level creation
Latest
‘Dreams’ turns the PS4 into a charming game development kit
Dreams is finally here. The latest game by Media Molecule, the delightfully whimsical studio behind LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway, was first teased at the PlayStation 4 reveal event in February 2013. A Creator Early Access was released on Tuesday (April 16th), mere hours before Mark Cerny, a systems architect at Sony, revealed the first details about the PlayStation 5. Dreams, then, was dangerously close to missing an entire console generation.
Super Meat Boy's devmode uncovered by modding community
If you can't wait for the Super Meat Boy level editor which the game's creators plan to release within the next six months, there's another, slightly more esoteric option for customizing your super difficult platforming experience. The game's modding community has uncovered a "devmode" within the PC build of Super Meat Boy, giving the keys to the kingdom to anyone willing to learn how to use the (very user-unfriendly) tools with which Team Meat created the game's original batch of levels. Team Meat was even was nice enough to post a few tutorial videos explaining how to access and use the tools. We're probably going to hold off for the proper level creator to get released, but hey -- if you guys want to go ahead and make a whole bunch of levels for us to enjoy, we're not going to stand in your way.
Super Scribblenauts preview: Maxwell's house
From what we've seen, it seems safe to say that if you liked Scribblenauts, you'll love the sequel. It's got a refined and updated version of the original's wordplay, along with plenty of fun extras like a level editor with deep scripting capability, and a "merit" achievements system that keeps the gameplay moving even after you've beaten the 100-plus levels the first time. But what if you didn't like Scribblenauts? What if, like me, you were charmed by the premise, but were overwhelmed by the execution, by the option to create anything in order to solve a series of often nebulous puzzles? %Gallery-99780%
PC version of Left 4 Dead getting custom level support next week
We've heard about the impressive capabilities of the in-beta Left 4 Dead Authoring Tools -- and recently, we've seen the SDK's fantastic handiwork -- but we haven't had a chance to get our hands on it yet. Luckily, Valve is dropping an update for the zombocalypse sim on Steam next week; one that will give everyone access to the authoring tools, and allow everyone to play the community's homegrown campaigns.The level hunting process sounds simple enough -- amateur level designers bundle all their maps, posters, models, and textures into a single .VPK file, which players must download and drop into the game's "addons" folder. Voila! Now you have access to even more Witch/car alarm shooting ranges err ... survival zones. Update: It's here.[Via Evil Avatar]
Watch the birth of a LittleBigPlanet player-made stage
In the beginning, Media Molecule made LittleBigPlanet. But the levels were barren and flat, and devoid of obstacles, so the player moved upon the face of the level creation system. And the player said, "Let there be swinging, spongy balls," and there were swinging, spongy balls. And the player saw the swinging, spongy balls, that they were good, and he divided the swinging, spongy balls from the electrified floor.If you needed any more proof that LittleBigPlanet's level creation system is going to be mind-blowingly robust, (though arguably less robust then the level creation system discussed in Genesis), we turn your attention to the video posted after the break -- a time-lapse sneak preview of a player crafting his own level. It's a pretty clever design, and looks like a blast -- best of all, it only took about ten minutes. That kind of thing apparently used to take seven days. Thanks, technology!
