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[Men_in_Boxes]

Report: LittleBigPlanet and Dreams Developer Media Molecule Working on New IP With 'Open-World Content'

The people behind PlayStation's LittleBigPlanet and Dreams are working on their next project, which appears to be an open-world title.

mp1st.com

One of the few things that we've learned over time through job listings is that it will be a brand-new IP. Former Creative Director Mark Healey also stated that the project is "more of a game than a creative tool," hinting at a traditional experience, unlike their latest release. That said, a new discovery may give us a clearer insight into what this new project aims to achieve.

The aforementioned discovery comes from the online portfolio of an artist currently working at the studio. The resume contains a brief description of the unannounced project that, while expectedly vague, explicitly reveals the inclusion of "open-world content."

According to the CV, the developer is the "feature owner, main contact/vision holder of various open-world content" within the title. While this doesn't definitively mean the game will strictly fit into the open-world genre, it heavily hints at a larger, more non-linear experience than what the studio has traditionally delivered.

The resume also goes on to detail other specific design responsibilities that might provide a picture of the game's core mechanics. Notably, it mentions tasks involving "level blocking out main POIs (Points of Interest), moment-to-moment gameplay," and interestingly, "forage design." The latter mention implies that resource-gathering systems could be playing a role in the game to some extent, maybe even pointing towards crafting or survival elements.

Developing features on this scale is no small feat, especially considering that Media Molecule's next chapter began with an uphill battle. In October 2023, reports emerged that Media Molecule was laying off up to 20% of its staff. In an X post addressing the situation, the studio noted that they had made "significant strategic changes during the past year," including shifting their focus entirely to the new project, marking a rough start for this new IP.

"Open world, forage design, level blocking out main PoIs"

LFG!!!

 

[diffusionx]

They haven't made a real game in over a decade, good luck

 

[bender]

 

[clarky]

They've never done a decent game so count me out.

 

[PCS 7009]

Media Molecule

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

Holy cow, how did they manage to escape Sony's death scythe?

 

[marcincz]

They've never done a decent game so count me out.

Nonsense.
They've done Little Big Planet and Tearaway, which was great.

Open world? No, it's not the best idea.

 

[xanaum]

Will it be a game in the style of Minecraft or The Forest? The guys are super creative, I hope they actually deliver a hit this time.

 

[kpopSuperstar]

Holy cow, how did they manage to escape Sony's death scythe?

LittleBigPlanet was a big new franchise on the PS3, and Tearaway was one of the premier Vita games. The studio earned a lot of goodwill.

And Dreams was very impressive, it just didn't do well.

 

[diffusionx]

Will it be a game in the style of Minecraft or The Forest? The guys are super creative, I hope they actually deliver a hit this time.

Are they super creative? I remember a bunch of people left because they wanted to make a game and MM wasnt doing that.

Tearaway came out in like 2013, it's functionally a different studio at this point.

 

[Vick]

They've never done a decent game so count me out.

I'm actually more interested in this than probably any other announced PlayStation game.

 

[SuperMac]

Man Sony Studios just doesn't carry the same weight anymore huh? Feel like they have all fallen from grace. Of course I hope this is good. But im skeptical

 

[FoxMcChief]

They've made one good game in my opinion.

Tearaway

 

[Terenty]

There's no excitement for any Sony studio at this point, they are all lame and gay

 

[Magic Carpet]

Open world made entirely out of cardboard and yarn.

 

[Generic]

I miss Little Big Planet...

 

[xanaum]

Are they super creative? I remember a bunch of people left because they wanted to make a game and MM wasnt doing that.

Tearaway came out in like 2013, it's functionally a different studio at this point.

Yeah, I think these guys are super creative. LittleBigPlanet 1/2 were amazing experiences, I played them a lot with my ex-girlfriend and friends. It obviously influenced Nintendo with Mario Maker and other games, Nintendo even tried to buy the studio.

Tearaway and Dreams were also great unique experiences. I believe they need to improve the commercial direction of these ideas. If Dreams had been free-to-play and promoted better with influencers, things would've turned out different.

 

[yogaflame]

Little big planet open world will be a dream

 

[coachmcguirk91]

I would like them to make a game like Palworld or Animal Crossing. A stylized game that allows for creative freedom. I weirdly have high hopes. Mostly because they haven't been shut down yet and their last game was 2019. Which is crazy for a small studio. They have to be developing something that Sony thinks is a winner

 

[CobraAB]

I want next gen Sackboy...

 

[clarky]

They've made one good game in my opinion.

Tearaway

Correction, yeah that was alright.

LBP was the most over rated game I ever played. Soundtrack was awesome though.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Correction, yeah that was alright.

LBP was the most over rated game I ever played. Soundtrack was awesome though.

Tearaway was a fun little game. Only game that made good use of the back track pad.

 

[diffusionx]

Yeah, I think these guys are super creative. LittleBigPlanet 1/2 were amazing experiences, I played them a lot with my ex-girlfriend and friends. It obviously influenced Nintendo with Mario Maker and other games, Nintendo even tried to buy the studio.

