Trixel Diary | Billy's Journey

Hello, and welcome back to another Trixel Diary! A slightly different feature this month, as we take a dive into my own journey that lead me to become the Lead Writer for Trixel Creative projects such as Restitched and The Grandiose Tales of Cpt. Stuffy.

Humble Beginnings (2003-2009)

My journey starts way, way back in 2003. This is the earliest year I remember where I wrote my own stuff. I'd boot up my old Windows XP computer and write countless stories and poems on Microsoft Word 2003. They weren't good by any means, but I was only five years old. One of the many characters that I remember was a witch that got into lots of mischief, such as smuggling on board a pirate ship (Cpt. Stuffy predecessor anyone?).

In 2007 I began a YouTube channel, and explored this writing passion of mine further. I created loads of animations and characters with their own series and interweaving plot points (MCU eat your heart out). I may cringe when watching these old videos now, but looking back, I am incredibly proud of myself. I am still inspired by my drive to just be creative. Unfortunately I deleted most of these videos, but recently I've made an effort to track down the files and 'Archive' them on the original channel. You can view that channel with several of my animations here. For privacy reasons, the videos that actually feature myself aren't public.

A still from a video I created titled 'Wacky Zombie Gets A Present' from December of 2009.

Video Games (2008-2011)

In 2008, at the age of 10, me and my brother received a PlayStation 3 for Christmas. It was one of those original 80GB PS3s that looked a little like a George Foreman grill, and it was all that we had ever wanted since they were announced. I remember being so excited to finally delve into the sixth generation of gaming - constantly playing through the Wall-E video game that I'd also gotten that Christmas, and playing my brother's copy of Call of Duty: World at War when my parents weren't home after school.

A picture I took of my PlayStation 3 with my Nintendo DSi in 2009.

It was immediately after receiving the PS3 that I began looking for games to get for the system. As I mentioned, I was incredibly creative as a kid - so one game in particular caught my eye: LittleBigPlanet. I somehow came across the GDC 2007 demos and gameplay videos on YouTube and would watch them constantly. As a result, I sought to save up my pocket money so that I could buy the game - and did so in January of 2009.

I remember being absolutely awful at creating levels at this point in time. Like, really, really bad. I can't remember much from this time besides a level series of mine titled 'FISH', called as such because they repeatedly used a sticker that said... 'FISH'. Try as I might, I can't actually find any evidence of this sticker online (maybe it was just one big fever dream?). Anyway, in this level series, 'FISH' was the name of a disastrous airline that, over the course of seven levels, the player became the CEO of. If that sounds even a tad bit interesting to you then, believe me, it wasn't. In true LittleBigPlanet fashion, I think the sixth level was a bomb survival? Not exactly my best idea as a 10 year old...

Unexpectedly, I actually stopped playing LittleBigPlanet after this. I never saw myself getting back into it, until (for whatever reason, I can't remember why) I picked up LittleBigPlanet for the PSP. People poke fun at that game now, but if it wasn't for the PSP version of LittleBigPlanet then I wouldn't be where I am with Trixel Creative today. It drew me back into the series, and convinced me to put the PS3 game back into the system and complete the story, getting me properly hooked this time, and beginning my 11 year-long relationship with the franchise.

A still of me with my PSP in 2009 in a video I created comparing it with the DS Lite (yes, that is a Doctor Who pyjama shirt).

In LittleBigPlanet I joined a creation group (or 'clan' as they liked to be called) called 'Nation of Creation'. Unlike later LittleBigPlanet clans, Nation of Creation focussed on fine tuning member's abilities and skills. It annoyed me at the time that I wasn't allowed to work on the 'big' projects on the team (as I said, I was really bad at creating), but, looking back, it gave me that drive to better myself.

It would be years until I worked out my style of visuals in LittleBigPlanet - but at this point one aspect captivated my attention above the rest: logic. I would create many contraptions in Create Mode, figuring out how to craft things such as a music creation machine that I called 'Music Maker'.

