PlayStationSpot

Hello again, PlayStation.Blog Readers!

I’m here to give you the latest update on echochrome for PS3. If you have the game, hopefully you’ve been enjoying the top user-created levels, as chosen by the developers themselves. These levels are available for a limited time only, so once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Thirty free, new puzzles are making their way to your PS3 over the next two weeks, starting Thursday. And to salute those of you in the USA and Canada, 29 of the 30 puzzles originate from North America (one from Malta!).

The entries continue to roll in, and some of the names are familiar – meaning some of you are getting good at this!

Once again, these additional levels will appear at random in freeform mode depending on the difficulty level you’ve chosen. The difficulty level is represented by the bars at the bottom right of the loading screen between freeform levels, and the difficulty for the next level can be set while the next level is loading by pressing left or right on the d-pad. Levels are picked randomly from all levels in your “gallery”, “portfolio”, and user created levels. Remember that in freeform mode, levels that have not been cleared are selected first – so if you’re specifically looking for one of these new levels, you may need to skip forward until you find the one you want.

We’ve updated our flickr page with the new layouts, including credit for those who put in the time to make these interesting and complex puzzles. The difficulty level of each puzzle is also noted if you click on the individual puzzles. If you’re feeling inspired to create your own echochrome levels, here’s how to do it.

Hello again, PlayStation.Blog readers. I’m back with another echochrome extra-level update. Twenty free, new puzzles are making their way to your PS3 over the next two weeks.

The first ten will appear beginning tomorrow, and the second set of ten will debut in another week. So if you haven’t played through the last set of free levels – now is the time! And if you haven’t downloaded this crazy perspective puzzle game from the PLAYSTATION Store yet, what are you waiting for?

Once again, the additional levels will appear at random in freeform mode depending on the difficulty level you’ve chosen. The difficulty level is represented by the bars at the bottom right of the loading screen between freeform levels, and the difficulty for the next level can be set while the next level is loading by pressing left or right on the d-pad. Levels are picked randomly from all levels in your “gallery”, “portfolio”, and user created levels. Remember that in freeform mode, levels that have not been cleared are selected first – so if you’re specifically looking for one of these new levels, you may need to skip forward until you find the one you want.

We’ve updated our flickr page with the new layouts, including credit for those who put in the time to make these interesting and complex puzzles. The difficulty level of each puzzle is noted on the flickr page as well. If you’re feeling inspired to create your own echochrome levels, here’s how to do it.

Look for more in the coming weeks!

Hello PlayStation.Blog readers. It’s Kumi again with an echochrome update. Last time around I showed you how to play and create new echochrome levels. I hope you’re ready for some new challenges, because 20 (yes, twenty!) new puzzles will be made available to PS3 echochrome players between May 15th and 21st.

The additional levels will appear at random in freeform mode if you set your difficulty level to 2 or 3. The difficulty level is represented by the bars at the bottom right of the loading screen between freeform levels, and the difficulty for the next level can be set while the next level is loading by pressing left or right on the d-pad. Levels are picked randomly from all levels in your “gallery”, “portfolio”, and user created levels. Remember that in freeform mode, levels that have not been cleared are selected first.

There was a comment in the last blog post asking if there is any recognition if your design is chosen for the incentive, and the answer is yes! I will reveal the creator’s PSN ID for every new level being distributed, starting with this week! To whet your appetite for these new challenges (and maybe even spark your imagination!), I’ve include screenshots of the levels as well. Just click on the screens to see the creation’s name, author and the country of origin. Look for more in the coming weeks!

So take a look and start planning now. Your fellow gamers certainly didn’t make things easy for you!

Hello again, PlayStation.Blog Readers!

If you haven’t already downloaded echochrome (it went live during Thursday’s Store update), you’ve got 56 brain-busting, perspective-spinning puzzles ahead of you. If anyone out there has already managed to clear all the levels, these people are looking for you. Still, you’ve hardly seen all echochrome has to offer. Aside from *another* 56 levels to be found in the other version of echochrome (both the PS3 and PSP editions contain unique level sets), you can also play the best levels your fellow gamers have created.

When you boot up the PS3 version of the game and sign in online, you may be prompted to download new content. These new, free updates contain the top user-created levels, hand-selected by the developers themselves. There will be new levels available on a regular basis, but they will only be available to play until the next group of levels is up. So be sure to check in regularly for more content – or you may miss out!

Additional levels will appear at random in freeform mode. Remember that in freeform mode, levels that have not been cleared are selected first.

