Dear Workshop community,

As you noticed yesterday with the new post (outside of Sack-it-to-me), we're trying something new to balance out the posts between the LBP Workshop and the PlayStation Blog.  So expect more goodness from the News site like community spotlights, more workshop highlights, LBP stories, and other things you want to hear (feel free to tell us what you want).  And stay tuned for some really big changes too.

For today, check out the latest SITM post on the PS Blog with some really cool community finds, crazy fun, and LBP travel notes.

Forgive us for the second Sack it to Me this week, but we’re getting back on the Friday schedule and wanted to start fresh today. This week we have a ton of videos so we hope you’re in the ‘watching’ mood:

TIPS GALORE!!!

With a new batch of gamers getting the Game of the Year Edition and getting their feet wet into LBP’s create tools, Mm just introduced a new Tips video on their site to help you maintain your Thermometer:

And for those of you that missed it, here are links to the previous two tips videos:

Switches

Survival Challenges

COMMUNITY LEVELS!!!

First off, apologies to a few people for miscredits on Monday’s SITM:

- PSN ID: CuzFeeshe deserves proper credit for his brilliant level highlighted on the last post – If you haven’t checked out “Destiny!” yet, do so now.

- Also, last Monday’s level highlights were provided by our community at LBPCentral! Thanks again guys for Monday’s (and now today’s new) levels.

This week’s levels come from our friends at LBPForum.net.

Lightbringer by Trindall

“Lightbringer! a wonderous adventure level set in a bygone epoch. From the moment you wash up on the strange haunting shore, right through to your final confrontation with the Nemisis that has ravaged this once picturesque land, you will be enthralled and intrigued. Great atmospheric design, evocative inspiring dialogue combined with accessible puzzles and a unique gameplay mechanism wherein you advance by relaying the light to combat the forces of darkness and desolation….this level will stay with you forever.” – EnochRoot.

Lightbringer part 1.

Lightbringer part 2 and part 3.

PS3 GAME OF THE YEAR – USER SPOTLIGHT

Now that the Game of the Year Edition is available, many of you are discovering the amazing levels that are created and shared by users just like you. Over the past few weeks, we spent some time with a few of the users (whose levels are featured in the GOTY edition) and wanted to start spotlighting them. Here’s the first:

Thanks Tony (for both the level and the interview time)

LBP PSP UPDATES

• IGN: PSP Games of Fall 2009
• Kotaku LittleBigPlanet PSP Preview: PSP Platforming At Its Cutest
• Destructoid Preview: LittleBigPlanet PSP
• IGN: LittleBigPlanet PSP Character Design School

SACKBOY IN THE NEWS!

TGS 2009:

• PSX Extreme: “29 Years” Required To Complete All LBP Content
• Examiner: LittleBigPlanet to Support New Motion Controller

GOT FREE DLC???

Our friends at Sony Wonder are celebrating the launch of their new website highlighting hundreds of entertainment options including new movie trailers, info on the latest Blu-ray and DVD releases and fun games and activities for the whole family. As part of the celebration, they’re giving away FREE voucher codes for the LittleBigPlanet Norse Mythology Pack.

When you get a chance, check out what’s new over at Sony Wonder and get your hands on some new Sackboy Costumes. Sorry World, these codes only work on the North American PlayStation Store (US + CA).

Enjoy!!!

ATTN: North American WATER BETA PARTICIPANTS

Finally, for all you lucky North Americans that were accepted into the Online Water Beta and eagerly waiting for your invite….check your mailbox early next week, we had to settle a few technical issues, but its sorted out and we can’t wait for your participation.

