The pint-sized version of Sony's platforming stunner is looking great. But you already knew that from the videos released so far. Time for a chat about the game then. And who better than senior producer Mark Green, who we cornered at Gamescom?
How hard was it to convert the PS3 game, with its emphasis on realistic physics, to the PSP?
Mark Green: It was very difficult. So much so, that when we first came to it we didn't think it was going to be possible. We were looking at all sorts of options about giving players a kit of parts that you could then build together, so it would be a semi-physics-based environment. But as we worked through, we suddenly thought that building your levels and playing other people's levels is the most important part of LittleBigPlanet.
So we tried, and I think we've done a pretty good job of actually making sure that you've got a full physics engine. There are a few corners we've cut, if you like; whereas the PS3 version's levels have three gameplay layers, the PSP version has two. In the editor, instead of just taking a big brush and wildly creating a giant shape with holes in, in the PSP version you have to paint to a grid and you can't put holes in it.
LittleBigPlanet PSP
Official trailer
1:14Gamescom trailer
LittleBigPlanet PSP
Official trailer
1:14Gamescom trailer
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But you can manipulate points and add shapes together if you actually want something with a hole in it. All those cheats on the physics - all we keep are the positions of the outside of objects. We don't bother with what's inside of that, so that saves on processing power.
Tell us about the single-player missions?
Green: The whole story is that Sackboy is travelling the world - different countries, different themes, similar to PS3. One of them towards the end is Tinsel town - Hollywood essentially. You start off on a film set, you get taken on as the stuntman and you have to do some wild, crazy stunts. You eventually get taken on as the leading man, and end up doing stunts akin to James Bond or Mission Impossible, dodging laser beams and the like.
There's also a sci-fi bit with a 1950s influence, where you have to battle the UFOs and the aliens before you make it to the premier, where the leading lady gets kidnapped and you have to rescue her.
Any features or gameplay nuances, no matter how small, new for the PSP?
Green: I'd say no to that because what we've tried to do is make sure that we've got a very accurate physics engine the same way they had on the PS3 version. What we have done is tailor it for PSP. People will be playing it on the go, so we've added more puzzles in there, it's not just platforming. There's a different flavour in the levels that we've put in. But in terms of what you can do it's pretty much identical.
Will there be any connectivity features with the PS3 version?
Green: Not at the moment. The question we're always asked is if you can build levels on one version and play it on the other. That's just not technically feasible. We're looking at things like making the PS3 themes and items available on the PSP version at a future date maybe.
So you may add the Paintinator gun that launched on PS3 via DLC?
Green: That's always a possibility. We'd love to do our own downloadable content for the future. So ideas for the Paintinator or whatever else may come up.
Do you have plans for DLC on PSP considering it isn't nearly as common on handhelds because of storage constraints?
Green: Yeah, I mean the hidden benefit we have is that the detail of the artwork is much reduced, so it's not such a memory issue. So yes, we reckon we can do a similar amount of material for the PSP.
The 'Purchased Levels' option on the main menu screen hinted as much...
Green: Yeah. The Metal Gear Solid levels for the PS3 version have been one of the most popular downloads on the PSN, and while I don't think we're doing MGS levels for PSP, we will do something along those lines.
How much involvement has Media Molecule had in the PSP version?
Green: I think they're cast as The Guiding Light, if you like. So, we said we wanted to do a whole new story with new themes and they asked us to show them what we've got.
So we created mood boards for the various countries that we wanted and they went through them, approving them and scrapping others. The tutorials in the game are animations now, rather than captured straight from the game as they were previously, which is a little risk because it deviates from what went before.
We had to make sure that Sackboy was still a proper representation of what he would be in this animated style. Media Molecule has been there, helping us along.
LittleBigPlanet PSP
Gameplay footage
1:09Straight up gameplay for your eyes
LittleBigPlanet PSP
Gameplay footage
1:09Straight up gameplay for your eyes
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The PS3 version was hit by delays and the PSP version's due out in November. Confident you'll hit that date?
Green: As you would expect, we're battling to get into beta phase at the moment, so it's going to be a push to the end to get it out the door.
No delays then, promise?
Green: I do not want that to happen. We're fighting to make sure that doesn't happen. This isn't like any game I've worked on before. All 39 levels in the game play through from start to finish and are pretty solid.
We could probably package those and sell them now. But with the create mode, there's so many different permutations of doing things, that's where the problems occur. I can't judge now want bugs are going to come up, but we've got a decent amount of time to iron those out and get it into shop on time.
Talking about PSP in general, what do you think of its position in the handheld race?
Green: Moving me onto a very political subject there - I'm just a developer. I understand that there are a lot of PSPs out there. I also understand that there has been a big piracy problem in the past. I think that may have been part of the reason why there haven't been as many games out there for the PSP as there have been on other platforms.
But hopefully, it's getting more secure and people will want to bring out more games for it. LittleBigPlanet is an important one for the PSP, because of the way you interact with everyone else. Most PSP games have you sitting alone. But this is one of the first games that will encourage people to get on the web and actively download and upload things. And I'm hoping that will bring a whole new world of games to the PSP.
Looking to the future, what are your hopes and expectations for the next generation of handhelds?
Green: Apple obviously have done rather well with their iPhone, and that has skewed things in a certain direction. You would expect that any next-gen handheld console would have to do that and more.
Do you specifically mean multi-point touch screen and a downloads store?
Green: I mean, I suppose, the sheer variety and availability of the apps for it. Whether they will be touch screen or not, I think that might even be a little bit of a misdirection for a handheld games machine. But maybe they've highlighted that a device needn't be exclusive to gaming. Theirs is a phone that serves as other things. What would you do with a gaming machine to broaden it? I'm not sure.
What's next from Sony Cambridge?
Green: Nothing that's announced as yet. I mean whilst LBP is nearly finished, we still have to do downloadable content for it. We will want to do level packs, new gameplay content in the way Media Molecule did with the Paintinator, we want to do something that adds an extra level of gameplay to the PSP one as well.
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