Q: You've already got 2 million levels that people have created, so maybe that's the answer to this question - but would you like to see even more accessible tools for people in the game?
Alex Evans: Yeah, I would have liked to have made it better. We originally started with a shotgun and a hair dryer, and it mutated a lot... One of the things we're focusing on next is looking at stuff that insane - generally French and Japanese - people have built, and then making that more accessible, just making some of the ideas that are possible, easier.
The second side of it is that at the moment you can exchange objects via PSN messages. One of the original ideas that was axed from the original game was that you could publish objects from the game online, not just levels, and you'd be credited with the use of those objects.
I think something like that will really boost it - if you're just a beginner user, you can go and browse not just for levels, but for cars, let's say. Take that, sticker it up, and you're done - and that will change the barriers to entry.
So both of those things - changing the tools themselves, and changing how you share - are coming.
Q: It's enabling people to make the first step?
Alex Evans: Yes, because there's that point where you think: "I can never make something like that." And then you realise that some people can.
Before we shipped, people were quoting articles about what percentage of YouTube users actually upload videos to the site - but if you look at the sales figures for LBP versus the number of videos that have been published, it's way out of kilter.
That's awesome, and I don't know the science as to how we did it, but I think it's partly that gamers are just way more dedicated. As a market, even the non-hardcore ones, they seem to care more. Forget the achievement- and trophy-whoring - if you've made a level, you really care about it and want to shout about it.
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