Little Big Planet

Little Big Planet is aptly named, for it is a space that is as small as the mind and as beautiful as the open sky. The mechanics are joyous, and the multiplayer, inspired. With our sock puppet friend, there is a tinge of childhood energy, displayed through mechanics and customization.  There is something magical about jumping in this game and how it maps onto childhood.  We jump, spring, and hop into life with our little avatar. We spend much of our lives as children, little balls of energy that whirl and whiz about, a tempest of imagination and wanderlust. Little Big Planet says to me, "go on, have fun." It's sort of the parent that pushes you into that kindergarten community, where so much is possible that never was before. So you roam, and dance, and flutter about with your new companions, and all the while, the world becomes a little bigger. You will find yourself in a world of exploration, within an imagination that is readily beyond one's grasp. Indeed it is readily beyond anyone's singular grasp, and that works as a strength and a detriment. The game has solid mechanics, reminding me at times of what Super Mario Bros. might be if Mario could grapple the blocks in his game world (and have a paint gun). The mechanics in the game are never really in question as a result. Instead, the problems come to bear with the player's ability to access the infinite microcosms of the game's worlds. The player will encounter some difficulty moving through everything available, despite the game having such a focused, singular beauty. The sky is not exactly the limit, but there's certainly a horizon that's far more accessible in the game than anything before.

That horizon lies largely in the interface. The game's interface has a lot of quirks with accessibility, and it gives you the ability to save all sorts of styles for your character. The interface even allows you to magically summon objects into the game world. For some worlds this can break them quite easily, for others it gives the game a Scribblenauts type appeal, where creation is used for the purpose of exploration. At the same time, there are so many menus to navigate, so many buttons to push and colors to choose, that it can feel a little overwhelming. The sheer amount of objects, often not organized succinctly, can give the player a bit of headache, particularly when they are trying to create those new horizons. I find this review timely, as such issues will likely be addressed in the gorgeous looking sequel, Little Big Planet 2. However, these issues are apparent in that they can leave you feeling a bit scatterbrained, and there are lots of things in the game's navigation that feel as such. Exploring the worlds that are available feels very much like this; the original fifty are paced well and move from one space to another in a cogent, logical manner. Player-created worlds on the other hand, tend to be fairly random and the only way to know the quality of a world is to trust user-created reviews. As such, levels that become established tend to overshadow other levels that might be equally creative, but simply somewhat unknown. Despite this complaint, exploring the unknown is also part of what the game banks on, and one of the most enjoyable things about Little Big Planet is trying stuff and coming away pleasantly surprised.

That was honestly my initial impression of the game. I had not originally expected to find such enjoyment, but when the snarky voice actor taught me how to jump and dance and swing and fly, I found myself pleasantly surprised. The mechanics of the game are akin to swinging a baseball bat or shooting a basketball. It's never really perfected, but that's what makes you come back. You seek to find little perfections in your movements, finding ways to sway your jumps just right as you arc over death traps, or control your car that runs on hacky-sacks, or pull that swing just far enough to make it to the next swing. The mechanics remind me a lot of jumping in Super Mario Bros., floating like the character is walking on air and you can't quite pin him down. The multiplayer has an equally important role in the aforementioned sports-like feeling, where you'll definitely want to play with others to achieve those little perfections. There's nothing quite like completing the more difficult levels by yourself, but doing it together feels like it was the point all along. Children rarely play alone after all, for growth is measured by imaginations collecting their thoughts and building upon them, helping one another to achieve them. Each little dude has an imagination towards their flight, and they bound into our imagination as a colorful sprite. What Little Big Planet adds is customization to that image. You're no longer forced into the image the developers see you as. You can be the squiggle that has been in your brain for so long that you could never quite line up elsewhere.

Perhaps the greatest joy in the game is the pure amount of stuff that you can add to make the game your own. Granted, you'll have to work your way through the menus, but you can be a beard-wearing Pokemon trainer, or an angel, or a fiery cool hipster. If you remember the fad of pet rocks in the 90s, that might be a good way to think of it, only on top of that fad is also a sock puppet. So instead of just dressing down with your choice of googly eyes, you also get to pick what kind of fashionista you want your sock puppet to be. You also get to modify a personal room which is used as a sort of lobby while you decide which custom worlds to navigate through, and it also gives the option (obviously) of creating your own. So if you want to live in an amazon jungle, go for it! Maybe not my choice though, a little too humid. There are limitations to these things, but the options given expand every day. As long as more worlds are being created and the user base is eager to provide content, even more possibilities await the intrepid explorer!

We see a unique joy in possibility, a nostalgia that tugs on our shirt. The chance to become a child again, to have virtual legos, excites me. In Little Big Planet, it seems all things might be, but for the time of day. Yes, we all must put down the toys and go back to "real life" eventually, but these are microcosms of imagination. They can be stored in the nooks of our minds, hidden away from the boring everyday, allowing us to mine for jewels of dreams. The Azure Palace, a user-created dragon fight, the Mario Kart clones, the Mayan Ruins, complete with spear chuckers, elucidate the virtual imagination. To explore all these possibilities, all of which can be experienced in but a few minutes, lets us become kids again. Media Molecule, the developer of this game, kept those kids in mind when designing Little Big Planet. We are the child drawing on their virtual chalkboard, the child who displays the fantastic rockets and ufos and smiling suns. Developers could take a lesson from the user, as in the user's hands, all things are possible. While the canvas is not perfect, it was lovingly crafted, and that is reciprocated in kind.