Sackboy in the News:

Since it’s been a while since our last “Sack it to Me,” here’s a list of links of the latest news around the web:

• New York Launches Public School Curriculum Base on Playing Games
• LittleBigPlanet team wants to work with Studio Ghibli
• LittleBigPlanet Demo Live
• Adorable New LBP PSP Screenshots
• Origins of LittleBigPlanet

@ the PlayStation Store

Over at the PlayStation Store, the LittleBigPlanet Demo (FREE) has been a big hit, and the new LBP Dynamic PS3 Theme ($2.99) continues to find new homes. I love the idea of Sackboy running all day, everyday. Don’t forget to check these out when you get a chance.

Community Picks

Our friends at LBPCentral.com! have a new round of Community Picks. Have fun playing these GEMS:

Up & Away in Sky Town by jump_button

My thoughts: From a great gameplay hook (involving a single red helium balloon) to a visual style that can only be described as “beautiful,” this is definitely one of the best levels LittleBigPlanet has to offer. Don’t miss it.

Lafarge’s Request by Keldur

Part 2 is here.

My thoughts: Reminiscent of “The Islands”, “Lafarge’s Request” is a platforming level at heart, but it comes with enough creative innovation to keep you on your toes. Definitely a must-play.

Destiny! by CuzFeeshe

My thoughts: The premise of this level is simple: a cosmic storm is tearing apart your ship, and you’re the only one left who can save it! You’ll love the creative, fastpaced puzzles, and for those of you who can’t keep up, you can still move on (albeit with less points than you would have if you beat it). Give this level a shot – you’ll be glad you did.

Workshop of the Week

Ever want your Sackboy to teleport? Chaotictails put together a great tutorial here (even in the LBP presentation theme) to show you how. Great stuff!

Mm.com Goodies

Media Molecule has a new DevFace podcast focused on their teams designers. Get to know Mark and Danny and what they love about designing levels in LBP.

Hope you guys had a great extended weekend.  We sure did - we were in Seattle at this years PAX 09 showing off some of our PlayStation games.  We had LittleBigPlanet in the booth on both the PSP and PS3, ran a few fun multi-player competitions, lots of giveaways - and we ran into some amazing LittleBigPlanet fans too.

One fan in particular is b-coli, one of the main contributors to LBPForum.net.  He was a regular at the booth, walked away with a ton of swag and we had some great conversations about LBP.  In fact, he told me he was doing a PAX recap for all things PlayStation (with emphasis on LBP, of course), so we wanted to share his post with lots of preview footage of LBP on the PSP and some of the Year's bonus levels.

DAY 1
http://www.lbpforum.net/showthread.php?t=3861

DAY 2
http://www.lbpforum.net/showthread.php?p=73995#post73995

DAY 3
http://www.lbpforum.net/showthread.php?p=74417#post74417

Great recap and thanks.

COMMUNITY PICKS!

If you have been visiting Media Molecule’s website or just keep up with our Sack it To Me post, you know all about Mm Picks! That when Mm shares their thoughts about some of the levels created by you fine folks. The ones they think come with an extra helping of awesome sauce.

However, because you guys play the game far more than they can, the chances of you striking gold as you dig your way across the world are far, far greater.

So this week, we thought we’d feature what the LBP Community thinks are some of the great levels online! It works in the same way as Mm picks, except the levels are voted on, chosen and commented by the creator curators from some of our beloved community sites.

Now, your levels have the chance to be highlighted not just by the game’s developers, but also by LBP peers, the other creators that make up the LittleBigPlanet. We’ve started with three of our favorite sites, but if you think your community has something to add to one of these in the future, get in touch!

Without further ado:

LittleBigPlanet Central
Pinball Wizzard 1: The Great Pinball Adventure
By Allieran

LBPCentral: We’ve seen a ton of Pinball levels, but this one is unique in all aspects. With fun gameplay, fantastic visuals, a playful storyline, and even a dragon, you’ll love playing through Allieran’s unique reinvention of the classic “save the princess” lore. You’ll earn more points depending on how many lives you have left, so you might find yourself playing through more than a couple of times!

