.) Other creations around the room were coming to life at a frantic pace as well, and before we knew what was happening it was 5pm and time to head out. This day had been nothing short of amazing.

[recall= codibear8383]On the first day it was extremely difficult. Our brains, coming from LBP2, are used to creating in 2D. Which makes it hard to start thinking in the 3D perspective. However on the second day, I think I can speak for everyone when saying, that it all of a sudden it just clicked. Our muscle memory from the day before kicked in. We understood it and started creating our lovely masterpieces. I jumped right into trying to figure out how to lay track down and experimenting with the terrain and new decorations and objects.[/recall][recall= Spider-Jew]It was a bit overwhelming at first. Once you spent time working in the 3D space, everything just clicked and it felt as natural as creating in LBP2. All I could see in this 3D space was endless possibilities! I spent time trying out the track creator at first. I took a break from that to check out creating a battle arena and quickly realized you could do virtually anything with this and spent the rest of my time working on a few different games; the best being a game about Mad Cow Disease![/recall][recall= JustinArt]Creating in a 3D environment was a blast. My favorite thing I created all week were the flying cars circling around my metropolis track.[/recall][recall= LamboLover4898]At first I was frustrated but by Day 2 I got the hang of it. It has so much potential and I can't wait to see what the community does with it. I basically made the equivalent of a Nürburgring difficulty track in LBPK where if you blow one corner you're done for the rest of the race. "Sponsored by NOM Brand Almonds"[/recall][recall= ConfusedCartman]It all took some time to adjust to. The first day was the most difficult, because it required me to consider the 3rd dimension with every Creative decision. After the first day though, it was much easier because my brain had integrated that consideration into its Creative processes. It essentially became muscle memory. I'm not the best when it comes to making cool things from scratch, so the track creator really sped up the process for me. It gave me a solid basis to work from so I could then spend more time on fine tuning the gameplay. Eventually my track had multiple branching paths with custom grapple swings and some risk/reward gameplay decisions.[/recall][recall= Crazy_S]I really liked creating in the 3D environment because it got a lot easier to create and position your creations a lot easier. I think anyone can pickup this game and create something really awesome because the 3D makes it easier to create and lets your imagination run wild. I ended up creating a race track that was on a motherboard type terrain and I created little computer chips throughout the track. I also made the track have a lot of neon lights and very colorful which made the track look really cool when I set the environment to be dark.[/recall]

One of the very best things about our time in San Diego was hanging out with all the people working behind the scenes to make LittleBigPlanet Karting a reality. From the first minute of the first day it was clear that this was a seriously awesome group of guys. It really did seem like we had been invited into their home, given the last Diet Coke in the fridge, and told it was cool to put our feet up on the table. The energy and the passion these guys have was infectious – all of us invitees felt like we wanted to do them proud. They were genuinely interested in our opinions and our feedback, and they checked in with us regularly. We weren't just some detached focus group filling out questionnaires. They made us feel like we were actually part of the team and that we were working as peers towards the same goals, and that was a great feeling indeed.

As our working relationships developed and we grew more comfortable in each other's presence, the goofiness began to ramp up. This, of course, is a sign of success and productivity in a team... or at least that's what we kept telling ourselves. More than anything, we learned many valuable lessons as part of this relationship building process. We learned that porta-potties belong in every creation, we learned that it is folly to challenge seasoned testers in Gran Turismo 5, and we learned that one must either freestyle rap or sing along in Japanese if one is to roll in a dev's ride. We also found out that, no matter what the nice man says, you should NOT go into the van to see if there are Smarties. Finally, and most importantly, we discovered that there was an invisible entity that watched over us throughout the week, summoning magical candy rainbows that protected our creations. Remember: The Save Fairy is not only here to watch over you, but also to teach you.

Enjoying a delicious meal with some of the crew.

