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Textures and physics are applied to your creations in real time
Textures and physics are applied to your creations in real timeTextures and physics are applied to your creations in real time

The materials all have their own feel and affect. For example, a large sponge block won't crush Sackboy if it falls on him, but a large metal one will. You'll be able to drag sponge, which has a bouncy feel to it, but it will be a struggle to drag metal blocks of the same size. If there's more than one player, you can all try to drag large objects at the same time and combine your strength, something that will come into play in the cooperative levels.

We did notice some slowdown when Poppet was used, but there's plenty of time for the team to fix that. We also saw some hilarious bugs, where created objects would fly across the screen and do crazy things, but again, there's plenty of time for the team to iron out the kinks. There's nothing to suggest that LBP will be anything but a beautiful, smooth and seamless experience when it's released. But the bugs do raise an important point - because LBP is so unpredictable it will be interesting to see how the developers ensure each level can't be irreparably broken - at one point a giraffe overturned, blocking our path. This couldn't be fixed and we had to give up completely.

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And there's still tweaking to be done in many other areas as well. We didn't see it in the version we played, but you'll be able to stand on other Sackboy heads rather than simply exist in the same plane as them. There are animations to be added when Sackboy moves in and out of the three planes too. Indeed, as you read these very words the development team is using a hardcore version of Poppet to finish the game.

Sony is at pains to stress that LBP, which will be a full price retail release, will have enough on the disc to satisfy anyone who isn't online. That might be true, but playing LBP offline, without access to upcoming DLC and the community's creations, will be like trying to eat with your hands tied behind your back. LBP is designed to make the most of its community and its sharing functionality. This is the way it is meant to be played.

LBP is different but looks truly innovativeLBP is different but looks truly innovative

What else is clear is that building levels on a par with the ones created by the developers will require a lot of time. There will be hardcore creators who'll do that of course and the peer reviewed content system should filter the good stuff to the top. But if you don't have the time to create proper levels, creating mini-games in the mould of the skipping game we played shouldn't be too arduous a task. We imagine that this kind of creation will be the most popular, sitting as it does somewhere in between out and out hardcore and casual play.

Speaking of DLC, Sony has confirmed that it will form an important part of LBP's longevity. However, rather than take the form of new levels, it will, like Spore, revolve around providing more tools for creation, like costumes, kits, objects and stickers. Sony views the objects, levels and mini-games that will be created by the community as LBP's DLC. And, beyond the game, you'll be able to take screen shots of anything in the game, save it out as a jpeg and do whatever you want with it (won't be able to make a video though).

We speak a lot about innovation, perhaps applying it to games more often than is deserved. But LBP is truly innovative, and it also points to a gaming future very different to the present. A future where more and more games simply provide the tools with which gamers create their own games and shape their own gaming experiences. I can see a future where game designers worry less about levels, characters and dialogue, and more about facilitating this user-generated content. There are already DIY elements in more traditional hardcore games like Halo and Gears of War. The future is coming. Then, perhaps rather than living in a web 2.0 world, we'll be living in a gaming 2.0 world. Experiences like LBP and Spore are the first tentative steps in that direction.

LittleBigPlanet is scheduled for release in September 2008 exclusively for the PS3.

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