Figuring Things Out (2011-2014)

2011 was the year that LittleBigPlanet 2 released, and that was a game changer. I remember finding out about the trailer in the LittleBigPlanet space on PlayStation Home in 2010 and repeatedly watching the trailer before showing it to my brother (who definitely didn't care).

Not long after LittleBigPlanet 2 came out, 'Nation of Creation' shut down, and I created my own clan called 'Creation Crew', though nothing really ever came of that. I would say that it was the precursor to T-Games though, which I eventually created in 2011. You can read all about that in a previous Trixel Diary called The Merge with T-Games here. Long story short, it was a creation team similar to Trixel Creative that was primarily based in LittleBigPlanet 2. 

Although I dabbled in creating levels in LittleBigPlanet 2, my main pride and joy were in-game 'consoles'. This new entry in the series introduced a plethora of new logic items and systems, which I constantly experimented with via these devices. I would create a 'Console' and a 'Cartridge' with a SDK for people to create their own games. They never got too popular (a few thousand plays per level), but there was a small community of passionate game developers, and it was lots of fun. I primarily stuck with this from June 2011 until December 2014.

Some logic that I planned out for a LittleBigPlanet 3 console. Image taken in 2014.

During this time, in 2013, a T-Games member by the name of Chunky104 created a level series called 'Evergreen Park'. I loved this series so much and wanted to create an expansion pack for it after primarily creating consoles for years, but unfortunately that never came to fruition.

Things would change when LittleBigPlanet 3 was released, though.

Fine-Tuning My Design (2014-2018)

As explained in the aforementioned 'The T-Games Merge' post, 2014 was the year that T-Games and Trixel Creative joined together to form a creative partnership. Additionally, after the announcement of LittleBigPlanet 3, all I wanted was a PlayStation 4. Without even explicitly asking for it, my Mum bought me one for my birthday in 2014. I was ecstatic, and remember playing through loads of games that night with my Mum and brother.

A picture I took of my PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360 as well as my friend's Xbox One at a game night in 2014.

With my birthday being in August, I then had a 3 month-long wait until I could get my hands on that copy of LittleBigPlanet 3. And you better believe, the day it came out in the UK, I walked straight into town (instead of getting on the school bus), bought it, and got the train back home - immediately putting it into my PS4.

A tweet I posted after buying LittleBigPlanet 3 on November 28, 2014. This is the inside of my school bag while on the train home.

I did create one small console in LittleBigPlanet 3 at first (which would eventually evolve into Trixel Creative's 'MusicPlayer' that released in 2019), but I was dead set on creating a level series. With the permission of Chunky104, I started work on a sequel to his Evergreen Park level series, titled Evergreen Park: Revenge of the Bubbles.

Concept art for Evergreen Park: Revenge of the Bubbles. Dated March 4, 2015.

Being my first ever proper endeavour into creating a serious level series (and feeling the pressure after receiving a Team Pick in the form of Traffic Panic! in November of 2014), I was dead set on making this level series just right. It took a total of two and a half years before Evergreen Park: Revenge of the Bubbles was released on May 17, 2017.

During development I was able to fine-tune what my style of creation was. After seeing so many amazing Team Picks and other creations from the LittleBigPlanet Twitter community, I was always trying to imitate. Eventually though, I let my own creation process lead. This really eased development, as I went with my gut and followed my own intuition. This series was monumental for me, as it made me realise just how much I loved crafting player-driven narratives. Whereas other level series in LittleBigPlanet that I was inspired by often focussed on gameplay, with Revenge I prioritised the story. There were cutscenes, scripts and actors.

The community's reaction was mixed at launch, but it eventually became a much-loved level series, even becoming an addition to the LittleBigPlanet 3 Team Picks.

