LBP Vs. Blocks

[Final-Fan]

twesterm said:

So in another thread we started talking about the differences in Blocks for the Wii and Little Big Planet for the PS3. To me, it's perfectly clear that they are completely similar games but to others they believe that they are as different as night and day. I will admit that I don't fully know what the gameplay is in LBP (other than physics, building, and sharing) but they are still essentially the same game. As long as this doesn't turn into an outright flame war it seems like this could be a decent thread so I decided to make it.

As for Blocks (short video here), it seems like a fairly casual puzzle game having to do with physics simulations. From what I've seen and read, these appear to be the base gameplay ideas for the game:

1. a physics simulator
2. a level editor
3. something to share with friends
4. cartoon style art
5. puzzle based

That doesn't seem like something to me that will have the masses anticipating the release of this game, but with Spielberg's name, EA backing it, and a wide variety of hooks the game will more than likely do well.

So now we look at Little Big Planet for the PS3. This is another casual game that has to do with building, sharing with friends, and having fun with physics simulators. Pardon me for not knowing the actual gameplay for this game, I did a few quick reads but the main idea behind this game appears to be sharing in a community. If someone knows the gameplay for this game (whether it's puzzle, platformer, whatever) tell me and I'll happily fill it in. Anyways, here are the base gameplay ideas for Little Big Planet:

1. a physics simulator
2. a level editor
3. something to share with your friends
4. somewhat realistic style of art
5. -=insert gameplay here=-

Just like with blocks, this shouldn't be something that will have the masses waiting in line but it has been decently hyped (and more than likely see more about it as it gets closer to release) and has a wide variety of gameplay hooks that will help draw people in.

Now, if you take a second to look, you'll notice that these are more or less the same game. The main hooks of these games are that you get to play with physics, build your own levels with a detailed level editor, and you get to share this user created content with friends. The only differences are possibly the gameplay and the art style. Why are people having such a hard time believing that these two games are so similar?

Is it because the PS3 crowd doesn't want to believe that a casual game that people are excited about has infected their console? Wii owners don't want to think that possibly they might have a game that was copied from a PS3 game? If both appear to be equally fun and get about the same score would PS3 owners have to admit that the art style isn't what made the game fun? Am I just completely missing an aspect of either game that makes these games so different? It just completely confuses me why people are so hard to believe that these games are so similar.

"Now, if you take a second to look, you'll notice that these are more or less the same game. " Er, sorry twesterm -- I usually agree with you -- but NO! What you have demonstrated with your (very interesting) bullet points is that they are different games using many of the same elements and tools. It's a bit like saying that Halo 3 is essentially the same game as Metroid Prime 3 or Bioshock. Well...NO, it's not. Part of that is that one is multiplayer and the others are not. (LBP is multiplayer; I would guess that Blocks is not, but I don't know. Is it?) But although they do have many similarities, these games go in totally different directions in building up from the basic framework they all inhabit. (FPS-style gameplay) This is kind of an inverse example of LBP/Blocks, which seem to converge from very different basic frameworks (Platformer, puzzle/building-blocks) A puzzle game is not "more or less the same game" as a platformer, even if they use more or less the same elements/tools to draw more or less the same crowd. If the second statement is your true contention, then we don't disagree much. P.S. I would say that LBP has very realistic graphics depicting a whimsical/fantastical world, instead of "somewhat realistic graphics". But this I recognize as a very minor, nitpicky point.