It was only a matter of time before some of the levels created by LittleBigPlanet owners overstepped the boundaries of taste and copyright ownership. Unsurprisingly Media Molecule is already having to take action and, to the annoyance of some members of the wider gaming community, has removed certain levels entirely.

Well, as the ultimate publishers of the offending content, it’s either that or face whatever legal or public outcry onslaught ensues. Either way we’re not entirely shocked that Media Molecule has had to resort to such seemingly draconian measures and we don’t blame them for doing so either. We’re just a little surprised they didn’t see this one coming months ago. Then again you could have said that about the Islam-offending soundtrack and the server issues…

Fair play to Media molecule, though - they’re doing their best to tidy up before things get too out of hand:

"We're reviewing the moderating system currently to provide better feedback on why levels are moderated," says a spokesperson on the game’s official forums. "Primarily, any level that is reported using the grief tool will be checked over by a moderator, at which point they'll examine it in line with the EULA (End User Licence Agreement). If a level is found to be in violation of the EULA it will be moderated and you'll receive a message to that effect."

So you’ve been warned, albeit rather gently, and MM’s advice if you don’t want all your hard work to go to waste is to avoid making anything that might be deemed “unsuitable for users of all ages and copyright content.” As a basic interpretation of that, levels removed so far have included LittleBigVersions of Metal Gear Solid, The Legend of Zelda, Batman and Scrubs. We also played (and rather enjoyed) a ‘tribute’ to Mirror’s edge recently. That's probably been taken down by now.

But Media Molecule aren’t about being mean-spirited or limiting the almost limitless creative potential of their amazing toolset. Thus clearer guidelines are being drafted detailing the parameters of acceptability alongside more fulsome advice on how to avoid such problems in the first place.