LittleBigFairy Tale *SPOILERS*

OK here's the deal,

I'm interested in creating a large scale narrative within the confines of LittleBigPlanet. I hope to make a multi-stage storyline in which sackboy plays the role of the fairy-godbeing within a fairy tale. I'm going to document my creative process via this thread. I hope to involve the creativity of the GWJ community throughout the process as well.

If you don't want to know anything about the project, but would like to see the finished project, I'll post periodic updates in the LBP Catch All.

Right now I'll put out my basic brainstorming and current thoughts, and we'll see how things evolve from there.

Basic concept:
I want to make an original fairy tale as told through the eyes of the fairy-godbeing. Sackboy will engage in various activities in order to protect and help a pair of young children from birth to happily ever after. Each level will play out a scene from the lives of the two young wards. The first level will be birth, in which the prince and the princess are delivered to their castles as infants. Sackboy will play the role of the 'stork' in this level completing goals in order to deliver the babies to their respective castles.

The major theme will be about the children growing up separately and then finding each other and true love in the end.

How you can help:
Any particularly clever platforming ideas you'd like to see? any thoughts for the story somewhere between birth and happily ever after? Any great levels I should look at for inspiration? Any inside GWJ jokes that should be slipped into the levels? Any suggestions at all?

A few quick notes:
I will not begin production on the first level until I've completed the single player games so that I can gather as many materials as possible
I'll update this post with a basic outline as the story starts to come together.
I'll post YouTube videos of progress periodically.

The Outline (so far):
Level 1: Sackboy acts as a stork in order to to bring an infant prince (Sole Scuro) and infant princess (Bella Luna) to two separate castles in the middle of the night.
Level 2: Sackboy helps Sole become a hero.
Level 3: Sackboy helps Luna as she runs away from home.
Level 4: Sackboy helps Sole to fight the dragon Gaald and free Luna
Final Level: Sackboy helps prepare for the wedding of the Prince and Princess.

EDIT TO ADD: Goals of this project:
1) To create a multi-stage narrative within LBP.
2) To document the creative process.
3) To allow a creative community to engage in that creative process.

Four and a half words for you: Dannon Light 'n Fit Smoothie.

My mind usually doesn't go lowbrow but went straight there this time:

Puberty level: Must find and pop all the "zits" for the prince, all the while avoiding the ever rising red water until you locate a sheep which needs to be dropped down a hole that will stop the red water.

I'm thinking dragable "sponge" material for babies in bassinets and a catapult to launch them into a castle window...

If you're starting off at childbirth you could have a conveyor belt spit out new babies in the event of an accident... I know on the metal gear solid level i played I accidentally destroyed the PAL card and couldn't progress farther...

This sounds awesome. Also, this sounds slightly similar to an idea I had, except that my idea was only a single level that told the entire story. I've actually been trying to write the fairy tale for nearly a year, but could never get it right. Figured it might work better as an LBP level. Also, instead of a prince and a princess, it was originally about a unicorn with cancer.

As for ideas, I'd love to slay a dragon that is planning on kidnapping the princess. Slay him with a sword. I think it would be very interesting if the prince and princess went through their lives without ever knowing how Sackboy has helped them and without realizing how close they were to horrible events that were avoided because of Sackboy's interference. Also, if the story was also about Sackboy trying to prove his worth as a Sackman, you could end the level by giving him a big giant man-penis!

zeroKFE wrote:

Four and a half words for you: Dannon Light 'n Fit Smoothie.

I'm sure I'll manage to work that in somehow.

Elliottx wrote:

stuff

My, that went downhill quickly.

Sivok wrote:

I'm thinking dragable "sponge" material for babies in bassinets and a catapult to launch them into a castle window...

If you're starting off at childbirth you could have a conveyor belt spit out new babies in the event of an accident... I know on the metal gear solid level i played I accidentally destroyed the PAL card and couldn't progress farther...

Cool ideas. Good catch with conveyor belt idea.

Right now I have an idea in my head that the Prince and Princess will live in two very different kingdoms. The Princess I want to name Bella Luna as both a reference to this, and a sideways reference to Biancabella, an Itallian fairy tale.

I've yet to decide upon a name for the Prince but I'm thinking of making his kingdom underground, while she lives in a beautiful kingdom above ground.

I'm thinking of having you float the princess down from the sky into her castle. Then work your way through underground tunnels to deliver the Prince.

I like the overworld/underworld thing.

