Oh, That's It!!

While Tuesday's belong to my Racers (LBP Karting People), Thursday's are all about my Runners (LBP2 People).  This is a great group of creative and intelligent young men.  I am excited to see what they are able to come up with and how they will assist one another once they get rolling.  For now it is a matter of getting to know Little Big Planet 2.

Last Thursday, one of them was out completing a test for the next level belt in his martial arts class.  The two that were there opted to play two player.  They worked their way through the second world of the game.  One of the things I have really enjoyed about this club is that the kids get so much joy out of the game.  At one point they were trying to throw a ball of jelly at a button to open the door to the next section, but they kept getting in each others way.  While you could tell they were a bit frustrated, they were also laughing as they occasionally tossed one another off the train.  It was fun to watch.

The kids will be playing for the next few weeks, then we will start working on designs and creating in the game.  I will have much more to share once we shift gears.  For now, enjoy the pictures.

The boys are getting a taste of the sweet goodness of puzzles in Little Big Planet.

Sometimes working together, other times, not so much.  However, they were having a great time.

The music in Little Big Planet games is so very good. I hooked the system up to an old stereo to enjoy it.

It is a bit make shift, but the sound is so good.  

Oh, and two quick things.  First, our other Runner did not get to test for his belt because of bad weather.  I am told he will go for it in February.  He did, however, make up his LBP time by playing Little Big Planet Vita, a great handheld version of the game.

Second, and the last picture reminded me of this, if you want to see another amazing aspect of Little Big Planet, head over to youtube.com and search for Little Big Audio (or just click the link).  There is a music generator in Little Big Planet 2 and several creators have taken the time to upload over a thousand songs, all created in the game.  It is another really cool project that is worth your time and attention.

3, 2, 1, GO!!!

Whoa, it has been a crazy start to 2013.  If you haven't heard, I had the privilege of being a guest on episode 34 of the Pocket Moon Podcast.  If you'd like to listen, that link is here or subscribe to Pocket Moon Podcast on iTunes.  It was a great experience and I am really grateful that Tom and John are part of the Little Big Planet community.

This week kicked off half of our LBP Design Club.  The Racers were first.  The Racers are the group of kids who are primarily focused on making tracks or arenas using Little Big Planet Karting.  In our first meeting we talked about what the kids wanted to do with the game.  They all expressed a desire to make something.  I explained to them that my goal for them is help them find what they enjoy doing most and encourage them to focus primarily on that.  Little Big Planet is such a vibrant community of people that really do so many different things. I would like to see these students try out the different parts of create mode and then really focus on what they like best.

Our first meeting was a lot of fun.  We watched a couple of tutorials and talked about what the different things meant.  I don't want to throw all of the tutorials at them at once, so we are kind of dipping our toes in and then playing around for now.  The focus on these early meetings is letting the kids play the game to get a feel for what they like and don't like.

My two girls tackled the game running on the projector while my lone boy in the Racers set out on his own on another television.  They all had a good time commenting on the "awesome" big jumps, short cuts, and music, which I pumped through an old stereo in my room.  When we finished I told them to think about what they liked and didn't like about what they played and how they might incorporate those thoughts as they start putting their ideas together.

Sadly, because of the winter weather we got Thursday my Runners (Those working primarily with Little Big Planet 2) were forced to wait another week.  Overall, it was a good start for this group.  We will be playing for a few more weeks before we really sink our fingers into create mode.