Film influence in games are slowly but surely becoming the norm and LittleBigPlanet 2 is no exception. Level designer Christophe Velledieu from Media Molecule stopped off in Toronto to discuss the new title’s inspirations as well as its potential for folks interested in making games.

“Just think of Sackboy as Bruce Willis,” Velledieu tells Playback Daily with a laugh, referring to the game’s main playable character, a customizable and cuddly stitched protagonist. Among a long list of other influences, action films like Die Hard were most definitely top of mind while developing the second iteration of this popular Sony PlayStation franchise.

“Not everyone has the same vision of the world,” Velledieu remarks, referring to the fact that everyone at Media Molecule brought a different expertise to the table. As an example, one of his team members came from a professional film & TV animation background, which helped add more detail and flair when animating Sackboy, like spinning jumps for that extra bit of flair.

LittleBigPlanet 2 also happens to be Velledieu’s first game, having come from a web design background. In fact, his recruitment shows the power of PlayStation’s network.

The first LBP allowed users to create their own levels that others players around the world can explore – to date, there have been more than a whopping three million user-generated levels since LBP debuted in 2008, selling more than four million copies worldwide – and gamer Velledieu submitted his share of levels, which found their own popularity among fans around the world. The next thing he knew, Media Molecule had tracked him down via his PlayStation Network ID and offered him a job.

While being a professional game designer doesn’t hurt, the roust level creation tool in LBP2 lets folks from any experience level flex their creative muscle. In fact, the new game actually allows users to create not just levels, but their own playable games, including a music sequencer for composing your own tunes. Not a bad little package for anyone looking to explore game creation.

LittleBigPlanet 2 is now available exclusively for PlayStation 3.