The prince's name could incorporate the word "Sol" into his name, just to highlight the differences between the two of them. (Luna vs Sol) Maybe Sole Scuro? (Literally "Dark Sun" in Italian, which has the benefit of being a homonym pun)

Mecha's idea with slaying a dragon with a sword is pretty cool too. Maybe you could incorporate one of those magnetic switches, where the key is in the tip of the sword, and you have to figure out how to get the sword to pierce the lock in the dragon's chest, which would trigger a dissolve block that held the dragon together. Or blow him up.

Also, cannibalism! All the best fairy tales feature cannibalism!

Well, I guess I got the name for my Prince picked out. Sole Scuro it is.

MechaSlinky wrote:

Also, cannibalism! All the best fairy tales feature cannibalism!

MechaSlinky your suggestions alternate between brilliant and terrifying. I haven't yet decided what category 'cannibalism' falls into.

Also I've come up with a rough idea for stage progression.

Stage 1: Infant delivery, both
Stage 2: Helping the Princess with a problem during her youth.
Stage 3: Helping the Prince with a problem during his youth.
Stage 4: Helping the Prince save the Princess (possibly from a dragon)
Stage 5: Making sure the wedding goes off without a hitch.

Any thoughts?

You must work Dustin Hoffman into Stage Five.

BALLROOM DANCING!

AmazingZoidberg wrote:

Also I've come up with a rough idea for stage progression.

Stage 1: Infant delivery, both
Stage 2: Helping the Princess with a problem during her youth.
Stage 3: Helping the Prince with a problem during his youth.
Stage 4: Helping the Prince save the Princess (possibly from a dragon)
Stage 5: Making sure the wedding goes off without a hitch.

Any thoughts?

You forgot to work in the obligatory 'run away from home' sequence in there. You could slip it into the princesses youthful problem (i.e. the point of the level being to help her escape or something) and this is how she comes to be in the clutches of the dragon.

Really, being a fairy god parent is all about manipulation.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:

Stage 4: Helping the Prince save the Princess (possibly from a dragon)

Bah! The Princess should save the Prince.

Katy wrote:
AmazingZoidberg wrote:

Stage 4: Helping the Prince save the Princess (possibly from a dragon)

Bah! The Princess should save the Prince.

Double Bah! The Princess should save the Dragon!

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

Double Bah! The Princess should save the Dragon!

Triple Bah! The princess should be the dragon!

Stage 3: The young prince becomes aware of his evil uncles plans to kill him off and become the sole heir to the throne. For some reason i envisage this happening on a banquet table amongst giant chicken legs and wine, while the player endevours to get poison in the evil uncles food... that could be because i'm hungry though.

Also, if you're looking for a writer for the text bubbles in this giant pile of awesome you're creating, or for words-as-background, I'd be TOTALLY down. I can't commit DEVELOPMENT time, but I can commit to writing words to go around your story-line, if that's something you have any need for. But you may already have this in the bag, looking at it.

Duoae wrote:
doubtingthomas396 wrote:

Double Bah! The Princess should save the Dragon!

Triple Bah! The princess should be the dragon!

Quadruple Bah! The Dragon should eat the Princess and marry the Prince!

Can there be alternate endings? I think this should happen if you fail the Dragon level.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:
Katy wrote:

Bah! The Princess should save the Prince.

I totally understand where you're coming from. At this point I'm torn between creating something very traditional in structure and creating something that attempts to re-arrange conventions.

I have a soft spot for "the princess saves the day" stories, and for stories that play with expectations, as well.

Way back in the original post, you asked about inside jokes... perhaps Sackboy will need to avoid a "fairy princess" tag, somehow. More amusing, of course, because he is the fairy godperson.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:
Katy wrote:

Bah! The Princess should save the Prince.

I totally understand where you're coming from. At this point I'm torn between creating something very traditional in structure and creating something that attempts to re-arrange conventions.

I think my solution for now is to stick with traditional, but make sackboy the central character, so that neither the prince or the princess are really in control.

These days, it you want to be unconventional, you should have the Prince save the Princess.

I can't remember the last time I saw a movie in which the guy saved the girl from anything. Usually he's out there getting his arse beat up only to open the door to her cell and finding her sitting on a pile of dead guards, filing her nails and asking "what kept you?"

AmazingZoidberg wrote:
ToeKnee79 wrote:

Stage 3: The young prince becomes aware of his evil uncles plans to kill him off and become the sole heir to the throne. For some reason i envisage this happening on a banquet table amongst giant chicken legs and wine, while the player endevours to get poison in the evil uncles food... that could be because i'm hungry though.