[recall= Crazy_S]I think I would go in the van to see if there is smarties in the van.[/recall][recall= JustinArt]I was inside the van, but I didn't see any Smarties.[/recall][recall= Spider-Jew]Meeting the guys at Sony was very cool. It was great to see how much they cared about the game and making it something that fans of the LittleBigPlanet series could enjoy and gladly add to their collection. I think the best part of working with the team was that they did a great job at making us feel like we were on their level. They did not talk down to us and appreciated all the feedback we gave them. I also really hope Save Fairy is somehow incorporated into the full game. That would be almost as amazing as bacon.[/recall][recall= LamboLover4898]Of course the Save Fairy is real![/recall][recall= ConfusedCartman]Game developers are the weirdest most bestest people. Talking to them (and listening to them talk) is almost never uninteresting. Remember, the van has no windows.[/recall][recall= codibear8383]*Ahem*.... Porto-Potties. Lights. Mad-Cow Disease. Vans with no windows. Piggy Bank Mac and Cheese. Sparkles.... Almonds.... BACONNN[/recall]

By the time Day 3 rolled around, we were all feeling very comfortable with the new tools. We were having a great time creating and playtesting, and we did quite a bit of collaboration as well. It was great to leverage each other's specialties, and the results were seriously fun to play around with. To switch things up, the dev team asked us to open up a new, empty level and start work on a couple of specific things: a battle arena and a custom weapon. I was reluctant to delay construction on my city but hey, it's always fun to start on something new.

I pulled up a new level, picked the Gardens background, and began messing around with the landscape. I found the terrain deforming and sculpting tools to be intuitive and easy to work with, and it wasn't long before I had something that looked a bit like a construction site. That inspired me to try my hand at creating some vehicles, and before long I had a half-decent dump truck and a crane in the middle of my site. Some random piles of explosives here and there, a few warning signs and presto! Instant industrial-themed battle arena. (Honestly though, it didn't look quite right until the porta-potties went in.)

With that done and Day 4 rolling around, it was time to try out a custom weapon. I put together a 1950's styled rocket, stickered it up, and began messing with some of the weaponizer logic objects. Holy smoley there are a lot of options! I spent at least half a day just messing around with different settings and came up with a few different versions of my rocket that I liked, including a manually guided cruise missile and rapid-fire mini nukes. The crowd favorite, however, (and I'm pretty sure Steven's as well) was a beautiful pink and purple affair that spiraled gleefully across the battlefield, leaving a trail of lovely sparkles in its wake and exploding in a super-cute pink starburst. Kill them with kindness, as I always say.

[recall= JustinArt]The biggest surprise for me was that the game has the same great tools as LBP2. I think the single best thing about this game is the new pathfinder tools.[/recall][recall= LamboLover4898]My favorite single feature of this game is the 3D creating. Soooo many possibilities. [/recall][recall= Spider-Jew]YOU CAN DO ANYTHING with a battle arena. Battle Arena is going to allow people to go in and create any game genre. I worked on a set of mini games where you go from playing basketball, to ice hockey, and then to mountain climbing. You could have Capture The Flag, Base Defense, recreate your favorite game world to explore, create a city filled with mini games/missions, create fun movies...and of course, throw a cow in someone's base to earn points and give the other team a disease which turns them into cows that run backwards and 'moo' constantly! Seriously though, if you want to make any kind of gameplay besides a race, the battle arena mode and all the tools have you covered![/recall][recall= Crazy_S]I was surprised to see how much logic the game had. Which made me wonder what the community is going to do when they get their hands on the game. I did not expect to see the option and details you were given to create your own weapons.[/recall][recall= ConfusedCartman]My two favorite things about the game are the Controlinator and the Kartinator. These allow the Creator to define custom controls for custom objects and Karts, and switch between those controls, all in their own 3D space. This basically means custom levels in LBP Karting don't have to involve Karting at all. I'm excited to see where people much smarter than me are capable of taking this insane toolset. [/recall][recall= codibear8383]Actually I remember creating an object with the materials and starting to turn it and being completely shocked at the fact that there literally is no limit. You can flip it, tilt it, turn it, all in a complete 360 degrees.[/recall]

By the end of the week we had all settled into a nice routine. Wake up, grab something caffeinated, head down to the hotel lobby... and get filmed by a camera crew? Oh yeah, they had warned us about that. I did my best to converse normally and not be nervous, and before long I hardly noticed the cameras at all. It was still a bit unnerving, however, to look up from my workstation and discover a giant lens staring at me from less than a foot away. Weird, but also kind of flattering.