Tearaway and Dreams were also great unique experiences. I believe they need to improve the commercial direction of these ideas. If Dreams had been free-to-play and promoted better with influencers, things would've turned out different.

Little Big Planet came out in 2009. It's a different studio now. They spent 10 years working on some jerkoff non game. Creative people left the studio, like I said, because they couldn't be creative working on Dreams bullshit.

 

[bitbydeath]

World level layouts in 2D sounds like LBP.

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

LittleBigPlanet was a big new franchise on the PS3, and Tearaway was one of the premier Vita games. The studio earned a lot of goodwill.

And Dreams was very impressive, it just didn't do well.

Yes, but Tearaway came out 13 years ago, and LBP 3 came out 12 years ago. The last thing they released was Dreams, which wasn't commercially successful. I don't think they've ever had a real hit besides the LBP series. It's crazy that Japan Studio was shut down while MM flew under the radar. I guess their operating costs must be much smaller.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Media Molecule? Working?

Please, stop the fake news.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Holy cow, how did they manage to escape Sony's death scythe?

-Cheaper studio
-Made multiple critically acclaimed games
-Pitched something Sony was interested in developing.

 

[StueyDuck]

They are a talented bunch, ex lionhead devs, not sure how many are still left, but would he great to see them make a gamey game again

Sony needs something that isnt just a man in a dress to represent them again. The next sackboy

 

[Mr. PlayStation]

Maybe open world Katamari Damacy meets Little Big Planet?

 

[lughnasadh123]

It's a little bizarre seeing fans ask for more creative, quirky titles from Sony while also dismissing MM.

For their new game, it's curious MM says it's "more" of a regular game than creative tool. So it's a bit of both still? Giving the players a proper fleshed out world to explore with a curated skill set and/or the ability to make your own has some huge potential.

 

[Fbh]

Probably just going to be another cutesy game with an arts and crafts aesthetic and mediocre gameplay that's going to sell 40 copies.
There will be a player created content aspect where they expect people to spend hundreds of hours mastering creation tools to make content they can't export, release on other platforms or monetize.
The biggest headlines the game will generate is that someone will make some recreation of a popular game (probably a Nintendo one) that's going to be kinda impressive but also fun for a whole 5 minutes until you realize you could just be playing to actual game it's imitating which is 100X better.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It's a little bizarre seeing fans ask for more creative, quirky titles from Sony while also dismissing MM.

For their new game, it's curious MM says it's "more" of a regular game than creative tool. So it's a bit of both still? Giving the players a proper fleshed out world to explore with a curated skill set and/or the ability to make your own has some huge potential.

Foraging, open world, PoIs, some creative aspects...

This smells like a survival game to me. Enshrouded, Valheim, Rust etc...

 

[Black_Stride]

These guys are still around?
A UK studio of ~150 people that havent had a smash hit in what a decade or something is still holding tight and might even have something to announce soon?

Curious to see what they can do, all their projects have been pretty unique and interesting.
Whatever Engine was powering Dreams I cant imagine what they pull off on PS5......err PS6???

 

[IntentionalPun]

It's a little bizarre seeing fans ask for more creative, quirky titles from Sony while also dismissing MM.

For their new game, it's curious MM says it's "more" of a regular game than creative tool. So it's a bit of both still? Giving the players a proper fleshed out world to explore with a curated skill set and/or the ability to make your own has some huge potential.

Just because people want more creative games doesn't mean they have to like MM's output which heavily relies on people wanting to actually "build things."

 

[viveks86]

I hope they are making a self contained game and not a "platform" again. There simply isn't a large enough market for it be successful anymore, unless they plan to compete with Roblox, Fortnite etc...

 

[lughnasadh123]

Foraging, open world, PoIs, some creative aspects...

This smells like a survival game to me. Enshrouded, Valheim, Rust etc...

Could be a lot of fun if so.

 

[MayauMiao]

How the hell is this studio is still around? The last time I played a game by MM is Little Big Planet, and I got bored real quick with that overhype game.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Just because people want more creative games doesn't mean they have to like MM's output which heavily relies on people wanting to actually "build things."

Fair enough although the question does become what's a desirable amount of building. Crafting things is fairly standard these days, but something like the systems of Tears of the Kingdom seemed mostly enjoyable by most. I think they're new project is something to at least keep an eye on to see what they have to offer.

 

[Markio128]

Dreams was awesome in many ways, but I thought the UI was bloody hopeless for most people. I recall trying to create a character in virtual space and ending up with what can only be described as a turd with eyes. If they'd have just allowed us to use a character builder like in most RPGs (but with more options), then it would have been so much easier to use. I spent most of my time creating music tbh, which was fun, but even the UI for that was in a 3D space. Madness that could have been genuine greatness.

The only game creator that I actually managed to create my own games on was SEUCK (shoot-em-up construction kit) on the Amiga. It was so simple to use. With a bit of out-of-the-box thinking I managed to create a fairly decent PacMan clone in a couple of evenings. You could shoot the ghosts, but every time you killed one, they came back stronger and faster.

I hope MM do continue with the creation aspect for their new game, but in a much more console-friendly way.