The Good, The Bad, and the Beta

Hey there everyone, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on a recent Beta test I had the privilege of being part of.  This wasn’t the first time I got to be part of a beta test, but the first time I actually enjoyed the game.  The game I got to play with this time is Little Big Planet Karting.  Yep, I know what you’re thinking, another go-kart racing game.  This one is a little like Mod Nation Racers, in that you can build your own tracks (levels), and publish them for other players to enjoy.  It takes many elements from Little Big Planet, like characters, themes, and design tools.  Since this was a beta, I’m not sure if the tools, materials, stickers, etc. we got to use will be in the final game, or if there are things they didn’t show us.  Guess I’ll have to wait until November to find out.

Anyway, the game play was pretty standard go-kart racing.  Accelerate, decelerate, drift through the corners, and gather/use a variety of weapons.  One neat feature is that you can create your own weapons.  It’s similar to LBP’s creatinator where you create an object, and set that as the “ammunition” for your weapon.  Also, you can use some of the weapons to defend yourself from incoming attacks.  Defending was something I had a hard time doing, probably due to poor “twitch” skills.

On the development side, laying out the initial track is pretty easy.  Your tool is a giant paint roller and you draw the track.  In addition to making left and right turns, you can change the elevation and put inclines and declines on your track.  Once the track is drawn, you can modify the terrain, add water, objects, and obstacles.  My biggest problem was that since I was working in a fully 3-D environment it was harder to place and manipulate objects.  Requires a completely different mind set than in the mostly 2-D world of LBP.  There is a grid you can use to align objects, but it is doesn’t always line up with the track.  This made placement a little tricky sometimes.  One suggestion I read in the forums was to build all of your objects first, then lay down the track.  It makes sense, but would require more planning than I’m willing to do.

You also have most of the logic tools from LBP available, this allows you to create interesting traps, or customize the driving experience for the players.  Again, since it is a fully 3-D environment, it was trickier to work with the circuit boards.

Overall, it was a good experience.  I’m looking forward to this game and have pre-ordered it already.  I may not do as much designing as I have in LBP and LBP2, but I look forward to playing community levels and tracks from others.  Based on what I saw in the beta, there are some talented folks out there.

The one thing I hope carries over is the costume I used during the beta period, it was aptly titled, Bacon Beard.  I let you wonder about that. 

Sack in the Saddle Again…part deux

I was reminded yesterday that it has been a year since I posted anything on this blog.  Time flies when you’re having fun.  Fun, like playing Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, and participating in the LBP Karting beta testing.  I’ll say this about LBPK…it’s going to be alot of fun!  I had a chance to play tracks from the story line, and some from some great level builders.  We also had a chance to build our own levels with a sample of tools and materials that will be in the final game.  The interface was a little tricky since you are working in a full 3-D environment, but I was starting to get the hang of it right before the beta ended.

Since my last post here I have made some progress on the conclusion to my Yeti level in LBP2, thanks to a video on the LBPlanetorials YouTube channel.  He talked about modular level design and it enabled me to break my level down into small manageable chunks.  It also showed a technique for building without gluing.  Makes it easier to rearrange pieces of the level without alot of fuss.

I am about 60% done with blocking the level in, and about 50% done with the details on the sections that are blocked in.  In this part of the level I am including the grappling hook to give the player a way to avoid some, but not all obstacles.  One of the techniques I am using to make design easier is using gravity modifiers (with dampening set to 100%) to keep pieces from moving around without gluing them in place.  It’s easier to switch stuff around this way.  Also, using a piece of sticker panel, with a gravity modifier attached (and dampening set to 100%), as a surface to attach things like pistons, cameras, etc. I can move those things around easily too.

Well, rest assured I am back to working on this level, but keep in mind I just got Tiger Woods 11, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, so I might be a little distracted.