After hours and hours of filming us doing pretty much everything, we were called out of the room one by one for in-depth interviews. I was hoping they would somehow forget about me, but no luck – I was dragged outside, mic'ed up, and interviewed face-to-face. This actually turned out to be a very fun experience, and the camera crew deserves a lot of credit for making me feel relaxed and at ease. We talked a while, they asked me some questions, and just like that we were done. Ok ok, I admit. I felt a tiny little bit like a rock star.


[recall= Spider-Jew]It was pretty cool having people following us around and filming us. I was nervous I was not doing anything worthy of being recorded, but I stopped worrying about it soon after and just kept working. It was fun being interviewed. It gave us a chance to let everyone know how great LittleBigPlanet Karting is going to be. I think my hands moved around too much though! [/recall][recall= JustinArt]It felt like we're celebrities. Being interviewed is a nerve-wrecker, but in a humorous way.[/recall][recall= LamboLover4898]At first it was a little odd (I'd always look at the camera on accident) but I easily got used to it. It was extremely weird having somebody actually care about what I create AND want to interview me about it![/recall][recall= ConfusedCartman]For me personally, it didn't bother me at all. I have a little bit of history working around and in front of cameras though, so that's probably a big part of the reason it didn't affect me much. I know it definitely made some of the other participants a little uncomfortable, and understandably so - cameras are not easy to get used to.[/recall][recall= codibear8383]It was definitely different. Made me feel like a movie star haha. It wasn't too bad being interviewed.. However during the interview I was answering every question well, then they asked me to list my own LBP2 levels and I totally blanked. haha Now that's a bit pitiful.[/recall][recall= Crazy_S]It felt really awkward being filmed with a big camera in your face but I got used to it after a while. I didn't feel nervous at first for the interview until I was actually doing the interview.[/recall]

By some cruel trick of time, the week was over almost as soon as it had started. It was hard to believe it had been a full five days since we first stepped foot in San Diego Studio. We had all grown to know each other so well, it seemed strange to be leaving. I considered simply showing up again the following Monday morning to see if anyone noticed, but Steven mentioned something about calling the police so I decided against it. We finished the week the much the same way we started it: hanging out with the LittleBigPlanet Karting team and goofing around in create mode.

We did our best to pretend like this whole thing wasn't coming to an end, but eventually we had to face reality. Our gracious hosts showed their hospitality once again and started handing out the swag. Once we were loaded down with as much loot as we could carry, we went around the room and said our goodbyes. The social network adding and hand shaking went on for quite a while, but the clock told us it was time to go. Reluctantly we shuffled out of the door and left Gamer Wonderland behind us.

This scene repeated itself back at the hotel as the remaining eight of us met in the lobby one last time before parting ways. Steven wished us all safe travels and vowed to figure out what that green paper is used for. JustinArt treated us to a perfectly timed quote from Uncharted 2 that made us all laugh until our sides hurt, and codibear8383 made sure nobody left without a proper hug. Spider-Jew and Crazy_S piled into their clown car and headed off down the road, and LamboLover4898 drove into the sunset holding a fresh bag of almonds. ConfusedCartman and I were lucky enough to hitch a ride to the airport with the one and only Save Fairy and yes, we did rock the mic like vandals on the way. Once at the terminal we enjoyed a couple plates of fried stuff, talked about how awesome the week had been, and hurried off to catch our flights. It was over.

