With all the news that came out of Gamescom last week, excitement for LittleBigPlanet 2′s Move Pack – Rise of the Cakeling – seems to be building. I’ve seen a lot of questions getting repeated across Twitter, the PlayStation Forums and various other places so I thought I’d do my best to collate the answers to some of these into one handy post. If any others crop up I’ll update this article with any new information I come across.

Use the jump links below if you want to skip to a specific question. If you want to share that specific answer on Twitter, Facebook, forums or elsewhere, you can copy the link from your browser’s address bar and whoever uses it won’t have to scroll through the article to find the right bit!

When will the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack be released?

The LBP 2 Move Pack will be released in the PlayStation Store and LittleBigStore on

• Tuesday 13th September in North America (and other Sony Computer Entertainment America territories)
• Wednesday 14th September in Europe, Australia, New Zealand (and other Sony Computer Entertainment Europe territories)

What’s the LBP 2 Move Pack called?

What’s commonly referred to as the “Move Pack” is officially called “LittleBigPlanet 2: Move Pack: Rise of the Cakeling”. Snappy.

What’s the Rise of the Cakeling story about?

Rise of the Cakeling takes place after the events of LittleBigPlanet 2′s main story. The Negativatron has been defeated and Craft World is safe again… but not for long! [cue dramatic music]

Victoria has developed a new contraption – the Brain Crane – to help the Sackbots rebuild their village but inevitably, not everything goes to plan. One of Victoria’s delicious cakes transmorphificises-es with the Brain Crane, gaining all it’s energy, enabling it to manipulate the world using the power of its mind (it’s yummy, cream-filled mind). Sackboy must put an end to the Cakeling’s rampage and restore peace to Craft World.

Will the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack be free?

No. Although some new tools will be released as part of a free software update at around the same time as the LBP 2 Move Pack. (see below)

How much with the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move pack cost?

UPDATE: The LBP 2 Move Pack costs just $9.99 / €7.99 / £6.29!

This hasn’t yet been officially announced but most people are speculating that the LBP 2 Move Pack will cost around £10 / €10 / US $11 / AUS $20 / NZD $21, considering the size and significance of the pack.

WTF?! Why does it say “PlayStation Move Features” on the LittleBigPlanet 2 box if I have to pay for an update to get those features?!

First off, cool your jets hot-shot! That’s very rude. Grab a cup of tea and take a deep breath. You won’t get anywhere with that sort of attitude. Some might argue that Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves was included on the LBP 2 disc and that was the Move compatibility that the box alludes to. But I’d be inclined to agree with the majority who’d say that’s a pretty cheeky get-out. But don’t start RRRAAAAAAGGEEing just yet because the fact is, you don’t have to pay to use PlayStation Move in LittleBigPlanet 2! Huzzah! Read on…

Do I need to buy the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack to use Move in LittleBigPlanet?

No. You will be able to play all the user-created and original Story levels using the PlayStation Move without buying the Move Pack. As with earlier add-ons in the LBP series (the Paintinator from the Metal Gear Solid Pack or water from the Pirates of the Caribbean Pack) everyone will be able to access all the user-generated content no matter what DLC packs you own. However, you will need the Move Pack to create levels using the new Move tools and power-ups. You’ll also need the pack to play and earn prizes from the Rise of the Cakeling story levels. As with previous LBP level packs, you’ll also be able to access the levels by playing online with another player who owns the pack.

Can I play LittleBigPlanet 2 without PlayStation Move?

Absolutely! The LBP 2 you know and love is still there and whether you choose to buy the Move Pack or not, you can still play the game as normal using a standard controller.

How many new levels are in the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack?

The Rise of the Cakeling story spans 14 level seals/badges. This breaks down to:

• 5 story levels
• 7 minigames
• 2 cutscenes

What’s new in the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack?