Little Big Duty: Naptime
By fusionboxer

LBPCentral: While the name is a bit misleading, don’t let it fool you: this level (part two is here) will keep you alert from start to finish. Reminiscent of games such as Metal Slug and other retro shooters, you’ll find yourself fighting tons of baddies, racing trucks past explosions, and even battling a helicopter! This and much more makes this level a worthy addition to your Hearted list.

LittleBigLand
The Diamond Lovestory-Part 1
By TOBsn08

Bludhound’s Comment: This level has brilliant design and decoration, unique obstacles and it’s a very fun level that will keep you coming back for more.

Amazingflyingpoo’s Comment: This level looks outstanding, and plays even better. It is a platformer through and through, and any LBP fan will love it!

Zepher Vally
By mrsupercomputer

Bludhound’s (LittleBigLand.com): This is a very unique level, the character and enemy design is amazing, it was really fun hopping on bits of land held up by balloons and the boss fight is epic.

Amazingflyingpoo’s (LittleBigLand.com): This is one of the most unique levels I can think of. The characters look awesome, the scenery is incredible, and the boss fight is the best I have ever played. This level puts just about any other platforming level to shame.

LittleBigPlanet Forum
Konoha Ninja Training
By Penev10

rkNrolla (LBPForum.net): This level is fun to play and challenging, but the quality and quantity of the beautiful yet functional artwork and set design set this level up a step up from others of its kind.

Penev10 has created another great level that is has enough scenery and challenge to please a wide range of players. I like the recreation of kanji on the walls in different styles as well. I loved the rope walking trick you’ve set up, it works very well in this context.

The ending of the level sets up further levels in the future if Penev10 has the energy and time to make them, and I’m sure that many people will be happy to play them.

ChewToy: Rodent Warfare
By xThaVIOLENTonEx

LoveLittleBigPlanet(PSN: Blade_2008):

You are the Chewtoy, the discarded Sackboy tossed in the hamsters cage of www.lbpforum.net. It’s down to you to help the other sack boys and girls that have also suffered this fate. This level is kinda multi path in that you can complete the level quickly, but not do all the mini tasks or you can go all out for that high score, explore and find all the hidden games and things to do.

This level is instantly striking in its design. The attention to detail and effort that has gone into this level is obvious straight away. I don’t think it even compares to any other LBP level that I have played as yet.

The details in the pics and texts on the books made me smile; it was a really nice personal touch.

5 stars and a heart from me!

LBP CROWN ANYONE?

PS3Attitude.com is a great site that donates all its revenue to charity and they want you to design their SackPerson Mascot! The person who submits the winning design gets a LBP Crown! Check out their site for the official rules and good luck!

LBP is “MAKING” HISTORY

Who says history has to be boring? Next Thursday we release 2 new packs for all of creators who have been hungry for more materials and new classical fits! Fans of the MONSTERS PACK will love the new HISTORY PACK ($3.99) this new set of creative goodies including:

OBJECTS!
DECORATIONS!
MUSIC and SOUNDS!
NEW MATERIALS!
140 STICKERS!

Fans of Historical Characters or classic fashion will dig on the HISTORY COSTUME PACK ($2.99) with clever little numbers inspired by folks like Mozart and Genghis Kahn!

SHOCK IT TO ME!

AVAILABLE NOW: inFamous “Cole” Costume ($1.99)

Whether you are good or bad, fans of inFamous can traverse the landscape of LBP dressed as their favorite hero / villain Cole McGrath!

We are back and almost recovered from the insanity that was San Diego Comic-Con. Hugs to all the LBP fans who came and visited us, with special props to the DIY Sackboy Costumes!

Check out the pics and a nice recap below, see another game where Sackboy is kicking butt, and who is visiting LBP next!

COMIC-CON RECAP

On top of the MARVEL-ous announcement on Sunday, the PlayStation booth had much LBP love with LittleBigPlanet PSP available to play and a ton of awesome user-generated levels for players to dive into. As a special treat Lucas Sparks (Darknessbear) and David Dino (gevurah22) were on site to meet fellow LBP creators to exchange tips and to hand out sweet LBP schwag!

