Little Big Planet 2 (PS3)
Negativitron’s Revenge!
Level Summary
After the Sack-characters have defeated the Negativitron, the remaining evil robots have kidnapped many of the fellow Sack-people and friendly robots. You have to infiltrate the robots' base and save your friends. Many robots are patrolling looking for any stray Sack-people. The level will feature sneaking sections interspersed with standard Little Big Planet platforming and puzzle solving. The key difference in this level is Sack-boy cannot defeat any of the enemies, and therefore must avoid them.
- Major Dramatic Question –
o Can the frail Sack-boy sneak through the robot base to save his friends?!?!
- Environment -
After the Sack-characters have defeated the Negativitron, the remaining evil robots have kidnapped many of the fellow Sack-people and friendly robots. You have to infiltrate the robots' base and save your friends. Many robots are patrolling looking for any stray Sack-people. The level will feature sneaking sections interspersed with standard Little Big Planet platforming and puzzle solving. The key difference in this level is Sack-boy cannot defeat any of the enemies, and therefore must avoid them.
- Major Dramatic Question –
o Can the frail Sack-boy sneak through the robot base to save his friends?!?!
- Environment -
Using similar textures as the Negativitron boss level, but use darker areas, with less glowing purple/pink locations. The robot base is primarily underground, so there will be lots of "man-made" structures intermixed with rocks. Think something like Dexter's Laboratory meets Moab, with a bit of the end boss purple/pink motif.
Lighting will have a great effect on guiding the player to certain areas and to show where enemies will be searching. Something that is often overlooked is sound, and it seems that either music or enemy sound effects will be required to give that sense of tension. Either footsteps, or heavy breathing, and mysterious eerie sounding music would help create this setting. Keep it "paranoid" but "goofy-paranoid".
Most of this level design is about atmosphere. As Little Big Planet 2 is not inherently a stealth game, it doesn't contain built in stealth mechanics. We will focus on the sounds, lighting, and other aesthetics to give the player the feeling of being in a dangerous place. This will help imply caution and stealth, rather than invent new mechanics to further this feeling.
- Major Areas -
o Entrance to Base
- The player will be introduced to the level and learn some of the level specific mechanics.
o Lair Light Puzzle
- A simple puzzle room involving light switches and sneaking.
o Lair Door Puzzle
- Another simple puzzle room teaching the player how to use a door (may be altered to join with the previous puzzle).
o Lair Bouncy Pad Puzzle
- First room to combine a couple previous mechanics and introduces the bouncy pad.
o Chandelier Swing
- A platforming/swinging puzzle to avoid enemies.
o Cardboard Box Red Light/Green Light
- A stop and go style mini game where the player has to get close enough to the enemy to trigger a button.
o Escape Sequence
- The level ends with a dramatic escape after the player rescues his friends and must run from the enemies.
I have broken down each area into multiple points, and explained them in the Playthrough Description and the Detailed Map section.
- Story Details -
After you have reclaimed everything from the Negativitron and destroyed it, you now have to save your remaining Sack-friends from the left-over evil robots and escape with your lives! Bum bum bummmmm!
Gameplay
- Enemy List -
o Patrolling Characters with an unbreakable brain. Dumb, but invincible.
o Spotlights with projectiles.
o Boss Character - The Wall of Death escape sequence.
- Gameplay Mechanics -
o Platforming - Basic and advanced jumping.
o Gripping - Standard Little Big Planet grip and swing mechanics.
o Switches, Buttons - Light switches and door switches.
o Sneaking - All of the above mechanics help the player stay out of the line of sight of enemies, to cross gaps, and other hazards across various rooms.
- Level Progression Chart –
o The level progression chart shows the alterations in difficulty.
Lighting will have a great effect on guiding the player to certain areas and to show where enemies will be searching. Something that is often overlooked is sound, and it seems that either music or enemy sound effects will be required to give that sense of tension. Either footsteps, or heavy breathing, and mysterious eerie sounding music would help create this setting. Keep it "paranoid" but "goofy-paranoid".
