14 DAY TRIAL // While some games rely on downloadable content to extend their lifespan, others are a little more intimate with the game's community and make fans take part in its post-release creation process. This is usually achieved through the outing of mod tools, or editors, that allow users everywhere to add a little something to the game and become part of the developing team, having the original crew simply supervise their actions, and offer some degree of quality assurance.
The concept may be a little bit shrewd, leaving the fans to put in a lot of work for credit that is usually given to the game and its developing studio, but since it's the fans themselves that reap the benefits of this work, it's a “total no harm, no fault” situation.
One such game that relies greatly on the community is LittleBigPlanet, and the developers at the foundation of the game, Media Molecule, have decided that it's about time fans that have supplied the game with endless content should receive some proper recognition.
As such, the last few weeks of 2009 were spent by the studio looking through every piece of user-made content and giving the "Sackadamy Awards” where one is needed. The titles of Best Gameplay in a Level, Best Use of Story in a Level and Best Innovative Creation have already been handed down, but the big Best Level the Year award is still up for grabs.
Since it's the community who got the most out of each new level of LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule has decided the fans themselves are the ones that should decide who is the “king of the hill.” While complete democracy is synonymous with chaos and anarchy, the one thing that the developers did do was to narrow down the number of potential candidates, from 1,5 million levels to just 1 potential winner and nine runner ups.
The vote can be cast on the game's official site, and the lucky candidate should be announced on “the first week of January,” so if you have a favorite, you should hurry up and let your opinion be known.