Erm. Well, lots. As well as 14 new story levels (see above) there’s a whole new suite of creation tools, materials, stickers, music tracks and sound objects:

• The Brain Crane – A new power-up that can be placed into a level just as easily as say, the Paintinator or the Power Gloves. This is the most basic way to put Move functionality into a level. Creators can place one of these into their level in the same way they do with the Paintinator or the Power Gloves and when the player picks it up their Sackboy is given a magical hat which he can use to pick up and manipulate objects. You can also pick up your fellow Sackfolk and throw them around.
• The Moveinator – This is to the Move what the Controlinator is to the DualShock/Sixaxis. Placing one of these in your level will allow you to create highly complex games using all of the PlayStation Move’s outputs. Every accelerometer and gyroscope is at your disposal and can be hooked up to logic chips and movers.
• The Move Cursor – This new logic chip can be placed on a Moveinator to create an on-screen cursor which you can use to pick-up and move objects. You can even tweak the cursor to be any sticker you like. The Move Cursor would be all you need to create a game like Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves.
• Motion Recorder – A new creation tool that allows you to grab any object and record a motion for it to repeat. Unlike the existing Movers in LittleBigPlanet 2, the Motion Recorder can be used to give fluid, organic movements to objects.
• Move Paint – Like Photoshop for LittleBigPlanet… seriously! You can use Move Paint to create your own custom stickers using a variety of brushes. You can also use any sticker in the game as a stamp and combine them together into new works of art. As well as selecting from a large colour wheel, you can also use an eyedropper-style tool to pick and blend any colour from your painting.
• Sticker Panel – This is a new craft material that behaves a lot like the holographic material, but with some key differences. The Sticker Panel can be made completely opaque so stickers places on it look bright and crisp. With a little bit of logic, the Sticker Panel is perfect for creating animated stickers because (like the hologram material) its opacity can be changed or even turned off completely.

I have written about these in more detail in my LBP 2 Move Game Jam round-up, but some minor details may have changed since then.

So, you get all that as well as:

• 4 Interactive Music Tracks
• 8 Music Sequencer Tracks
• A new Sound Object containing 32 new sounds
• 17 new Music Sequencer Instruments
• A new level background
• 6 New Costumes
• 18 Materials
• 41 Decorations
• 13 Objects
• 66 Stickers

Can I play the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack levels without a PlayStation Move?

(Asked by Smb8 and Bob in the comments. Thanks!)

No. All players must have a Move controller connected. The game won’t let you into the Rise of the Cakeling story levels without one. You can however play community-made Move levels. Creators have the option in their Popit menu to make their level “Move recommended” but as the label suggests, this is just makes Move a recommendation – not a requirement. Turning this option on will display a new badge next to the level seal on the Creator’s planet, much like those shown against LBP 1 levels.

Can I use Move Paint or control the Brain Crane, Moveinator or Move Cursor using a normal controller?

No. These new tools only work with the PlayStation Move. You can’t control them using a DualShock/Sixaxis. If you choose to play a “Move recommended” level (see above) without a PlayStation Move connected you’ll be able to pick-up the new tools but you won’t be able to do anything with them.

Does the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack come with new PSN Trophies and Pins?

Yup! There are 39 new Pins and 11 new PSN Trophies in the LBP 2 Move Pack:

• Avid Collector (Silver)
  Collect 100% of LittleBigPlanet 2: Move Pack prize bubbles
• Ace In The Pack (Silver)
  Ace all the Story levels in the LittleBigPlanet 2: Move Pack
• Path To Success (Bronze)
  Use the Motion Recorder to record your movements
• Accomplished Mover (Bronze)
  Complete 25 community levels that require the Motion Controller
• Diploma In Creation (Bronze)
  Complete all the tutorials in the LittleBigPlanet 2: Move Pack
• Locksmith (Bronze)
  Unlock all the LittleBigPlanet 2: Move Pack minigames
• Feel The Earth Move (Bronze)
  Publish a Motion Controller enabled level to the Earth
• Stick It To The Man (Bronze)
  Destroy the boss in Just Desserts
• On The Ball (Bronze)
  Complete The Tail of Claude The Field Mouse without dropping a ball
• On A Roll (Bronze)
  Complete Fast Food without losing a ball
• Self Portrait (Bronze)
  Use a painting as your avatar

What’s the difference between the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack and Creator Pack 2?

On 6th September, a week before the release of the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack, Media Molecule released a free software update for LBP 2. This software update contains some new tweaks and creation tools which will be available to everyone – even those who don’t buy the Move Pack. This suite of new tools is being informally referred to as “Creator Pack 2″ however unlike Creator Pack 1, you do not need to download anything from the PlayStation Store in order to access it. The new features will automagically appear once you install update 1.06 and start the game. You may now ask…

What’s in LittleBigPlanet Creator Pack 2 / software update 1.06?