Most of this level design is about atmosphere. As Little Big Planet 2 is not inherently a stealth game, it doesn't contain built in stealth mechanics. We will focus on the sounds, lighting, and other aesthetics to give the player the feeling of being in a dangerous place. This will help imply caution and stealth, rather than invent new mechanics to further this feeling.
- Major Areas -
o Entrance to Base
- The player will be introduced to the level and learn some of the level specific mechanics.
o Lair Light Puzzle
- A simple puzzle room involving light switches and sneaking.
o Lair Door Puzzle
- Another simple puzzle room teaching the player how to use a door (may be altered to join with the previous puzzle).
o Lair Bouncy Pad Puzzle
- First room to combine a couple previous mechanics and introduces the bouncy pad.
o Chandelier Swing
- A platforming/swinging puzzle to avoid enemies.
o Cardboard Box Red Light/Green Light
- A stop and go style mini game where the player has to get close enough to the enemy to trigger a button.
o Escape Sequence
- The level ends with a dramatic escape after the player rescues his friends and must run from the enemies.
I have broken down each area into multiple points, and explained them in the Playthrough Description and the Detailed Map section.
- Story Details -
After you have reclaimed everything from the Negativitron and destroyed it, you now have to save your remaining Sack-friends from the left-over evil robots and escape with your lives! Bum bum bummmmm!
Gameplay
- Enemy List -
o Patrolling Characters with an unbreakable brain. Dumb, but invincible.
o Spotlights with projectiles.
o Boss Character - The Wall of Death escape sequence.
- Gameplay Mechanics -
o Platforming - Basic and advanced jumping.
o Gripping - Standard Little Big Planet grip and swing mechanics.
o Switches, Buttons - Light switches and door switches.
o Sneaking - All of the above mechanics help the player stay out of the line of sight of enemies, to cross gaps, and other hazards across various rooms.
- Level Progression Chart –
o The level progression chart shows the alterations in difficulty.
- Playthrough Description –
The level starts with the player walking up to a robot base entrance. Here we introduce the a simple spotlight hiding mechanic. The player must stay outside of the spotlights to sneak past and get in the base.
The next room is similar to the last. Using the various depths of the level and light switches, the player must sneak past spotlights to get to the other side, and open the door. This will build on the previous area and further emphasize the avoiding detection aspect of the level.
Now the player will learn how the enemies can follow the player, but only on the current path. After that the player will go into a more platformer heavy area, where bouncy pads are introduced. Basically the player must avoid enemies by bouncing over them to get across. This way the player can avoid enemies in a different manner and changes the pace to be more frantic.
Now that the basic mechanics have been covered, the player can do some more complicated things. The next room relies on bouncy pads to get up to “chandeliers” to swing across the ceiling and avoid the enemies down below.
Around here we will have more areas combining the various mechanics in more complex ways. Such as bouncing over spotlights onto platforms and thru doors that must be switched back off to stop enemies.
The next area involves safe planning and quick observation. At the end of the room the player will see many of his Sack-friends trapped in a cage with a big button on top. In order to get to them, he will either have to properly play Red Light/Green Light with a cardboard box. Using the box the player can creep closer and closer to the cage until he can hit a bouncy pad to jump over the enemies and land on the cage. Failing that, an alternative would be using a bouncy pad at the start of the level (which may not be accessible until after the player fails the box sequence)to gain access to the zip line which drops them onto the cage, releasing his friends.
The chase sequence is going to be a standard LBP chase sequence. The player must platform while outpacing a wall of death with all his friends jumping along with him.
- Pick-Ups/Collectibles/Unlockables –
The level starts with the player walking up to a robot base entrance. Here we introduce the a simple spotlight hiding mechanic. The player must stay outside of the spotlights to sneak past and get in the base.
The next room is similar to the last. Using the various depths of the level and light switches, the player must sneak past spotlights to get to the other side, and open the door. This will build on the previous area and further emphasize the avoiding detection aspect of the level.
Now the player will learn how the enemies can follow the player, but only on the current path. After that the player will go into a more platformer heavy area, where bouncy pads are introduced. Basically the player must avoid enemies by bouncing over them to get across. This way the player can avoid enemies in a different manner and changes the pace to be more frantic.