I love your mix of Hamlet and the Lion King, but I'm trying to avoid murder of any humans.

Wait, the Lion King and Hamlet were different stories?

Katy wrote:

Bah! The Princess should save the Prince.

I totally understand where you're coming from. At this point I'm torn between creating something very traditional in structure and creating something that attempts to re-arrange conventions.

I think my solution for now is to stick with traditional, but make sackboy the central character, so that neither the prince or the princess are really in control.

Duoae wrote:
doubtingthomas396 wrote:

Double Bah! The Princess should save the Dragon!

Triple Bah! The princess should be the dragon!

You guys be crazy. I love it. Perhaps for a stand alone, proof of concept level.

ToeKnee79 wrote:

Stage 3: The young prince becomes aware of his evil uncles plans to kill him off and become the sole heir to the throne. For some reason i envisage this happening on a banquet table amongst giant chicken legs and wine, while the player endevours to get poison in the evil uncles food... that could be because i'm hungry though.

I love your mix of Hamlet and the Lion King, but I'm trying to avoid murder of any humans.

rabbit wrote:

An offer to help.

I am honored by your offer. I will certainly take you up on it. With your literary genius at the helm, how could it be anything other than amazing? Text will probably be one of the last parts of the development process. What I'll probably do is put in placeholder text and when I complete a level I'll turn the placeholder text over to you and allow you to work your rabbit magic.

Katy wrote:

Way back in the original post, you asked about inside jokes... perhaps Sackboy will need to avoid a "fairy princess" tag, somehow. More amusing, of course, because he is the fairy godperson.

That is a funny idea. I was trying to think of a way to work "tags" into the storyline. The best I've come up with so far is to make the princes level about him having to earn a the right to gain a title, or tag such as "the brave" or "the not quite as wimpy as the last guy."

I just had an idea for a sequence I want to work in. Since the prince's kingdom is underground and the princesses' above ground I think it would be awesome to have them communicate through a well at some point. I imagine sackboy standing on a bucket going up and down and hearing one part of the conversation at the top of the well and a second part at the bottom.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:

I just had an idea for a sequence I want to work in. Since the prince's kingdom is underground and the princesses' above ground I think it would be awesome to have them communicate through a well at some point. I imagine sackboy standing on a bucket going up and down and hearing one part of the conversation at the top of the well and a second part at the bottom.

Perhaps Sackboy could be tasked with getting a message from one to the other, perhaps positioning a rocket that would shoot the message up through the well into the sky kingdom?

Oh, and I have to ask: Is the princess going to look like Cindy Crawford, while the Prince looks like a mole-man? (Hey, you asked for inside jokes)

As for GWJ inside jokes, the dragon should be named Gaald and should breath fire and get really pissed about how you're playing the game. I'm no Rabbit, but the dialog could go something like "What the... sonov... COME ON!"

Also, since Rabbit's writing for you, I think you're legally obligated to involve a game of hoop and stick, which could be really awesome in LBP, now that I think about it. Also, maybe you could use a flight sim to get the prince up to the flying kingdom?

But hands off an Elysium shooting "The bad Nazis" level. That baby's mine. You can have Ely kicking dudes into spikes, though.

Mole man prince, unlikely. He will certainly be pale, but not a mole man. Cindy Crawford princess, also unlikely. I don't find Cindy Crawford to be terribly attractive.

Dragon named Gaald, check!

Hoop and stick, check! I will have to work a reference in somehow. I can't say it will be playable, I'd have to figure out a way to make that work and relevant to the story.

Bad Nazis are all yours. And flight sims, I'm thinking not so much.

EDIT: updated the outline in the main post with new details

Phil Collins should make an appearance.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Phil Collins should make an appearance.

Not if I have anything to say about it. Although David Caruso will.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

Phil Collins should make an appearance.

Not if I have anything to say about it. Although David Caruso will.

Remember, it doesn't have to be a good appearance. Maybe he falls into a fire or something.

You might be on to something. I'll consider it.

Great outline so far... you need an epilogue of about an hour's worth of cutscene that's unskippable where they all have a party and awkward dance afterwards and the 'fairy sackmother' falls into the cake and everyone laughs.... Then (like in the great sonic and mario games) 'fairy sackmother' runs through the levels and you see all the NPCs waving as s/he goes by.

[edit] Oh and it must all happen to the ending theme tune to Golden Axe.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd9a65... (from about 2 minutes in)

M Night Shyamalan wrote:

And then at the end, you can show that IT WAS ALL A DREAM! Fooled you!

What a twist!