There are games about stories and settings, and there are games about mechanics and features. For me, LittleBigPlanet 2 is a game about feeling. It’s got marquee mechanics and art design that’s world-class, but when I play LittleBigPlanet 2 it gives me something I don’t get from other games; nostalgia for a mindset. It’s such a strange wave of emotion that comes over me when I’m playing the game; cuddly, excited, creative, and juvenile all at the same time. Playing LittleBigPlanet 2 fills me with the sense of joy and wonderment that you remember feeling as a kid, and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why.
Graphically the design elements are all there; cardboard obstacles blend into pastry platforms seamlessly, creating the most non-threatening environments possible. The game is visually designed to be as inviting and adorable as possible. Always over-crowded with things to see and examine it occupies the eyes, making them dart about the screen like a child taking in all they can of the world. There are always exciting things to spot or find and that sense of visual exploration tells the player that the world is borderless, like your imagination.
The Sackboy puppet, with his big expressive face and customizable clothing, feels less like an on-screen avatar and more like a digital toy. While it would ruin lesser games, his floaty animations and general control sloppiness lead to feeling like an action figure being batted around with the imprecise hands of a child. Giving the player complete control over the doll’s appearance also helps build a bond between the character and player. It seems silly, but the bonds of ownership transmute into bonds of empathy or even friendship when you care about the subject.
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It’s the core design philosophy that really sinks it for LittleBigPlanet 2. Rather than focusing on mechanics or structure, every level feels like the designer thought long and hard about how to have simple fun in the most jovial sense. The game doesn’t rely on the traditional risk/reward axioms or developing a sense of satisfaction by overcoming an insurmountable task. Instead, LittleBigPlanet 2 tries to offer the player a lot of fun moments with courses that are built around cleverly designed gimmick keystones; they’re not always the most congruent, but that’s part of their charm.
Of course, LittleBigPlanet 2 wouldn’t be the same without offering players the opportunity to design and share their own level creations. During my play, I was able to create a simple but challenging obstacle course and pin it online. While standing out in a community of its size is a near-impossible task, I did have a lot of fun sharing my level with close friends. It felt less like the traditional crowd-sourcing of content and more like showing off a cool trick I’d learned to my friends at school. The focus on relationships for new content takes a sideways social network-esque step, but it’s one for the better.
LittleBigPlanet 2 is a lot of fun to play.
It makes you feel like a kid and that’s not easy to do for a lot of games that try the same thing. The design philosophy challenges a lot of what we think about gaming but frames it all in a language that avid game players can still understand. Offering players a gigantic world of possibilities and setting them free to make their own choices gives the player the opportunity to venture out, make mistakes, enjoy triumphs, and learn; just like growing up.