There really is no easy way to summarize the past five days, but I can say without a doubt it is a week I will remember forever. The hospitality, the excitement of getting an early peek at an anticipated new game, making new friends, enjoying more than a few laughs... it's all a blur, but a it's a very very good blur. A huge thanks goes out to everyone who was involved in the event this past week, especially to the amazing group of guys working on LittleBigPlanet Karting. You guys are incredible.

[recall= LamboLover4898]It was a bittersweet moment. It's sad to leave the studio and the rest of the group but I still felt satisfied.[/recall][recall= ConfusedCartman]I was extremely exhausted. I still enjoyed it all immensely though, and I'm happy I got to meet everyone. It was a fantastic week. I'll never forget it.[/recall][recall= Spider-Jew]I felt super bummed that we were leaving. I just wanted to sit in the studio and create forever! LOL. When we left, I felt like we might actually have an impact on this game, that the things we did during the week could have an actual effect on the retail version of LittleBigPlanet Karting. That is a great feeling.[/recall][recall= codibear8383]I was extremely tired, but felt accomplished knowing that we helped Sony make an already amazing game even more fantastic.[/recall][recall= Crazy_S]I felt sad because we had to leave and I enjoyed meeting everyone and had a blast. This is an experience I will never forget.[/recall][recall= JustinArt]I felt happy, because I was really excited to be part of the Sony community.[/recall]

[recall= JustinArt]LBPK is a lot more than what people should expect. I think everything from the event was memorable.[/recall][recall= LamboLover4898]The developers at the studio were just awesome. They made it feel like they actually wanted me there for some reason. It can't be stressed enough how awesome the developers were.[/recall][recall= Crazy_S]One memorable moment for me was when me, Spider-Jew, ConfusedCartman, codibear8383, and Steven were hanging out really late and Steven said "Booooo!" That was the funniest thing to hear Steven say.[/recall][recall= Spider-Jew]I just want to thank all the great people from Sony and UFG that we had the pleasure to meet and talk to. Brandon, Reggie, Coker, Dennis, Frank, Bryce, and everyone else: You guys are awesome! I appreciate the opportunity that we were given and can't wait for the release of LittleBigPlanet Karting. Go out and pre-order the game right now, people! What are you waiting for?[/recall][recall= ConfusedCartman]I'm just glad Sony understands the importance of LBP's community. It's clear they're investing a ton of time and effort into ensuring it remains vibrant and active, and that's a very good sign. I'm excited to see where they take things from here.[/recall][recall= codibear8383]If you haven't signed up for the Beta, do it now. If you're an LBP fan, you will not be disappointed with this game. I'm super excited to be able to create with it again. I can't wait! Huge thanks to Sony San Diego for letting me come on this little venture! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity![/recall]
Thanks to jeffcu28 for the excellent section banners (again!), and thanks also to the fellow attendees for putting up with my endless flurry of emails. I hope to see you all again soon!

--------------------------------------

http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/sho...g-GameJam-2012

[Gribble-Grunger]

A huge list of details from Shadowriver over at LBPcentral:

I wanted to create something like rtm223 created after LBP2 Jam, creating list of features they seen. So i decided to interview Jammers and ask them quastions step by step to create such list, it was quite hard to get all the info sicne not everyone is alwasy avable and not everyone have same level of knowlage about Karting. List is incomplete, i didnt able to ask them about everything, and i set deadline to beta sicne after that people would say that i break some NDA (if there will be any). Also if something missing does not mean it not may be in the game and itlaso based on build that they givedthem so everything may change. If beta wont have NDA i will add up things here, maybe even add up if NDA lift we will see .So this all i was able to made in this time, could be better but enjoy:

====Driving mechanics====

• Like MNR
• Drafting is similar to MNR - if you draft long enough you will get in increase in speed
• Boost works little different from MNR, you can gain a boost by drifting, but insted of being in your disposal in any time, it's being triggered automatically after releasing drift. Longer you drift, the longer you will have a boost.
• You can combine draft with drift for a much larger boost - very difficult though
• There is no slam or sideswipe
• You can hop
• In air you can spin car with right stick
• Also with right stick.... you can slap (!!!!!)

