I can't remember the first time I saw LittleBigPlanet, probably just some screenshots of it I think, but I remember the first time I saw the thing in action - at a Sony Press Event - and just wanted it, and the machine it was running on (The PS3 - which, at the time, was tanking in sales - probably the least successful Playstation console at launch). No questions asked, I just wanted that game.
Game? Could you really even call it a game? Sure it had all the props of a zillion and one platform games that had passed before but MediaMolecule's genius was twofold. Creating an engaging little character (Sackboy) and giving you - the player, the creator, the THINKER - the power to make your own stuff in the game's awesome creation modes.
The first footage I saw was of a co-op game with multiple sackboys all being propelled down a slope on top of a giant skateboard, smashing through destructible boxes and barrels, and generally showing off the shiny game engine to good effect. The textures in the game were top-notch, really authentic looking materials that you'd imagine a kid would haul out of the crafting box at school and knock all this stuff together with.
The art direction was just gorgeous, with the character designs and backgrounds all looking beautifully yet weirdly shambolically design. Chaotic, hand drawn, sometimes downright derpy but then handing that power to you via the create mode was amazing, and motivated you to play the actual game at its core just so you could grab all the assets to make your own stuff with. Stickers, 3D objects, and a whole ton of mechanisms including some genius logic stuff, sensors, noise-makers, hinges and rotational hubs, you almost felt like you could make anything with it - And creators did make almost anything!
Once I'd got my PS3 and my copy, I just got completely lost in it. I played the main game through, trying desperately to grab every single asset bubble, and just enjoying the whole aesthetic. The genius of LittleBigPlanet was that it was built around a network community where you could upload and share your creations, so you could see all the crazy things other people were making, wondering how the heck they managed to do a particular thing.
All those mechanisms allowed you to create the most heath-robinson-esque types of levels, throwing your poor hapless Sackboy around like a - well a ragdoll toy. Media Molecule were also really careful with their sound design, using the dulcet tones of Stephen Fry to do their voiceovers (probably his best work!) and working in some of the best indie music of the time (I still listen to Tashaki Myaki's version of "I only have eyes for you" from LittleBigPlanet 3).
The response to the game was fairly mixed but it sold well enough to spawn 2 direct sequels, plus portable versions on the PSP (The PSP version was utterly incredible!) and the PS Vita. The PS5 got an indirectly related game that sucked. I guess LittleBigPlanet kinda fell off the radar for a lot of people and MediaMolecule moved on to create "Dreams" which took the whole idea of creating your own game to the nth degree, literally allowing you to create just about anything you could imagine - using a lot of the tools LBP players were already familiar with. Dreams has sadly folded but at the time it was an amazing thing indeed (I rebuilt Manic Miner in it!)
MediaMolecule still exist, and are apparently working on something groundbreaking. I seriously cannot wait to see what it is.
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