LittleBigPlanet: PS3 killer app?

At the Sony keynote LittleBigPlanet, Sony’s “Game 3.0” project was unveiled. During the demo two of the designers controlled their “sackboys” and created a world to play in. Using an interface similar to the Xcross Media bar the two built trees, stamped grass to the ground and made a wheel to play on. Once objects are placed sackboys can pick them up or hang on to them. The interesting thing about LittleBigPlanet is both players were changing the world simultaneously. One player was adding pink flowers and the other was stamping stickers on the wall. While you can build a small room to play in you can also create large levels with simple puzzles. A fully designed level was demoed with four players working together to get to a goal. Some of the challenges included vaulting over a soccer ball with the help of an orange, placing a weight on a lever to open a door and hanging on to a large skateboard as it raced down a hill. Once people make levels they can upload them online for others to play and players who try out the level can post feedback. LittleBigPlanet is something else. It’s original, creative, fresh and only on the PS3. Allowing users to create their own levels and share them is a brillant idea. The real question is how long will it take for people to create their own levels. It took a couple of minutes to slap down grass, plant a tree and place stickers on the wall. Making a long level with puzzles and skateboard ramp is bound to take much, much longer. A demo is scheduled to come out on the Playstation network this fall and the final game is expected to come out in Early 2008.