====Level Basics====

• LBPK "levels" work in same way as LBP levels on level listings
• Same as any other levels it has description and tags attached to it
• This probably allows to use same servers that powers LBP1, LBP2 and LBP Vita in future as well as LBP.Me
• There Two Types of levels, Track and Arena
• Each have little different way of defininf play field of level
• You can edit level before you pick one one of them, but then only geo-paint painting, object editing and logic are available
• You can't save level before choosing one of them
• No matter which one you choose you can do everything, track not only can do race, arena don't need to be deathmatch, thats what makes LBPK and LBP and deffiers MNR from LBPK.
• You switch this on gameplay tweaks to what kind of gameplay you want (which we talk about later), no matter which kind of level you picked
• You can set target on gameplay tweaks or get game ender gadget and control gameplay by logic

===Track===

• Track level allows you to create closed cycle tracks, creating generic closed tracks for racing... and not only sicne you can set it to battle mode too.
• It's legecy of MNR track creations, containing same if not similar features, those who come from MNR should be happy about it
• On loop point of track you will have finish line will be created, there no visual effect to it... you will need to make your own ;]
• You can create create start points for each player at any point of track, you can set them in any formation at finish line.... or you can place them of diffrent points of whole track (ofcorse don't do that when you plan to make normal race track)
• Same as in MNR you start with drawing track using normal driving mechanics, which you can auto-complete (complete the track loop) in any moment.
• Same as MNR you can change road type, fances, also when you got higher in terain elevation it will start drawing bridge
• Same as MNR you got relative editing allowing you to edit things along the track and easily edit it's surroundings
• In track respwning works diffrent way, when you get off track og get killed you will respwn at closest point no track. But you can place respan checkpoints to control that.
• There for theres 2 kind of ways to do shortcuts (both known in MNR)
  
  • Branch - allowing to branch off the track making 2nd road which you need to connect back to track
  • Breadcrumbs - Disabling "Off-track" from surrounding area, not only allowing to create wild shortcuts but also ace track on open field
• You can wide and slim track same way as MNR
• Track editing is pretty much... same as MNR, most features you remember are still there + new stuff common to both modes which will be described later

===Arena===

• Unlike tracks, you don't make tracks (duh?), instead you make "Arena" (which way it's named that way), a shaped area which freates playfield of your level
• Arena is a shape on floor of the level, you paint it in any shape you want. It's your playfield for your level and you need to define if you want to level even work.
• You can even even divide it to many shapes, creating separate arenas as many as you want.
• Arena is like track in track mode, if player leave it it will show "off track" and respawn you. so i you make sperate arenas you sure that players will stay in the one they are in.

===Checkpoints===

• Like LBP, karts needs checkpoints to respawn
• When you "paint" arena or finish track 8 checkpoints will apper, but you can delete them and leave only one, people from jam are not sure if you can place more then 8 checkpoints
• Unlike other LBP games checkpoints are not visible in play mode
• You can control direction in which player will face when he will be respawned by rotateing checkpoint it self
• Checkpoints in LBPK are far more complex then what you seen in LBP ,they not dependent on global settings anymore, now they got tweaks on there own:
  
  • Player Type - Select if checkpoint can spawn real player, AI (sackbot) or both
  • Team - Select which team this checkpoint will respawn (about teams later), pick one from 1 to 8 or any
  • Preferred Player - Which specific player should respawn from this checkpoint from 1 to 8 or any
• Ever wanted place logic on sackboy? Ever wanted to use overlord glitch legally? Today is your day because you can place logic on checkpoint and this logic will effect Player or AI that respawned from that checkpoint.