Now that the basic mechanics have been covered, the player can do some more complicated things. The next room relies on bouncy pads to get up to “chandeliers” to swing across the ceiling and avoid the enemies down below.
Around here we will have more areas combining the various mechanics in more complex ways. Such as bouncing over spotlights onto platforms and thru doors that must be switched back off to stop enemies.
The next area involves safe planning and quick observation. At the end of the room the player will see many of his Sack-friends trapped in a cage with a big button on top. In order to get to them, he will either have to properly play Red Light/Green Light with a cardboard box. Using the box the player can creep closer and closer to the cage until he can hit a bouncy pad to jump over the enemies and land on the cage. Failing that, an alternative would be using a bouncy pad at the start of the level (which may not be accessible until after the player fails the box sequence)to gain access to the zip line which drops them onto the cage, releasing his friends.
The chase sequence is going to be a standard LBP chase sequence. The player must platform while outpacing a wall of death with all his friends jumping along with him.
- Pick-Ups/Collectibles/Unlockables –
- Bubbles/Prizes/Stickers to unlock special areas in the level (prize rooms, etc.). This may change depending on how we build an area, and if we change any of the elements within it.
Figure 1 Larger Map
Figure 1 represents the entire map of the level. Each section is marked and broken down in the following list:
- Point 1: Entrance to Base
- Point 2: Lair Light Puzzle
- Point 3: Lair Door Puzzle
- Point 4: Lair Bouncy Pad Puzzle
- Point 5: Chandelier Swing
- Point 6: Cardboard Box Red Light/Green Light
- Point 7: Escape Sequence
Figure 2 Entrance to Base
The entrance to the base requires the player to move between layers to dodge the spotlights from seeing them. If the player is seen the spotlight will fire projectiles at the player. The bushes allow the player to “hide” from the light as it passes over them without the spotlight being able to see them. The player will then need to go through the pipe entrance on the middle ground to head down into the base.
Figure 3 Lair Light Puzzle
The lair puzzle follows the same principle as the entrance, but the lights are static and only see in one vertical column. The switches in the level are not labeled for the player, and the player will need to press the buttons in a particular sequence to turn off certain lights, and then finally pressing the last button to open the door at the end of the room.
Figure 4 Lair Door Puzzle
The door puzzle allows the player to realize how the enemies follow the player when on the particular path (foreground, middleground, or background). This allows the player to realize they can guide the enemies into the doors, and when the enemy enters into the room, the door to the room closes off, blocking the enemy inside. When both enemies are locked in their respective room, the exit door then opens.
Figure 5 Lair Bouncy Puzzle
Now that the player realizes the enemy will chase them, they can use the bouncy pads in the level to avoid them, as well as pass over tall wall obstacles.
Figure 6 Chandelier Swing
The room is full of enemies which the player cannot pass, but they are able to use the bouncy pad to launch upwards and then swing from chandelier to chandelier without any threat. The player must use these to reach the top of the wall to proceed to the next room. The player will die if they fall and fail to reach the top of the wall.
Figure 7 Cardboard Box Red Light/Green Light
The room has a cardboard box which prevents the enemy from seeing the player. The red light in the room will glow when the player should stop moving, indicating the enemy is looking in that direction. The green light in the room will glow when the player should move forward, indicating the enemy is looking away. If the light is glowing red and the player is moving forward the cardboard box will disappear, allowing the enemy to chase the player. The bouncy pad hidden in the floor will rise up allowing the player to launch upwards to the zipline and swing across the level to free their friends and open the door. The top of the wall is too far away from the zipline to allow the player to jump to it, and the bouncy pad will be required to reach it.
Figure 8 Escape Sequence
The escape sequence allows the player to jump through a platforming area and run from the boss/wall of death enemy. If the player is killed by the boss, there will be a respawn location attached in front of the boss character, allowing the player to continue their escape. The path branches upwards with more bubbles to collect, while the lower path is easier to cross, but with a few fire hazards to jump across. When the player reaches the zipline the boss character will fall into the empty pit, and the player will zipline to the ledge across the gap. If the player falls into the pit as well they will respawn across the gap to end the level.