Three new playable characters will be introduced to the LBP lineup.

The PlayStation exclusive franchise, LittleBigPlanet, announced its upcoming next gen installment, LittleBigPlanet 3 during last week's E3 convention. The game is known for its masterful use of physics, quirky scenery, community-driven content and, of course, its burlap hero: Sackboy.

Releasing on the PlayStation 4 this November and the PlayStation 3 at a later date, Sackboy will be joined by three new characters: Oddsock, Toggle and Swoop. Each serves their own unique purpose and will make co-op mode infinitely more dynamic.

XDev's Pete Smith shared some tidbits about the new trio of characters over on the PS Blog:

Oddsock
"There’s Oddsock, who’s a four-legged character. He’s not quite a dog; he’s more… well, he’s just an odd sock! Oddsock can wall jump and wall slide, and is really fast.

"Once you play the Oddsock levels and start nailing your jumps, it’s really fluid and much quicker than the familiar LBP gameplay. It’s a very different experience – we didn’t just want him to be Sackboy on four legs, we wanted him to be his own unique character."

Toggle
"Toggle can be big, or he can be small. Toggle started off as just one character – big Toggle – but it didn’t quite give you enough combinations, and that’s what LittleBigPlanet really needs.

"What we like in LBP is that we want everything to be very intuitive, so when he’s big he’s strong and heavy, and when he’s small he’s light and quick – it’s obvious. When you play the game it feels really natural – you’ll instantly know where to use him, and it brings in a nice puzzle element.

"He also brings with him a hell of a lot of gameplay possibilities, especially when you start using some of the customisation features."

Swoop
"Swoop was the first one we came up with. He has a specific purpose – Swoop can fly, and he can access hard to reach places. One of the most useful things with Swoop is that he can pick things up – objects, but also the other characters, with the exception of ‘big’ Toggle."

Pete also had this to say about other ideas that didn't make the cut:

"Early on we had loads of different ideas. I was looking at some of the concepts the other day actually. The Sackworm didn’t last too long before he found himself on the cutting room floor!

"They all started out as silhouettes. They needed to be game changers, they need to be fully customisable, they needed to feel like they belonged in the world, and they needed to have personality. I think the final three characters have really struck that balance."

We can't wait to see what else LBP will bring to the table. Keep up with LittleBigPlanet 3 on the PlayStation Blog and the official site, and check out the trailer below!

Ann "Cyliena" Hosler, Managing Editor