But don’t take our word for it; here is a message from the fellas themselves:

(Lucas giving some tips)

Message from Lucas Sparks:

Comic-Con. Was. Epic. Thanks to all that came by and to those that knew me and my levels. It was a great time meeting some of the great fans of LBP and the lovers of the PS3. It was a blast giving away those fancy LBP tshirts (to those that won one in the four player competitions!) and it was even more fun hearing what everyone had to say about LBP as well as the PS3. Thank you all! And hope to see some more of you at future events.

Thanks, Luke (DarknessBear). Oh and kudos to the girl dressed as Sack Girl – best costume ever.

Message from David Dino:

Comic-con 2009 was definitely a time to remember for LBP fans who attended. Aside from the awesome news that LBP has teamed up with Marvel to create some future content many fans were hoping for, this weekend really shined when interacting with other fans of Media Molecule’s hit video game. From children to adults, I had the satisfying experience of playing, creating, and sharing with them face to face. For some, they just wanted to run around in user generated content that made them laugh over and over again such as the Unfair Platformer 2. Others who came by the booth were wowed by the excellent visuals from levels such as the Sci-Fi World series. 

 

It was especially entertaining to see attendees get hyped over some of our contests which involved multiplayer games and the spoils (usually some form of LBP swag) going to the winner.

This weekend was also a chance to test some new things I’ve been working on and seeing first hand how players would react to it. It’s amazing how much you learn simply by watching other players’ reactions to what you have created in person at such an event. I had LBP novices and experts run through my work and provide excellent critiques on how they’d like to see it flourish. As hard as would be to recreate the same situation, I urge other creators out there to pull anyone you know regardless of their LBP experience to help test your levels aside from your usual “go-to” guys. There was even an industry veteran who came by the booth and we spoke about the addictive nature of LBP’s create mode and how it could be used to help teach people about game design in a classroom setting. We even created a level (albeit short) at Comic-con in one day, adding pictures of staff and attendees who had participated in its creation!

It really is amazing how this game has captured such a wide array of ages and backgrounds while still pushing on with added content throughout a relatively short time. It really is a testament to Media Molecule’s passion to create a game that can provide such fun on so many levels. Again, a big thanks to Mm and Sony for giving me and many others the opportunity to play, create, and share with each other at Comic-con 2009. I hope to see you guys at the next big event!

SACKBOY “kicks it” in RAG DOLL KUNG FU!

For those of you who don’t know, SACKBOY has been kicking butt on Rag Doll Kung Fu for a while now as an unlockable character. But now with and new pack releasing for the game, you can get him instantly!

KA-POW!

LBP DLC UPDATE

Next week LBP gets a shock…

Don’t worry…

Be Happy!

LittleBigPlanet at Comic-Con

Next week (July 23 - 26th), over a hundred-thousand comic-book, movie, and video-game fans will converge on the city of San Diego for Comic-Con 09! Of course LittleBigPlanet will be on the floor to greet them. Want to get your hands on LBP on PSP? Be sure to stop by our booth to get a taste of how you can now Play, Create and Share everywhere!

As a special treat, LBP Super Creators gevurah22 (Azure Palace) and Darknessbear (LittleDeadSpace) will be at the PlayStation booth to chat with any aspiring LBP creators to give creator tips or just to walk folks through some of their favorite User Generated Levels. They’ll be sporting one of the sweet Hot Topic shirts below, so be on the look out for em!

Heck, they might be able to hook you up with one if you can beat them in the game so be sure to practice your Sackboy Slaps!

Special Message from David (aka gevurah22)

Hey there fellow Sackboys and Sackgirls! This is David (The Azure Palace creator, gevurah22) saying what’s up and opening an invitation to y’all to come and visit the LBP booth at next week’s Comic-con Convention in lovely San Diego, CA! We’ll be giving out level creation tips, messing around with new levels, giving away prizes, and even creating a Comic-con inspired level that y’all will be able to participate in! It’s definitely fun meeting different players and creators face-to-face and talking about the ins and outs of LBP and getting a better understanding of what people want and what to expect from the future.

