GDC 2011: User-generated missions surge into Infamous 2

Infamous 2's New Marais is missing something. To be fair, the New Orleans-inspired city is rife with opportunities for protagonist Cole MacGrath to refine his electrical abilities, but it's impossible to shake the feeling that something is amiss. Shadowy military organization? Check. Open-world gameplay? Check. Thousands upon thousands of new missions? Wait, what?

Evidently, developer Sucker Punch Studios is bestowing total creative freedom upon Infamous 2's players by bundling its mission-creation tool suite with the game for its June 7 release. What's the result? Infamous 2 features seamless user-generated content within New Marais that provides a palpable opportunity for endless replayability and a chance for budding designers to show off their chops.

A diverse range of mission styles is available for users to choose from: Defense, escort, search and destroy, survival, shooting gallery, and platforming were just some of variations revealed by Sucker Punch during its announcement. The developer isn't burying these options in an obscure sub-menu; custom objectives will sit prominently in the city, rubbing shoulders with officially developed missions, and color-coded markers will signify their user-generated origins.

Flexibility is the crux of Infamous 2's array of user-creation assets. Sucker Punch explained that the process of formulating new tasks is entirely visual, with a simple drag-and-drop interface comprising every aspect — from spawning exploding barrels to tweaking enemy behavior. And for those who are a little antsy at the prospect of building a quest from scratch, Sucker Punch allows players to remix and alter existing mods (with due credit given to the original author, of course).

Fans can judge content using a rating system that focuses the library of user-generated levels with sets of filters based around popularity, rating, or type. If a level achieves enough public affection, it receives greater and greater accolades. The "Famous" tier is where the most accomplished designers will wind up, but the ultimate distinction is "Sucker Punch Featured Content," an elite selection of finely crafted experiences handpicked by the team. These missions will appear, by default, in everyone's game world.

The levels the developers showed me during a brief hands-on session exhibited how a creative spark can dramatically change the Infamous 2 experience. One example had Cole perched atop a concrete bridge with waves of enemies bolting for escape below. The goal was to stop them by any means necessary. Another objective involved racing against the clock through a series of floating rings hovering above buildings and grind-able power lines. The last instance cranked up the quirkiness by tasking the player with lobbing explosives at enemies surrealistically positioned around a looming clock tower on floating platforms.

Ultimately, Sucker Punch's decision to hand the spotlight over to the players is an ambitious move — especially because people seldom laud third-person for their sandbox qualities. But that's not stopping Sucker Punch from plowing ahead. Details for a limited public beta will appear on the game's official website on March 14. Better get those level ideas percolating!