User-generated game content doesn't really excite me. I like to think it's because I appreciate the design skill and quality assurance testing that goes into content made by experienced, professional development studios, but I'm willing to concede that it may just be that I'm still bitter over Spore , which made it easy for players to make imaginative creatures but failed to provide anything particularly fun to do with them.
However, if I'm ever going to change my tune on user-made content it will likely happen when Sony's much anticipated LittleBigPlanet releases late next month. It promises to give us the power to craft characters, game objects, and even entire levels using highly accessible tools, then let us go to work sharing our custom made challenges with other members of the game's online community.
It sounds like an extraordinarily innovative project. I'm keen to see how it pans out.
In the meantime, I have to admit that I am having a bit of fun creating content in another Sony game: Buzz! Quiz TV, for PlayStation 3.
I've always been a fan of this series of trivia games, which offers players a selection of medium-difficulty questions pulled from a broad range of categories and throws in a bit of humour via the game's smarmy, muppet-mouthed host.
Its first instalment for the PlayStation 3 adds a new ingredient to the formula: User-made questions. Players can create their own eight-query quizzes on their PCs at mybuzzquiz.com, then upload them for other players to access in the game.
As to be expected, there is some chaff-I've run across quizzes with typos and factual mistakes-but players vet each other's q uestionnaires via a starring system that generally ensures the cream rises to the top. I've found well written and challenging quizzes about such diverse topics as European capitals, coffee liqueurs, and commonly misspelled double letter words.
However, I've actually had more fun writing my own quizzes than playing those made by others. It turns out I enjoy the process of thinking up craftily worded questions and devising multiple choice answers that will (hopefully) make readers think twice before deciding on a selection.
My one disappointment is that I've yet to create any quizzes that have been played by more than about a dozen people. The game was just released Tuesday, so even the most popular quizzes have only been played a few hundred times. Still, that's not much consolation for putting in the time and research required to write a good quiz no one ever sees.
With that in mind (and please excuse this bit of self promotion), I suggest to anyone who might happen to be playing Buzz! Quiz TV this weekend that they search out a quiz called "Dead Star Wars Characters." It's my best yet; you'll need to know your darths and fetts if you want to score well.