Even after Revenge's launch, I kept writing for the series. I was dead set on creating a comic series for Evergreen Park, and this, along with additional ideas from Evergreen Park, would eventually go on to inspire future projects (can you guess which?).

A Year Away (2018-2019)

In 2018, I set about the biggest adventure in my life. Without knowing anyone I was going with, or anyone who was there, I took part in a year abroad programme for my University degree - studying in the United States of America for a year.

With no PlayStation and a faulty laptop that broke as soon as I got there, this year marked a changing point in my story.

Wanting to fine-tune my narrative abilities further, I wrote several plays, lots of poems, and a truck-load of music. Additionally, Trixel Creative was undergoing development of a now-cancelled LittleBigPlanet fan-game titled LittleBigPlanet Unzipped at the time, and I was the Lead Writer.

Using elements from the aforementioned unreleased 2013 Evergreen Park expansion pack, combined with fresh, new ideas, LittleBigPlanet Unzipped marked the first time I was to lead the writing for a full game. Sadly, Unzipped never saw the light of day, but that didn't hinder my drive to write the story for a full video game.

Due to my lack of communication (as a result of the aforementioned broken laptop and a phone without a plan), I was pretty inactive from Trixel Creative at this time, much to the dismay of my fellow Directors (though, of course, they understood). Things would change when I got back, though.

Stitching Restitched (2020-2022)

Not too long after my return in 2019, development on Restitched began. Halston was (and still is) the Project Lead for Restitched and, due to my inactivity, several narrative points for Restitched were established before I joined the project. With my creativity bursting, it wasn't long before I equipped myself with a new laptop and began my creative endeavour into the Restitched universe, though.

Taking the already-established plot points (such as some worlds), I began stitching (pun intended) everything together. Creating characters, plot points - some even inspired by scrapped Evergreen Park ideas - and motives.

The beginnings of the Restitched Story document.

I am so excited for our community to explore the fantastical world that is Restitched. The story brings thrills, twists, and much more. I really feel like it is a culmination of all of my work up to this point.

Remember that Evergreen Park comic I mentioned earlier? No narrative plot points were re-used, but the idea of a comic would eventually evolve into The Grandiose Tales of Cpt. Stuffy, which I am also extremely proud of. It's also a nice call-back to my original creative endeavours from 2003-2009, specifically the pirate ship-based witch book that I wrote. I think of it almost as a kind of tribute to my younger self.

Of course, I can't talk about Cpt. Stuffy without shouting out the brilliant Ari Muńos Marín, who illustrates the whole thing. That is a talent beyond my realm of capabilities, and they do such an amazing job.

2020 also marked an additional milestone for me, as a play that I co-wrote received an arts award with a £2,000 grant to bring the play to an established festival. Unfortunately COVID has delayed this until 2022, but I am so excited to see this project continue to mould.

Present Day (2022 Onwards)

We are still fine-tuning the narrative of Restitched - these things have a way of evolving as we continue to figure out the creative boundaries for the game. I am also continuing to write several plays, poems, and music in my spare time. They really allow me to express myself, even though I know I will never publicly share 99% of them. It's so therapeutic, and I really recommend it as a way of release for those that have never tried it. It might just be your thing too.

In February of 2022, Trixel Creative officially became an LLC - meaning I am now officially a company owner at the age of 23 (another thing that I 100% did not expect to be doing, but am actually really proud of myself for). I cannot believe how far I've come from making stupid FISH levels in LittleBigPlanet.

And there we are, that's my story! For those of you that have made it this far, thank you so much for joining me on this journey through my life. I know this is very different from a lot of our other posts, and that it won't be everyone's cup of tea, so I really do appreciate you taking your time to read though this feature. It was a lot of fun to reminisce, write, and delve deep into my photo collection.

Looking back and seeing my progress, I am so excited to see what the future holds. I hope you join me in this excitement as we look forwards to the many potential Trixel Creative projects that are yet to come.

Thank you again,

Billy.