Comments on: E3 ‘07 Sony: Little Big Planet: Slick, But Quickly Boring

By: MitchyD

MitchyD — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:18:55 +0000

Wait wait wait… What do you mean fl0w disaster?

Flow was a smashing success for the PSN…

By: S Holmes

S Holmes — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:51:36 +0000

Ah, I see. Damn those journalists and their fear of repercussion!

It’s crazy how quickly opinions can change. The last time LBP was demoed, the internet was overflowing with bliss from writers who were extremely impressed and excited with the game. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

By: jonahfalcon

jonahfalcon — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:32:13 +0000

If they’re not going to name themselves, it’s not my business to. After all, they have to worry about being tactful to large companies.

I don’t.

By: S Holmes

S Holmes — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:07:26 +0000

No problem. Since you are basing the “boring” comment on unnamed writers at E3, that would certainly be good information to include in your actual post since, as it is currently, it suggests that the Kotaku article is where you got the “boring” impression. It just causes some confusion when the title is based on opinions of unnamed writers but attributes their opinions to that of the Kotaku writer who never suggested it was boring.

It seems like your discussions with these unnamed writers would make for a great story here at Gamestooge. I’d be very interested in seeing some names and quotes so we know who we’re talking about and more of how they feel. Good work with the inside E3 info!

By: jonahfalcon

jonahfalcon — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 01:33:04 +0000

I’ve spoken to a bunch of writers at E3. They all said “boring”.

By: S Holmes

S Holmes — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 01:31:10 +0000

Well, nowhere in the Kotaku post does the word “boring” appear. The fact that the writer doesn’t yet know what “the point” of LBP is hardly suggests that he thinks it is boring.

What he’s saying is that he doesn’t understand the objective of the game. Is it to design wild and wacky worlds simply for visual/creative appeal? Is it a “make-your-own-game” where you design your own levels and then run through them to complete some goal? Or is it a combination of the two?

The writer explicitly states that he was shown the level creation function in LBP but was given vague responses as to what, if anything, the game turns into once a level is created. He specifically noted that questions were asked about whether there is any plot but was told “[w]e’ll be talking more about that at TGS.”

He closes the post with comments like:

“it is still a rather intriguing title”

“I will be interested to see how it develops”

“at this point it seems a little early on to get a real handle on exactly how it’s all going to work”

“I’ll definitely be wanting to check in with it again to hear these more detailed announcements.”

Those comments certainly don’t give the impression that the writer has decided the game is boring.

By: jonahfalcon

jonahfalcon — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:47:21 +0000

It’s not “bias”. It’s boredom. (laugh)

By: Devin Grimes

Devin Grimes — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:05:08 +0000

Wow, I’m sorry but that seems so biased. You can’t just base a game’s premise off of one guy’s time with the game.

LBP looks to be a game that centers around what you make of it. The developers aren’t even sure what people will end up doing, or using it for. It could be one guy’s platformer of choice, or even somebody else’s first step into clever game design.

By: S Holmes

S Holmes — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:42:10 +0000

Jonah,

Are you saying that the Kotaku writer who tested the game thinks it’s boring or that you personally think the game sounds boring?

By: Derrick Schommer

Derrick Schommer — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:49:44 +0000

First, casual games need a casual gamers perspective (not saying they didn’t in this situation) and that changes a lot. What one person thinks is boring may be another persons favorite addiction.

However… this doesn’t seem that way. From what I read, it seems that they’re hoping for something cool, but like a season of Lost, they have more questions now than they did before the demo.

What type of demo leads people to ask “huh?” more than “aaaweeeeesoome!”

These folks write, daily, and thousands of people read it. Impress them or don’t bother showing them. Don’t wait until TGS for gamers to know what the heck you’re building if you’re giving a demo NOW.

Just my opinion, could be awesome. Dunno. Gotta wait until TGS I guess.

By: Big Questions About Little Big Planet | Casual Gamer Chick

Big Questions About Little Big Planet | Casual Gamer Chick — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:41:54 +0000

[...] like Lost gamers left the demonstration wondering if it’s going to be cool or a flop. The concept…well, we don’t know the concept, but you can build things and share them [...]