Now, if you want to see if you have what it takes to create a custom level that might be good enough to get picked by the developer for distribution to PS3 owners everywhere (or if you just want to mess around and see what kind of crazy creation you can make), then keep reading.

To start your own custom level from scratch, go to the main menu and select “canvas.” You’ll start off on a blank canvas, and your builder icon will appear as a red box in the middle. Use the thumbsticks to rotate the camera (and R1 button to go faster), just like the game itself. Move the cursor with the d-pad on a 2D plane (up/down, left/right) based on where the camera is looking (rotate the camera to move in a different direction), and use the X button to put pieces down. If you want to erase a piece, use the O button. A handy feature is the Square button, which will jump the cursor to the closest built area.

You start off with the default path piece selected. To change to different pieces, such as stairs, holes, fans (jump pads), echoes, and the start point (mannequin character), press Triangle, select with left and right on the d-pad, and X when you are at the piece you want to use. Pressing the O button while the selection menu is open will cancel and back you out to the piece you were just using.

Every level has to have 3 things: a start, pathways, and a goal. The mannequin piece acts as the starting point for the level. You can build pathways with as many gaps, obstacles, and bends as you like. The goal is to reach the echoes, or shadow guides. These are like markers that you have to guide the mannequin to. So you’ll need at least one of these. You can place up to four echoes anywhere in the environment, while the fifth and final echo will always appear exactly where you place the mannequin character.

Before you can do anything else with the level, you will have to make sure it can actually be cleared or completed. So open the pause menu and select “test play.” This will let you attempt to get through your own creation to see if it can actually be completed. If it can be cleared, you will be prompted to save it. You can also add a name to your level from “title” in the pause menu.

Now, if you’re not feeling very creative right off the bat, and want some help getting started, you can go to the gallery, where all the pre-made levels that shipped with the game are, and press the Triangle button on one of them. This will copy it over to your portfolio, where you can edit it all you like to make it more challenging, easier, whatever.

Once you create a level and successfully test it, you’re ready to send it off. To do this, go to the portfolio menu and select the stage you want to send by pressing the X button. In the PSP version, you can select the “send” option, which will let you send the level to someone over Ad Hoc. If you’re playing the PS3 version, you’ll have two options. One is “send” which lets you enter the PSN username of the person you want to send the level to. The other option, “upload,” allows you to send the level to the developers. And if they really like your level, it may be distributed to everyone with the PS3 version of the game! Pretty cool, huh?

The game can get pretty challenging on the bigger, more complex levels. To help you out, if you go to the “etc.” option from the main menu, there’s a tip section with useful bits of information. There are other hidden secrets and advanced techniques waiting to be found in echochrome. What have you figured out so far?

Hello again, PlayStation.Blog Readers!

If you haven’t already downloaded echochrome (it went live during Thursday’s Store update), you’ve got 56 brain-busting, perspective-spinning puzzles ahead of you. If anyone out there has already managed to clear all the levels, these people are looking for you. Still, you’ve hardly seen all echochrome has to offer. Aside from *another* 56 levels to be found in the other version of echochrome (both the PS3 and PSP editions contain unique level sets), you can also play the best levels your fellow gamers have created.

When you boot up the PS3 version of the game and sign in online, you may be prompted to download new content. These new, free updates contain the top user-created levels, hand-selected by the developers themselves. There will be new levels available on a regular basis, but they will only be available to play until the next group of levels is up. So be sure to check in regularly for more content – or you may miss out!

Additional levels will appear at random in freeform mode. Remember that in freeform mode, levels that have not been cleared are selected first.

Now, if you want to see if you have what it takes to create a custom level that might be good enough to get picked by the developer for distribution to PS3 owners everywhere (or if you just want to mess around and see what kind of crazy creation you can make), then keep reading.

To start your own custom level from scratch, go to the main menu and select “canvas.” You’ll start off on a blank canvas, and your builder icon will appear as a red box in the middle. Use the thumbsticks to rotate the camera (and R1 button to go faster), just like the game itself. Move the cursor with the d-pad on a 2D plane (up/down, left/right) based on where the camera is looking (rotate the camera to move in a different direction), and use the X button to put pieces down. If you want to erase a piece, use the O button. A handy feature is the Square button, which will jump the cursor to the closest built area.

You start off with the default path piece selected. To change to different pieces, such as stairs, holes, fans (jump pads), echoes, and the start point (mannequin character), press Triangle, select with left and right on the d-pad, and X when you are at the piece you want to use. Pressing the O button while the selection menu is open will cancel and back you out to the piece you were just using.

Every level has to have 3 things: a start, pathways, and a goal. The mannequin piece acts as the starting point for the level. You can build pathways with as many gaps, obstacles, and bends as you like. The goal is to reach the echoes, or shadow guides. These are like markers that you have to guide the mannequin to. So you’ll need at least one of these. You can place up to four echoes anywhere in the environment, while the fifth and final echo will always appear exactly where you place the mannequin character.

Before you can do anything else with the level, you will have to make sure it can actually be cleared or completed. So open the pause menu and select “test play.” This will let you attempt to get through your own creation to see if it can actually be completed. If it can be cleared, you will be prompted to save it. You can also add a name to your level from “title” in the pause menu.

Now, if you’re not feeling very creative right off the bat, and want some help getting started, you can go to the gallery, where all the pre-made levels that shipped with the game are, and press the Triangle button on one of them. This will copy it over to your portfolio, where you can edit it all you like to make it more challenging, easier, whatever.

Once you create a level and successfully test it, you’re ready to send it off. To do this, go to the portfolio menu and select the stage you want to send by pressing the X button. In the PSP version, you can select the “send” option, which will let you send the level to someone over Ad Hoc. If you’re playing the PS3 version, you’ll have two options. One is “send” which lets you enter the PSN username of the person you want to send the level to. The other option, “upload,” allows you to send the level to the developers. And if they really like your level, it may be distributed to everyone with the PS3 version of the game! Pretty cool, huh?

The game can get pretty challenging on the bigger, more complex levels. To help you out, if you go to the “etc.” option from the main menu, there’s a tip section with useful bits of information. There are other hidden secrets and advanced techniques waiting to be found in echochrome. What have you figured out so far?

Hello again, PlayStation.Blog Readers!

If you haven’t already downloaded echochrome (it went live during Thursday’s Store update), you’ve got 56 brain-busting, perspective-spinning puzzles ahead of you. If anyone out there has already managed to clear all the levels, these people are looking for you. Still, you’ve hardly seen all echochrome has to offer. Aside from *another* 56 levels to be found in the other version of echochrome (both the PS3 and PSP editions contain unique level sets), you can also play the best levels your fellow gamers have created.

When you boot up the PS3 version of the game and sign in online, you may be prompted to download new content. These new, free updates contain the top user-created levels, hand-selected by the developers themselves. There will be new levels available on a regular basis, but they will only be available to play until the next group of levels is up. So be sure to check in regularly for more content – or you may miss out!

Additional levels will appear at random in freeform mode. Remember that in freeform mode, levels that have not been cleared are selected first.

Now, if you want to see if you have what it takes to create a custom level that might be good enough to get picked by the developer for distribution to PS3 owners everywhere (or if you just want to mess around and see what kind of crazy creation you can make), then keep reading.

To start your own custom level from scratch, go to the main menu and select “canvas.” You’ll start off on a blank canvas, and your builder icon will appear as a red box in the middle. Use the thumbsticks to rotate the camera (and R1 button to go faster), just like the game itself. Move the cursor with the d-pad on a 2D plane (up/down, left/right) based on where the camera is looking (rotate the camera to move in a different direction), and use the X button to put pieces down. If you want to erase a piece, use the O button. A handy feature is the Square button, which will jump the cursor to the closest built area.

You start off with the default path piece selected. To change to different pieces, such as stairs, holes, fans (jump pads), echoes, and the start point (mannequin character), press Triangle, select with left and right on the d-pad, and X when you are at the piece you want to use. Pressing the O button while the selection menu is open will cancel and back you out to the piece you were just using.

Every level has to have 3 things: a start, pathways, and a goal. The mannequin piece acts as the starting point for the level. You can build pathways with as many gaps, obstacles, and bends as you like. The goal is to reach the echoes, or shadow guides. These are like markers that you have to guide the mannequin to. So you’ll need at least one of these. You can place up to four echoes anywhere in the environment, while the fifth and final echo will always appear exactly where you place the mannequin character.

Before you can do anything else with the level, you will have to make sure it can actually be cleared or completed. So open the pause menu and select “test play.” This will let you attempt to get through your own creation to see if it can actually be completed. If it can be cleared, you will be prompted to save it. You can also add a name to your level from “title” in the pause menu.

Now, if you’re not feeling very creative right off the bat, and want some help getting started, you can go to the gallery, where all the pre-made levels that shipped with the game are, and press the Triangle button on one of them. This will copy it over to your portfolio, where you can edit it all you like to make it more challenging, easier, whatever.

Once you create a level and successfully test it, you’re ready to send it off. To do this, go to the portfolio menu and select the stage you want to send by pressing the X button. In the PSP version, you can select the “send” option, which will let you send the level to someone over Ad Hoc. If you’re playing the PS3 version, you’ll have two options. One is “send” which lets you enter the PSN username of the person you want to send the level to. The other option, “upload,” allows you to send the level to the developers. And if they really like your level, it may be distributed to everyone with the PS3 version of the game! Pretty cool, huh?

The game can get pretty challenging on the bigger, more complex levels. To help you out, if you go to the “etc.” option from the main menu, there’s a tip section with useful bits of information. There are other hidden secrets and advanced techniques waiting to be found in echochrome. What have you figured out so far?

Hello PlayStation.blog readers. It’s Kumi! First, I wanted to thank everyone for reading my last post announcing the free demo for echochrome.

So as promised, I am back to tell you just when you can get your hands of the full version. echochrome will be available for you to download this THURSDAY, MAY 1 on the PlayStation Store for the PS3 and via the PC Store for the PSP. Both versions will be available for $9.99, so make sure you have funds in your wallet! There are 56 unique levels on the PS3 version, as well as 56 completely different levels on the PSP version (112 levels overall), so no matter if you are sitting at home or on the go, there are plenty of puzzles for you to wrap your brain around.

If you did not see my last post and are wondering “What is echochrome?” It’s a fun and addictive puzzle game with really elegant and simple graphics. The concept is inspired by the famous MC Escher artwork, which explores infinity, architecture and impossible constructions. In echochrome, you control the camera and perspective on an infinite canvas, guiding a mannequin figure by carefully tilting and turning the level to create a continual pathway, allowing your character to walk safely through the design. Also, there is a Canvas mode, where you will be able to create your own puzzles from scratch and share them with your friends, or even the world! You can still download the demo for free and sharpen your skills before taking on the full version when it is released on Thursday.

Stay tuned to the Playstation blog, because later this week, I will give you some tips on creating your own mind-bending levels to play and share with friends, as well as details on getting the top user-created levels each week for free (on the PS3 version). It blew 1UP’s mind … now it’s your turn.

Hello PlayStation.Blog Readers! My name is Kumi Yuasa and I am the Associate Producer for the upcoming PSN game echochrome. This is my first post on the blog, and I’m excited that my debut here on the blog is to announce that free PS3 and PSP echochrome demos will be available for download tomorrow on the PlayStation Store on the PS3. The PSP demo version will also be available for download on the PlayStation Store for PC.

Perhaps you have read about echochrome here, here, here or even here. There is a lot of excitement for it - N’Gai Croal of Level Up even wrote, “…as of last E3, the 2008 game we’ve been looking forward to the most is echochrome.”

It’s a fun and addictive puzzle game with really elegant and simple graphics. The concept is inspired by the famous MC Escher artwork, which explores infinity, architecture and impossible constructions. In echochrome, you control the camera and perspective on an infinite canvas, guiding a mannequin figure by carefully tilting and turning the level to create a continual pathway, allowing your character to walk safely through the design. Puzzled?!? Check out this video and you’ll see what I mean!

There is no single way to get through a level in echochrome. You and your friends will find different ways to clear levels so each time you play will be different.

The demos you can download tomorrow will take you through a brief tutorial and give you the basic idea of how to progress through the puzzles, but I wanted to also tell you what to expect when the final game is available for download in May. In addition to the 56 exclusive levels for each of the PS3 and PSP versions of echochrome (112 unique levels overall), you will be able to create your own puzzles from scratch and share them with your friends, or even the world!

On PS3, you can upload your created levels to the developers through the game’s interface. Once uploaded, your creation will be considered by the developers for a future downloadable content release. In other words, if selected, people around the world could be playing your level!! Additional content will be available from Day 1. Initially, however, these levels will come from Japan or Asia since the game has been out there for a while already. We’re not exactly sure when we’ll start including US players’ levels, but we’re excited and waiting for customized levels from all of you!! You can also share the levels with your friends by sending your creations directly to them over the PlayStation Network. Stumping your friends is REALLY fun!

And for the PSP version, you can share the levels you create with other people in your area via wireless Ad Hoc. Cool, right?!?

Well, there will be more to come on echochrome soon, including some great wallpapers for your PS3 and PSP. But in the meantime, be sure to download the free demos tomorrow and give them a whirl! And let us know what you think!