The Nitty Gritty of the LEGO games
Ever wondered what it takes to build a LEGO game? Here’s how the crew at TT Games manage to bring LEGO to life…
Ever wondered what it takes to build a LEGO game? Here’s how the crew at TT Games manage to bring LEGO to life…
Keep it real
Did you know that every construction in every LEGO game can be built in real life? Sure, it would probably take a while (not to mention a whole lot of LEGO), but technically, it can be done!
To be sure to keep everything authentic, designers at TT Games will often build constructs using real LEGO before creating them digitally, giving a real hands-on feel to the finished games. They also try to use actual models from existing LEGO playsets whenever possible, as seen in The LEGO Movie 2 Video Game.
Size matters
As well as the ability to build everything from scratch, everything you see within the LEGO games must also be built to scale around the actual models, such as this fearsome T-Rex from LEGO Jurassic World. Sometimes this might look a little different from the iconic movie scenes the games are based on, but that’s all part of the charm!
The team’s LEGO Construction Artists (definitely a job title worthy of envy!) pack those immersive environments with interactable assets, set pieces and design puzzles, all of which are shown in actual size. And with an extensive digital library of over 3,000 different LEGO pieces, it’s important to know your parts!
And finally…
Have fun!
This might just be the most important part of the entire process - sharing the joy of LEGO with the players. And the games are certainly designed with fun in mind.
Anyone who’s ever played a LEGO game can appreciate the playfulness and imagination that went into their creation. They’re jam-packed with quirky humour and hidden surprises, along with plenty of funny references in their many movie adaptations.
Whether we’re reliving movie magic or exploring the immersive LEGO Worlds, we’re grateful that the makers of the LEGO games stay young at heart.
Sources:
Working in Games: TT Games and LEGO Jurassic World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1hVFo7SwsI
Brick by brick: how Lego embraced video games: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/jul/12/lego-video-games