LBP ‘Turbo! Pack’ Development Diary 5: ‘Hopping Mad’ – Andy Knowles, Designer

When I was young, my pogostick was one of my favourite things. When we came up with the list of vehicles for the this pack, we had mostly wheeled vehicles. I decided to just make the pogostick anyway, because I thought it would be fun to see what happened, And it worked!

It can be a little tricky for people to control to begin with, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be bouncing pretty long distances. Boing!

‘Turbo! Pack’ Development Diary 6: ‘Hopping Mad’ – Laura Dilloway, Artist

When Andy first handed this level over it was visualised a lot less clearly than the first two levels, and was literally made up of rubber blocks dictating where the floor and various objects should be! However the necessary parts of the level like the logic and basic landscape took up very little thermometer, and because of this we could pretty much go to town and add as many stickers, objects and materials as we wanted.

We really had a lot of fun doing the art for this level! This was made easier by the fact that there were only a couple of small design considerations that had to be taken into account. Firstly, that once you got into the pogostick there could be nothing in the back thick plane otherwise Sackboy would plane switch back out again (and where would the fun in that be?); and secondly that the pogostick worked better when the floor was rubber.

Like all our other vehicles, the pogostick itself is a 3D object. There was quite a lot of head-scratching over the design to start with because obviously if we made one that was realistically proportioned then it would be about half the height of your Sackperson. In other words, ridiculously tiny. We think our solution works pretty well however!

For something so simple, this level is a real success. It just goes to show that you don’t have to make something massively complicated for it to be fun! Remember though, that when decorating, less is sometimes more. Don’t go too crazy with your stickers and materials just because you can.

Now, what are you waiting for? Hop to it!

Score:

• 11 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

Hey everyone. I’m Tom O’Connor, Producer over at Sony PlayStation working on Move Party (working title) for the new PlayStation Move.

We debuted the game at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco back in March, and the response was awesome. Gamers are loving the augmented reality feature of the game. Seeing the PlayStation Move motion controller transform before your eyes into objects on-screen, actually in your hand, is a pretty magical experience.

Not to mention, the game is a lot of fun and we’ve been working hard on getting all the extra content into an Alpha build – and we are there! We are playing the games again and again, and then some more … and then again, tweaking and balancing and making sure that we cram as much fun into each of the games as we can before launching in the fall.

We’ve been showing the game behind closed doors and conducting lots of user testing. We’ve been really impressed at how quickly people of all ages are captivated by the game as soon as they pick up the PlayStation Move motion controller. The experience is extremely intuitive. There are no special gestures to learn like in some motion control games – you simply interact with the objects as you would in real life. It’s super easy and fun to just pick up the controller and start playing.

Move Party is really only possible due to the amazing accuracy, freedom and precision that the PlayStation Move delivers. Cut hair, bash moles, bounce a ball, paint a picture, fly a helicopter, zap some robots and so much more…

That’s all from me for now, but watch this space for more updates and lookout for us at E3. In the meantime, check out this video featuring Jonathan Amor, Steve Goss and Tom Heaton, the Move Party developers over at Supermassive Games for an insightful look into how the PlayStation Move allows us to bring games like Move Party into your home.

Score:

• 13 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

There’s just one month left now until UFC Undisputed 2010 arrives, complete with exclusive Ultimate Fight content on PlayStation 3. And I’ve got the first screens of this additional content to share with you today

The Ultimate Fight Mode allows you to relive some of the greatest fights in UFC history. Each event includes an introduction from one of the Octagon Girls, comments from the fighters and footage from the real life event. Replay the fight as the champion or try and rewrite history as ‘the spoiler’.

There are five exclusive events on the PlayStation 3, bringing the total up 20 Ultimate Fights. The exclusive events are…

• UFN 18 – Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
• UFC 60 – Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie
• UFC 66 – Keith Jardine vs. Forrest Griffin
• UFC 68 – Martin Kampmann vs. Drew McFredries
• UFC 102 – Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia

As well as these additional fights, you also get three exclusive fighters on PlayStation 3. The first ever Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver, UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie and the first wrestler to prove his worth in The Octagon, Dan Severn.

This week also sees the release of the UFC Undisputed 2010 demo on the PlayStation Store!