==Global Gameplay Tweaks==

=Level Settings=

• Same as LBP2 and Vita oyu can set any combination of Max and Minimum players, but on wider range since we got 8 players
• You can set defuculty of AI Easy/Medium/Hard/Extreme (which means those are AI modes thru whole game not only this tweak feature)
• Same as LBP2 you can set time limit and target score
• Also target hits (friednly way to say "kills" ;p)
• Number of Laps for track levels

=Scoreboard=

• You can chose for which stat players are ranked, hits, score or lap time
• You can set bonus points for 1st-3rd place thatt hey will get at end of the level

=Team=

• You can chose whatever you want to have teams or be free for all
• You make up to 8 teams.
• Assign any player to any team in quantity together with AIs (you can meet something like that if you ever played with Statecraft editor)
• You can activate deactivate friendly fire

====Level Building====
There 2 ways to build starcture of the levels:

===Terrain===

• It's ground level of your level and legecy of MNR track editing, allowing you to create soemthing that LBP2 does not allow... landscape.
• Thanks to it you can create levels that looks more natural
• Is pretty much the same as MNR on terrain editing
• As you could expect you can paint texture on terrain
• Each theme have set of 8 diffrent terrain textures

===Materials and Pre-made Objects===

• Level structure is as same as LBP just insted of 2D shapes on layered 2.5D space to draw you use 3D shapes in 3D space without any layers (there no need for them)
• Developers call it Geo-Painting
• As you may expect you can make objects with it too, so it's not so GEOgraphics, but GEOmetric
• Things created by material are effected by natural physics, like gravity etc.
• Same as LBP Vita it uses same concept that born in LBP PSP, Static/Dynamic Tweak. So you dont have any special matter that stay in place, you can use any material as black matter by tweaking it
• You glue objects toghether as always
• Copy objects is there to.... BUT! It's called cloning, and it can do something more.... if you want, change on object, will be applied to all objects that you cloned. It's something like "Dynamic emitting" but implemented direcly to editing, so it not only applys to emmited objects, but objects already on level.
• You can also group object toghther, it does not effect object in play mode but in create by clicking one it will move, edit, resize etc. all objects toghether like it was one object.
• There no corner editing (or should i say vertex editing since we talking here about 3D) at the moment, but not denied it might be added.

===Materials/Object meets Terrain===

• You can melt objects with terrain. Like you see on terrain-based RTS or Starhawk, you can make object that way that wher ever you palce it on terrain it will look good.
• Also if you wish you can "snap to terrain" that it will always be on top of it

===Worth Mention Materials===

• Holograms are there
• Neon is there
• Invisble material (called force field) is there too, it's invisible but you can't go thru it.
• People at Jam had small selection of materials so maybe there something more

====Visual Visual Tweaks====

• There lot of stuff same as LBP
• Day/Night
• Color of sun light
• Abient color
• Fog dencity and color.... it can be so dence that you see things only from short distance, something that MNR didn't had

====Logic====

• Same as any LBP there digital and analog signals
• Use same signal handling model that was introduced in LBP2, output both digital and anlog and chose how signal is handled in input action tweak.
• Placing and wireing is prettymuch the same.
• Everything here is... prety much the same
• There no auto-pathing in circuit board, sux for wire organisation, but on other hand no wire lag
• All of gadgets got tweak allowing to disconenct all connections

====Gadgets====

==Existing stuff===
Here i will list stuff that already exist in LBP2 that is karting and type new tweaks if there any
==Simple and Advance Logic==

• Battery
• All the gates
  
  • Not gate by defult is inverted so it works liek a node.. which kind of is right is NOT gate inverts and rest of the gate has that disabled, but it's kind of odd thing in digital electronics perspective
  • No analog interaction been checked, so not sure if it's there... no vita analog signal scaleing tweaks for sure ;'(
• Toggle
• Sequencer
  
  • Sequencer editing is all the same, and there positinal mode as it was
• Timer
• Counter
• Selector
• Randomizer
• Directional Combiners and Splliters

==Sensors==

• Button is now Pressure Switch which activates when you drive thru
• Player Sensor
  
