\n
![](\"http:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/HUD\/mazeexample.png\")
<\/a>\n
\n
\n<\/br?><\/center>
\nMy friends really liked them…oh how we were easily entertained back then in a private Episcopalian elementary school…and I made hundreds. I even had my own little logo for each of them (seen in the lower right, called MazE).
\n
\nI had no real idea at the time, but I was essentially making games in concept. And it was a fun little diversion. I was always tinkering with stuff…making Lego contraptions (nothing amazing, just…things, I guess), playing in my sandbox, creating things out of seemingly nothing and having fun. Unlike others though, I never really grew out of that. I still look at Legos and find myself wanting to dig in and build away, but what for? The purpose now isn\u2019t so much to satisfy my needs, but to satisfy my needs that would satisfy others too…maybe like, hey, why ISN\u2019T there a game like this? Someone should make that!
\n
\nGame Maker 3 was out about the time I was in Junior High, and I was finally able to make games. I was still limited by my art and programming skills, of which I have none, but I was actually creating.<\/em> No, I couldn\u2019t do everything I wanted to, but I was still able to make games that others would be able to enjoy. I fed off the criticism and comments…I still have a printing of some choice comments way back in 2002 that made me feel good. I don\u2019t think this was a way of feeding my ego; it was a way of confirming that my hours of work weren\u2019t just for my benefit…they would be for others too. And it kept me going.
\n
\nI\u2019ve dabbled in a few other areas. Journalism was fun, as I wrote a few articles for IGN and was the official UMD reviewer for a few sites. Animation was interesting, as it got me a college scholarship and gave me the drive to make about three eight minute shorts, but I came to realize I was working for months on something that a person might slightly enjoy for a few minutes, then not come back to. I kept coming back to game making.
\n
\nOddly enough, I\u2019m not much of a game player. My Xbox gamerscore was laughable, I rarely play online, and much of the games I buy (Half-Life 2 eps, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War PSP and many others) go unfinished. And yet I can\u2019t imagine not making games for a living.
\n
\nGame making is a culmination of everything I love; making things out of nothing, having other people enjoying it, getting feedback and comments, and maybe even make a few bucks off of it. It\u2019s a long process, but in the end it can be worth it, and I want to make it a career. But it\u2019s far from easy.
\n
\nLittleBigPlanet makes it easy. During these last few days that I’ve been beta testing the game, I’ve gobsmacked, awestruck, stupefied, everything you can think of, I\u2019m it. As a game, I was anticipating it but not really hyped all that much. But then I got the beta, and went through a few hours of tutorials. Then I set out to create.
\n
\nI had some wild ideas a few weeks ago…say, what would happen if I was flying around and had to rescue people from a burning mine? That\u2019d be cool. But even with Game Maker, which cuts down the game making process about 75%, I\u2019d need the art, the engine, the audience, the sounds, and the time. So, it would just be that…an idea.
\n
\nUnbelievably…no, wait. UNBELIEVABLY,<\/em><\/strong> LittleBigPlanet is a door to dreams I never thought I\u2019d be able to conceive. I was able to draw some sketches at work, fire up the PS3 in the evening, put in a good twelve to fourteen hours, and be out not only with a finished product, but the feedback and comments to go along with it. I\u2019m able to watch others play my level, even play with them myself. I can create nearly anything, do anything<\/i>. I\u2019m no longer tied down by my limitations as an artist or programmer…because LBP has all that ready to go. I\u2019m free.
\n
\n
\n
<\/a>\n
\n
\n<\/br?><\/center>
\n
\n
<\/a>\n
\n
\n<\/br?><\/center>
\n
\n
<\/a>\n
\n
\n<\/br?><\/center>
\nI don\u2019t think I\u2019m the best LBP creator out there…far from it judging from some of the levels I\u2019ve seen…but I can safely say I\u2019ll be among the most passionate out there once it\u2019s released. I simply shake my head in disbelief that I finally have no limits to my creativity, aside from what little creativity I have currently, heh. This game is the tool I\u2019ve been waiting for, and I didn\u2019t even realize it until a few hours ago.
\n
\nI don\u2019t know how review outlets will score LBP, or if it\u2019ll sell thousands, or if it\u2019ll die down by next year, or if everyone will enjoy the title as much as others do. What I do know is that LBP is the most finely crafted piece of game making I\u2019ve ever played, and that this game marks the first time in history where the line of game making and game playing has been blurred forever.
\n
\nThis is the best title I\u2019ve played in my life.
\n
\n***
\n
\nBut, of course, LBP doesn’t pay the bills does it? Unfortunately my LittleBigPlanet beta key has kept me a bit occupied these last three days and I wasn’t able to finish the beta by today as I thought I would. I’ve deleted my LBP save and am refocusing my attention to Spirits now, as well as some other projects. So, sorry about that folks. Beta will be here this week. Oh, and if you have a PS3, you better buy LBP so we can play together (PSN ID: chubigans). Woo!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Way back when I was a kid in elementary school, I was a doodler. Still am actually. What I would doodle were these intricate mazes…they had tunnels and spikes all around it, with a start and the finish. I\u2019d write down on the piece of paper how many lives you had, maybe add some 1ups on the page, then I\u2019d give the piece of paper to someone and stand behind them. You had to be precise and draw a lineRead More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-maker","category-spirits-of-metropolis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vertigogaming.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}