In the demo you’ll be able to play an Exhibition match with light heavyweight fighters Maurice ‘Shogun’ Rua, Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida, Rashad ‘Sugar’ Evans and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. If you want to get exclusive early access to the demo, make sure you check out the UFC Undisputed Community.

Look out for more Undisputed news on the PlayStation Blog next week, including a very cool competition for UFC fans…

Score:

• 9 Comments 3 Replies
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

Disney has an exciting announcement to make today regarding Toy Story 3. Not only will the PS3 version exclusively feature the ability to play as Zurg, but it will also include some PlayStation Move minigames. Here’s John Day from Avalanche Software to give you some more info on this game, which will be releasing alongside the movie this Summer.

Hi everybody! This is John at Avalanche Software. We’re hard at work finishing up Toy Story 3: The Video Game, due for release on 16th July. Toy Story 3 is much more than your average movie tie-in game. The game gives players two ways to experience Toy Story 3: Story Mode and Toy Box Mode, a sandbox style of gameplay set in the Toy Story universe.

In Story Mode, the player plays as Buzz, Woody, and Jessie, each with their own unique play style, to play through eight action platforming levels. While not a complete retelling of the movie plot, the player will visit some of the places, and meet some of the new and classic characters that are in the film. We take the player to some totally new places as well. Also in Story Mode, we’ve stashed all of our collectibles. The collectibles, when found, allow the player to unlock new toys for the Toy Box.

The Toy Box is a totally different experience from Story Mode. Here we put the player in an open, non-linear environment and allow them to play with Andy’s toys any way they like. The player is free to complete missions for different characters, customize the people and buildings, race in various vehicles, and much more. The more adventurous and creative you are, the more you will get rewarded. I encourage you to unleash your imagination in this mode of the game.

In the Toy Box, the player can play as Buzz, Woody, or Jessie. I am happy to announce that exclusively on the PlayStation 3, you can also play as Zurg! Zurg has many of his own unique missions. Whether it’s driving around in his own custom vehicle, or blasting everything in sight with his tri-gun, players can help Zurg achieve his singular goal of eliminating Buzz Lightyear, or just do whatever else they’d like. Check out our Zurg launch trailer and game screens for a taste of what you can do as this dastardly villain and don’t forget to watch out for Toy Story 3: The Video Game in-stores, 16th July!

Score:

• 27 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

Win a 46” Bravia HDTV by clearing 9-balls!

Exciting news, Hustle Kings! PlayStation EU and Bravia are giving you the opportunity to win a fantastic 46” Bravia EX703 HDTV or, for the runners up, € 50 to spend on PSN simply by serving up a ‘perfect’ 9-ball pool match on Hustle Kings!

All you need to do to enter is clear all of the balls in a 9 ball match in one run from the break (which isn’t so difficult, especially with the ‘pro tips’ below ).

Clear up in superb style and, if you set the highest score, Bravia will maximize your high-def PlayStation experience with a 46″ Full HDTV!

The four runners-up will receive a PSN wallet top-up of € 50 too, so even if you just miss out on the HDTV your super-sharp skills will be rewarded.

How to get involved:

Step 1: Set up a Standard 9-ball match.

Step 2: Break and win the match by clearing up all 9 balls in your visit to the table (so that your opponent never takes a shot!).

Step 3: When the match results are shown, save your replay (by pressing square).

Step 4: Upload the entire replay video to YouTube, from ‘Match Replays’ in your ‘Profile’.

Step 5: Send the weblink for the youtube video, strictly following this template, in a private message to “Hustle_Kings9” on the EU PlayStation forum.

Make sure to read the finer details so that your Hustle King entries will qualify and good luck!

Pro Tips:

• There’s no limit to the number of entries you can submit!
• Any 9-ball match with any settings can be used so create a game suited to your preferences and your level of skill: remember that only the bonus HKC earned in the match will count!
• Whether you make it easier for yourself by using the longest aiming lines, or you really push your skills and perform this without any aiming lines at all is entirely up to you – it doesn’t affect your score.
• Maximize every opportunity to increase your bonus for each and every shot! Look to use the cushions for easy multipliers, and remember that the longer your run is the more points you’ll earn for sinking each ball.
• Keep in mind that for the highest scores you’ll want to try the most audacious shots! Get to grips with advanced techniques like swerving and jumping to score the really big HKC combos.

Score:

• 19 Comments 4 Replies
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook