Plenty of collectible T-shirts, figures, and other items available

If you're heading out to PAX East next weekend, you probably have a lot of extra spending money anyway, so why not stop by the PlayStation Worldwide Studios Community Exchange? That's "booth #608" in layman's terms, at the Boston Convention Center ?running from April 11th through the 13th.

Team leads from Media Molecule, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, Sony Santa Monica, and Sony Xdev will be on hand for some good old-fashioned chats, and there's ?even an itinerary of things to do with the Sony family in addition to swiggity-swag you can purchase and schlep all the way home.

PlayStation will be offering a PlayStation Family Limited Edition PAX East 2014 shirt, limited to 500 total for $20 apiece. Make sure you get there early to fight each other to the death for one, or you could hit up Guerrilla for some sweet Killzone merch, includin??g a toothpick holder that looks more like a shotglass. You? could probably use it as a shotglass in a pinch. 

Naughty Dog will be showcasing some The Last of Us goods, with an Ellie Pinny, a couple limited-edition T-shirts in exclusive colors, and The Last of Us: American Dreams graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics. Sony Santa Monica and Sony Xdev will have some God of War, Hohokum, and Sackboy trinkets as well. Tearaway fans will want to check out Media Molecule for some sweet Tearaway action tha?t ?will also be given away in addition to being available for purchase.

inFamous Second Son fans will want to get their mitts on a limited run of a special Delsin statue going for $150. It'll be for sale?? one day only, with 77 units available on Saturday, April 12. So bring a lot of cash, or whatever.

Looks like there'll be plenty to drain your wallet if you're h?eading out to Boston next weekend. Let us know what you're planning on picking up, and bring me back something. 

PAX East 2014: PlayStation WWS Community Exchange [PlayStation Blog]

The post Come buy that for a dollar at PAX East’s PlayStation Community Exchange appeared first on Destructoid.

Even if it's related to some ho-hum downloadable content

Tearaway is a fantastic amazing title you PlaySt??ation Vita owners should already have in your collection. And I will take any excuse to sing the? praises of this game, even when there's some silly downloadable content released for it.

In this case, you can get some LittleBigPlanet themed gear now. It's 14 pieces of content for $2.99, which is a silly thing considering you can just create whatever design you want within the game. I mean people were designing characters based on Sonic, Link, Pikachu and more.

You don't need to buy the DLC. You DO need to buy Tearaway though.

The post ?Any excuse to talk about Tearaway is a great thing appeared first on Destructoid.

Interview with lead creator Rex Crowle

Earlier this month, I caught up with Media Molecule's Rex Crowle, lead creator on one of my favorite games of last year, Tearaway. My main goal was simple: to thank him for such a fantastic Vita game. But we ended up chatting about Tearaway's rece??ption, as well as some of the challenges that Media Molecule had to work through to bring us the final release.

I also repeatedly told him that they should make another Tearaway game.

After thanking Crowle for Tearaway, I asked him how he thought the game fared. The Vita platformer was well received, and made it onto many Game of the Year lists last year. We loved it.

"I've kind of been pleasantly surprised how well it has connected with people," Crowle told Destructoid. "Kind of more than I thought it might. It was ??kind of a risk to rely on it pressing the special feelings button on people. It's very hard to judge whether that is w??orking until you're done."

"Obviously we're kind of known for making charming games that people make some connection with. But with this one I? really wanted to go a little bit deeper. It's not just whimsical, there's more of an arc in what happens with reuniting yourself with the in-game character, and with the ending and all of that stuff."

Tearaway garnered early attention from its distinctive visuals, which were built with Media Molecule's custom game engine. But this came engine only after trying other solutions; none of them worked for what they were trying to do with Tearaway's folded-paper look.

"It was difficult in the early period where so much of it hinges ?on the paper engine. It was all custom built and there was no way we coul?d use anything existing," said Crowle.

"We had a proto??type engine to try out ideas, which was kind of an isometric thing. But it just pushed us in the wrong direction. It was just wasted time to try to make anything in that engine."

Crowle continued: "If you're making a game out of paper it just looks like cubes. It was only when we actually had managed to get it far enough along that we were all given our sheets of virtual paper and could all start cutting and folding, that's when it really... well, the first fold was a revelation." [head explosion hand gestures]

I told Crowle that I think the game's box art didn't seem to serve the game; it didn't reflect how unique Tearaway?? really is. The artwork is nice, but any static screensh??ot of the game as a cover would probably have served the game better.

Crowle whispered, "I didn't like the cover."

"I think what's fun is seeing how we gradually subverted what someone might think they're getting. I think a lot of people have been surprised, thinking it's the kind of you know, the old THQ or Disney tie-in. It's got kind of a young appeal t?o it. And actually, when they start playing, they're like whoa. Straight off, you're b??eing asked how you want to be identified, not just the sort of pink and blue boy/girl buttons or things like that."

One of the neatest aspects of Tearaway is that you can earn papercraft p??rojects as in-game rewards. You're able to print these and assemble them, adding your own touches along the way. Crowle recalled what they were going for with this choice.

"We try to create? these loops in game design, feeding into another thing. But, ultimately, they are all just digital things, and they don't mean anything really," Crowle said.

"I think it's also not just that you get it out, but you've got to make it yourself. So it's going to look a bit different. When we were ?experimenting earlier on, and the game wasn't looking as good as it could, it was a really good moment to just get everyone to make squirrels. And although everyone was making the same plan, everyone had put the ey??es slightly different. Some people had used too much glue, and others not enough. Even though we all started with exactly the same template, they all looked subtly different. And that really helped us get the look."

I asked Crowle if they considered other external interactions for Tearaway, suggesting that som??e kind of musical tie-in would have been great. This had him recalling something he wanted to do, but ultimately couldn't implement.

"Something I really wanted to put in the lab section was the idea of the way you could encode information into paper," he explained. "Not by writing on it, but with the old hole punches. And also the player piano rings. I really wanted to be able to punch holes in paper and then print them out and make music with them. That was p??retty out there as an?? idea to try to tell everyone to go spend an extra six months on that."

With as well as Tearaway was received, I asked if Media Molecule would consider making another game?? along these lines. He seemed to want to keep as vague as possible in his answer.

"We put a lot of work into it. I think what we've made is a complete thing it's? not like it's a to-be-continued kind of thing. But, obvi??ously, we want people to see it."

As we ended our talk, Crowle said that Media Molecule is really pleased at how well Tearaway was received, and mentioned how much they enjoy seeing messages fr??om fans online.&nb??sp;

"It has been interesting g??oing online in a weird, stalkerish way, reading everything that everyone has been saying."

"It's really cool to see the love."

The post Media Molecule on?? the challenges of making Tearaway appeared first on Destructoid.

Not fade away

You bought Tearaway, right? What am I saying? Of course you did. It was an exemplary new IP like we always ask for, a triumph of imagination and creativity, a boon to the Vita, and as low as $20. There would be little reason not to.

Well, then you definitely know firsthand just how good the idiosyncratic soundtrack is, including a Paprika parade-like fanfare, folky dubstep, and more. You can buy it on the PlayStation Store today for $8. Pretty good price for an OST.

The post Tearaway’s lovely soundtrack is on sale now appeared first on Destructoid.

Tearific

I was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room, lost in my Vita because doctors are terrible timekeepers. 2:00 pm means 2:00 pm, life-saving scumbag. Suddenly, I was looking at dimly lit tartan chairs and an old, wri?nkled man with a mustache of frayed steel wool.

When I realized it was the seats and man across from me, a hole ripped open in the waiting room, spewing shredded strips of paper, and I fell into the papery world of Tearaway.

Tearaway (Vita)
Developer: Media Molecule
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: November 22, 2013
MSRP: $39.99

Tearaway is a duet. It stars the messenger, Atoi, and the You -- you. Through the Vita’s unique features, you can directly interact with the world. As the powerful You, the forward facing camera places your face in the sun, like the creepy Teletubbies sun god baby. Y?our fingers actually pop up through the ground in certain areas as you caress the rea?r touch pad.

Your presence in the narrative is contextualized and, what’s more, it doesn’t cause any weird disconnect as Tearaway’s world and yours interact. You’re tasked with taking real world pictures for various applica??tions, using the touch screen to interact with platforms, and poking nasty beasties called Scraps. Once, an elk that had lost her color asked me to fashion her new fur. I took a picture of my cat, asleep on my lap, and his white and black pattern covered the elk. She loved it. In fact, she started a trend. Other elk in the area started wearing it, too.

More often than not, though, you control Atoi with typical 3D platformer controls as you navigate lovingly constructed, fanciful environments. The touch controls are fun fl??ourishes that supplement the platforming, which has some bite to it, though forgiving checkpoints keep things? moving forward.

Beyond platforming, you’re engaged in a host of activities, like throwing gophers in basketball hoops, playing soccer with squirrels -- they use their hands, the dirty cheats -- and taking pictures with a variety of lenses and f?ilters. I'm always shooting #nofilter, but I appr??eciate the wide angle and high speed lenses. There’s even a selfie button. It’s the year of the selfie and I'm okay with that.

What elevates Tearaway above competent and novel game mechanics is its holistic world and endearing sincerity. As you play through three narrated story arcs, there’s a feeling of grand adventure without losing the small, personal moments and touches at every turn. It’s reminiscent of games like Wind Waker and Psychonauts in that regard, filled with c?ool characters and dynamic locales. The windswept, stormy harbor town of the second act, replete with salty fishermen and scientists, is full of impressive breaking waves and a lived-in feeling tavern.

Whether you’re riding a pig, scaling an intimidating mountai??n, or cutting out a custom crown for the squirrel king, there’s a simultaneous sense of intimacy and the feeling you’re penning a proper adventure through your actions. There’s just so much heart to the game. The sincerity is infectious and insurmountable.

At the base of the mountain you have to scale, you’re asked to make snowflakes. Every once in a while, you’re tasked with heading over to the cutting room floor and making ob?jects out of sheets of construction paper, as if you’re a kindergartener. It’s fabulous. But I struggled in crafting my perfect little snowflake. It just wasn’t coming out how I envisioned it in my mind’s ?eye. Fed up, I drew a crude, pink middle finger. Rendered in game, the alpine scene looked stunning and my puerile, lazy middle fingers came across as gorgeous cherry blossoms. The game doesn't let you be cynical.

Following in the footsteps of my other favorite Vita game, Gravity Rush, there’s even a bizarre, surrealist third act that is all kinds of reality warping. It goes from eerily quiet and desolate to a shimmering desert that’s equal parts Journey and the Simpsons episode where Homer hallucinates in the desert on chiles and goes on a spiritual?? journey with a coyote voiced by Johnny Cash. Without getting too spoiler heavy, the tale reaches a surprisingly poignant, affirming end. I was left mi??sty eyed.

The game is such a technical and artistic marvel, not unexpected from the inventive team that made LittleBigPlanet. That love of creation shines through. You can outfit your messenger with pieces and parts you buy with in-game funds,?? or go crazy and carve unique things out of paper yourself. The camera is surprisingly fleshed out. You can even unlock instructions for paper craft models you can make in real life.

Tearaway is endearingly original. Its big picture narrative is about story-telling, about how certain stories have been told to death, and how we can tel?l better ones. “Goblins?�the narrator asks when pondering the enemies to throw at you at the ??beginning. “No,�is the answer, and instead you get the Scraps, boxy, one-eyed creatures that appear to be composed of old newspaper clippings.

Everything just works so well in unison. The soundtrack is delightful and odd, at times reminiscent of Paprika’s parade fanfare with its lively horns. The world, put together in paper scraps, is unbelievable in its artistry and function. Tearaway’s paper water and ripples as you walk throug??h it are more impressive than any realistic water graphics I’ve ever seen. The level of unique detail in the world is staggering. Every moment spent immersed in it is heartwarming. Fittingly, it feels positively handcrafted.

The post Review: Tearaway appeared first on Destructoid.

Head of audio Kenny Young goes behind the music

Every time I see a new aspect of Tearaway in more detail, I'm just taken aback by how incredible of a game it's shaped up to be. Today is no exception, because Sony has posted a new video as part of a series of behind-the-scenes videos for the title. This on??e's presented by Media Molecule's head of audio Kenny Young to talk about the sound and ?music design.

The video features a taste of the music in the game, and I think the best word to describe it is pleasant. One specific example (which Kenny himself points out), is seemingly way out of left field -- a folk-ish dubstep track. It sounds odd, but within the context of Tearaway somehow it just works. Now I see why the soundtrack is available as a p?re-order bonus.

The post Here’s a taste of the incredible music in Tearaway appeared first on Destructoid.

Well, virtually at least

A new video for Tearaway explains the fundamental idea behind the paper in the game. The rea?lly freaking cool part about it all is that every individual piece inside the world is virtual paper, folded up exactly to the artists' specifications. Graphic programmer Mark Zarb-Adarmi laughingly jokes that it's "all very tricky." I don't think anyone will be arguing wit??h that anytime soon.

The video then goes on to explain the natural progression from LittleBigPlanet's push to have the player create things within the game, to Tearaway's push for the player to recreate the game in their outside world. Since everything can be created from a single sheet of paper, a new community portal called Tearaway.me (currently not li??ve) was created so players can share their papercraft plans with everyone.

Considering all the insanely amazing things that came out of LBP, I absolutely cannot wait to see what the community will come up with when they get their hands on Tearaway come November 22, myself included.

The post All of Tearaway is constructe?d from one sheet? of paper appeared first on Destructoid.

Those pesky standards strike again

Media Molecule's anticipated 3D platformer Tearaway is taking a bit longer to wrap up than or??iginally expected. The studio announced a one-month delay today, pushing the papercraft Pl??ayStation Vita title all the way back to November 22, 2013.

This is good news if the end result is a better game -- especially when Tearaway could end up being among the best Vita games of the year -- but darn if the revised release doesn't cut into the busiest season made even crazier by the launch of two new consoles. In the meantime, we can all make some papercraft while we wait. Well, you can -- I'm ter?rible at thi??s stuff.

Tearaway Release Date Update [PlayStation Blog]

The post Media Molecule moves Tearaway into November appeared first on Destructoid.

Plus there's rideable pigs! RIDEABLE! PIGS!

Tearaway is one of my most anticipated games of the year now thanks to some recent hands-on time. It's a wonderful little platformer that makes use of all the Vita's features in creative ways. It al??so has quite the wonderful soundtrack, which will be given to you if you pre-order the game. 

Pre-ordering Tearaway will also get you the iota and atoi costumes for LittleBigPlanet, a?n exclusive skin for the game's rideable pig (with matching printable papercraft plan), iota and atoi avatars, and a PlayStation Vita wallpaper.

All these bonuses will be available through participa??ting retailers such as GameStop. Oh, and trust me, you're going to want to own this so??undtrack.

The post T??earaway pre-orders will include the wonderful soundtrack appeared first on Destructoid.

'To you'

Remember Iota, the lead character of Media Molecule's upcoming Vita game Tearaway? We learned today that ?he has a female counterpart named Atoi. You clever bastards have already figured out that her name is Iota's name spelled backwards, but her name also means "to you" in French.

To you? Like?? Iota, heroine Atoi also has an envelope head that contains a unique message for you, the player. You'll have to play the game to competition to read what this messenger has to say. 

In starting Tearaway, you'll b??e able to pick between the two messengers to travel with you on your journey. 

The post Tearaway gets a female messenger, named Atoi appeared first on Destructoid.

In an interview with the gents at Media Molecule yesterday at gamescom, they pointed me to a link where the crazy, spotted paper elk from the Tearaway could be downloaded (pdf file). You might remember this guy from the debut trailer for Tearaway, which was revealed at Sony's press conference. They said that they would love for you to build yours and share it with them on Facebook or Twitter.   

What's fun is that this papercraft project isn't just a one-time thing for Tearaway. Technical Director Alex ?Evans explained that they have this concept where players will be rewarded with the papercra?ft plans of the characters they meet in the game. 

Evans: "As you go through -- if you want to, and not everyone will do it -- but if you want to you can print this stuff out and fold it. I love the idea that someone goes to your desk and i??s like 'whe?re did you get the squirrel with the lance?' and you say that it's in a really hard part of the game."

Weird? Certainly??, but it's also a very creative idea that plays into their theme of havi??ng the game's paper world and your surroundings connected.

Read more on that in our gamescom interview with Media Molecule on Tearaway, coming later today. 

The post gamescom: Download your papercr??aft Tearaway elk now appeared first on Destructoid.