Special Message from Lucas (aka Darknessbear)

Greetings to all in the Playstation universe and the littlest biggest planet (my LittleBigPlanet friends!). My name is Lucas but you may know me as DarknessBear (creator of the Little Dead Space levels). I’ve decided to leave my moon and travel to the big planet known as Comic Con. I’ll be looking forward to talking with some fellow Playstation lovers and LBP players. Many tips will be shared as well as some good times had by all! I look forward to meeting some of you and hope to learn a few things too. See you all soon!

I’ll be on the show floor representing pimping awesome player levels and other whatnots from Saturday to Sunday, July 25-26, so I hope to see y’all there!

MmPICKS: Some of the Sweetest Levels on LBP!

You got a sneak peek last week, now check out some of the latest Mm faves that they posted on their site! Need help finding levels? Don’t forget about the great SEARCH tips you can use!

A Royal Love Letter
by Mamett-Box

Hyper cube
by mrsspookybuz

ToS2 – On the Island of Sultan Cazimi!
by Syroc

Electronomicon Delta
by Stackford

In Store Now! “GHOSTBUSTERS LBP DLC”

Available now on the PSN store, The Ghostbusters! This pack features four costumes and a set of stickers for $5.99 or each individual costume for $1.99 each.

• Ghostbuster: Ghostbusters Hair, Trousers, Jumpsuit and Proton Pack, Ghost Trap (pic)
• Stay Puft: Navy Whites, Sailor’s Cap
• Slimer: Slimer Hat
• No Ghosts Logo: No Ghosts Head, Body

Be sure to visit Media Molecule and get some cool Stay Puft wallpaper action too!

Disclaimer: Play video while reading

Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?

Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?

Have you or your family ever seen a spook, spectre or ghost?

If the answer is “yes,” then don’t wait another minute. Pick up the phone and call the professionals…Ghostbusters.

“We’re ready to believe you.”

Fans of this 80’s classic rejoice! Finally, fresh from their video game release and after a week or so of tease images, GHOSTBUSTERS finally hits LittleBigPlanet this Thursday as individual costumes ($1.99) and as a full costume pack ($5.99) that includes all 4 costumes and bonus stickers!

We are looking forward to more great tribute levels like these-

Greetings all and Happy Friday! Check out the return of Mm Picks, a new trailer, and another glimpse of things to come. Have a great weekend!

Return of Mm Picks

When Media Molecule isn't working on super creative projects, they actually like diving into their own game just to play your levels. Next week they will showcase some of their favorites on their site, as a sneak peak, check out the video below and be sure to fire up LBP and play it  yourself.

Happy 4th of July weekend LBP'ers!  Check out some of the latest happenings and have a wonderful break.

If you have been keeping up with LBP news, you most likely scored the lovely Summer Solstice Druid costume that was available for free till this week.  If you missed out, not to worry, cause in celebration of Independence Day, our friends at Mm are paying tribute to Lady Liberty with one of the sweetest costumes to date- The Sacktue of Liberty.  Since Liberty should be free for all, so is this costume, so grab it while you can!  It's up now until July 9th so be sure to download this before you light your bottle rockets and start up the BBQ!

Not to be confused with Nathan Drake of Uncharted fame, Arnold Drake is a Sackboy who blogs about his adventures around the planet.  If you ever asked the questions-

So what do you do if you had a camera, some imagination, and were lucky enough to score a limited edition European Sackboy plushes? 

This is your answer:  You start do a sweet blog to chronicle some Sackboy adventure!  Forget that traveling gnome dude, he's got nothing on Arnold Drake.

Check out more pics and adventures on www.arnolddrake.com.