05-22-2007, 09:16 AM
Although many people are sick of hearing the phrases "Web 2.0" and "user-generated content", they still remain a driving force on the internet. In fact, in PS3's LittleBigPlanet, these two concepts are not only embedded into the game itself, but Sony is hoping that user contributions will be the key to the game's success. Leo Cubbin (Sony producer) explained to the Guardian unlimited how LittleBigPlanet is going to do just that:
"The idea of creativity can be quite daunting to a lot of people. You give a blank piece of paper and a pen and say, "Be creative!" What do I do? People are looking for inspiration. With LBP we want to create a fuzzy felt experience, where we give the component parts to trigger the creativity. I don't think any of us as kids had a problem with cracking on and creating something when we were given a Lego set; it didn't really matter how it ended up. We're trying to give people the bare bones, and then we'll let them go. Obviously there are going to be sophisticated users who will make incredible things because they'll know how to create textures and images, import photos, videos, audio files. They'll know the things to do to make their contributions incredible, but at the same time incredible things can come from simplicity. Someone can do something unexpected which might spark a whole string on the community. It's going to be emergent."
The only downside is that after launch, any content Sony creates for download will probably be for a fee, though talk of seasonal content (like for the Olympics, etc.) does sound like fun. Sharing among users won't cost anyone a dime and (if I could make a prediction) will most likely be the more interesting content.
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"The idea of creativity can be quite daunting to a lot of people. You give a blank piece of paper and a pen and say, "Be creative!" What do I do? People are looking for inspiration. With LBP we want to create a fuzzy felt experience, where we give the component parts to trigger the creativity. I don't think any of us as kids had a problem with cracking on and creating something when we were given a Lego set; it didn't really matter how it ended up. We're trying to give people the bare bones, and then we'll let them go. Obviously there are going to be sophisticated users who will make incredible things because they'll know how to create textures and images, import photos, videos, audio files. They'll know the things to do to make their contributions incredible, but at the same time incredible things can come from simplicity. Someone can do something unexpected which might spark a whole string on the community. It's going to be emergent."
The only downside is that after launch, any content Sony creates for download will probably be for a fee, though talk of seasonal content (like for the Olympics, etc.) does sound like fun. Sharing among users won't cost anyone a dime and (if I could make a prediction) will most likely be the more interesting content.
source