  • Bored of circule (sphere in 3D) ranges? Now you can pic a squere range (Cube in 3d)
  • Sicne thres 8 plares now you can tweak 8 players max needed to activate
• Tag and Tag sensor
  
  • Same as player sensor got shere and cube ranges
• Grab Sensor (there grabbinators there right? ;])
• Impact Sensor
• Score Sensor
• Projectile Sensor been replaced with weapon impact sensor, not sure if it's still works like a counter or morel ike impact sensor
• Speed sensor

==World Tweakers==

• Global Lighting Tweaker
• Score Giver
• Game Ender

==Object Tweakers==

• Destroyer
• Danger Tweaker - if we on that then lets talk about dangers
  
  • You can regulate intensivity of effect and radius
  • fire and gas looks the same, electc and plazma looks diffrent
• Gravity tweaker
• Material tweaker (surly it has new tweaks but could not get thta info from jammers)

==Emitters==

• Emitter - You chose postion of emmiting in 2d plain, the other axis is a tweak
• Smoke(?) Emitter
  
  • ? there because it's not only can emit smoke, but also sparkels and confetti, so they might rename it
  • You can also tweak color and brigness now
  • Also speed
  • Size of emitter determents how much particuels are created

==Movers and Rotators==
Well you be suppriced on this one, they all didnt change much, the wok on 2D plain, if you want more direction you need to combine more of them toghter + all rotators been renamed to motors

• Mover
• Advance mover (??)
• Follower - can detect radius in 3D
• Gyroscope (???)
• Rotator - now Motor
• Look At Motor
• Motion Recorder... which turn in to path follower which does notn eed any Move

===New Stuff!===

==New sensors==
Both of new sensors work only on track mode

• Position Sensor - Detects position in race track (sice we dont need to create race) that you 1st or last, you tweak specifc player
• Progress Sensor - How much race is complete including including all laps, it will output analog signal of progress

==Kart things==

• Kart Tweaker - Regulates phisics of karting you place that on checkpoint
  
  • Top speed
  • Acceleration
  • Jumping On/Off
  • Jump Height
  • Drafting On/Off
  • How close you have to be to draft
  • How many seconds before you get a draft boost when you're close enough
  • The speed of the draft boost
  • Grabinator On/Off
  • ....and more
• Kart chassis - its a object with 4 wheels and you place it on bottom of any object and it turn in to kart
• Kart Cockpit - It's piece that works with chasis and makes sackboy sit in custom "kart" made this way

====HUD Editting====

• As you may know Karting let oyu do custom HUD
• It's in form of HUD tweaker that oyu place on checkpoint ad spawned player will have it
• You can edit postions and size of any existing elements of HUD, you can add them and remove
• I ngeneral therel ot of premade stuff minimap, wrong way indication incoming indication race postion and many more
• But what if oyu want to do custom stuff? You can palce Text, Prgress Bar, Dial , Timer (probably more)
• You control them by logic by labeling them (not sure) and inputing singla to HUD Tweaker

Special thanks to Taffy, Spider-Jew, Codibear and Lambo for co-operetion ;]

[HighOnSunoco]

guess what I got in my email today

[Raitei]

Same, left it to download overnight.

[Gribble-Grunger]

God, i thought I'd never say this, but... very disappointed in create mode

[OmniStalgic]

^seems to be as robust as LBP from first impressions...U sure it's not just over-complicated and you can't come to grips yet?

[Gribble-Grunger]

^seems to be as robust as LBP from first impressions...U sure it's not just over-complicated and you can't come to grips yet?

lol. I'm not going into the detail on why here. All I can say is that LBP was for artists, LBPK is for technophiles. Unless the create mode gets a complete overall then I won't be bothering

[Gribble-Grunger]

This is a HUGE improvement over the beta. MUST SEE! And it looks like the gripes I had about create mode have been rectified!

http://gotgame.com/2012/10/19/littlebigplanet-karting/