The free LBP 2 software update 1.06 (commonly referred to as “Creator Pack 2″) contains numerous tweaks and new features, the main one of course being support for the PlayStation Move controller. This software update is all you need to start using PlayStation Move in LBP 2. On top of that, there are numerous other new gadgets to play with:

• A new Speed Sensor tool which outputs speed/scale signals representing how fast an object is moving in the up/down, left/right or all directions.
• A new Rotation Sensor tool which outputs a speed/scale signal representing how fast an object is rotating.
• A new Angle Sensor tool which outputs a speed/scale signal representing an object’s orientation.
• A new tweak to Bounce Pads which will allow creators to choose whether they’re activated automatically when a player steps on them (as they are now) or if the player has to press X to activate it.
• A new tweak to Score Givers to allow creators to set score multipliers.
• A new tweak to the water projectile which allows creators to change its colour.
• A new tweak to the Magic Mouth which allows you to set an character’s name and have it be displayed above the speech bubble.
• A new area in the Global section of the Popit menu to allow you to set recommended minimum and maximum players for your levels. This won’t actually stop too many players entering a level but will display a warning of some sort.
• An enhancement to the Music Sequencer to allow the use of triplets (this means very little to me but the musically minded will like this I’m sure).

Can I play old/non-Move LittleBigPlanet levels using the PlayStation Move?

Yes, you can play all 5-million of LBP’s levels using Move. All of the existing power-ups (Creatinator, Paintinator, etc) are compatible with the Move. Many people have even said that they’re more fun with the PlayStation Move. And this also means that you won’t have to constantly switch between the Move and a standard DualShock controller while playing LittleBigPlanet. Win!

Can I play local/online multiplayer with PlayStation Move?

It wouldn’t be LBP if you couldn’t! Just as with standard DualShock/Sixaxis controllers, LittleBigPlanet 2 will support up to four-player online/local/mixed multiplayer. You can even slap your fellow Sackfolk by gestruring with the motion controller. Just be careful not to slap any cats that may be sat next to you on the sofa… or humans I suppose… but I’m mainly worried about the cats.

Will I need a PlayStation Move Navigation Controller as well as a PlayStation Move?

No. Some (small-handed) people might find it more comfortable to use the Move Nav Controller but the LBP 2 works just as well with the Move in one hand and a standard Sixaxis or DualShock controller in the other. Trust me, I’ve played it this way and it’s not nearly as cumbersome as it sounds. You’ll get used to it in five minutes.

Can I animate Sackboy’s/Sackbots’ limbs or puppets using the PlayStation Move?

(Asked by Jordan and Montague in the comments. Thanks!)

Like with the DualShock/Sixaxis, you can animate a Sack’s head or hips by tilting the Move controller and wave by holding down the shoulder buttons. You can’t however record specific animations for each limb using the PlayStation Move. What has been talked about though is the ability to create marionette-style puppets using the Motion Recorder; You could create a ragdoll-like puppet by bolting together individual limbs, then grab each each limb and record a motion for it using the Motion Recorder. This is a great way to create realistic-feeling character animations as each of the joints will react to the movement of the other joints.

Media Molecule’s Kengo Kurimoto briefly demonstrated this animation style at Gamescom. You can watch a video of it here. (look around the 4:45-mark) Notice how the Motion Recorder is only attached to Victoria’s hand, but her whole body reacts realistically to the motion. You could attach additional Motion Recorders to her head and other limbs and record motions for those too.

IGN writes about the possibility of using this method to learn about “actual principals of character animation like anticipation (if a character is going to swing their fists forward, their body must lean back first, followed by the arm, then the fist all moving into the swinging forward motion)…” You can read IGN’s preview of the LBP 2 Move Pack here.

Can I create levels in LittleBigPlanet 2 using the PlayStation Move?

LBP 2′s Create Mode will have some PlayStation Move functionality, however you won’t be able to do everything using the Move alone. You can’t, for example, ‘draw’ craft material objects using the Move, as some people were hoping for. There are some new Create tools that only work with the Move. The Motion Recorder object will allow you to grab any object and record a motion for it to repeat. You’ll also be able to draw custom stickers using the Move Paint tool.

Can I haz some pictuerz?

Of course you can! :)

Well, that’s about it for now. If you have any more questions about the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack, please leave a comment below and I’ll to my best to find out the answer.