Weekend Contest:The Mystery Microchip [extended]

Wow,time flies,doesn’t it? It’s 2011 already,and on Monday the LittleBigPlanet 2 Beta will be over.

In honor of the occasion,we here at LiBiPl.net have come up with a little contest to run over the weekend.  You see,we accidentally ordered two extra (North American) Collector’s Editions of LBP2,and want to make sure they each find a good home.

So we’ve published a level on the LBP2 Beta servers called “Mystery Microchip”(http://beta.lbp.me/v/pv7s),containing a microchip we spent a little time putting together.  Your task is to figure out what the microchip does,publish a locked level using it appropriately,and send the level key a message to PSN ID LiBiPlNetContest before the beta servers go off-line midnight GMT (7pm EST) Sunday night.  The first two levels received will each win one LBP2 Collector’s Edition.

Important Notes:

• This is not an official Media Molecule or Sony sanctioned contest.  I am not receiving the game early,so the prizes will be shipped to the winners on January 18th at the earliest.
• Although I cannot promise overnight or expedited shipping,I am willing to send these to the winners wherever they are in the world;this contest is not limited to North America.  However,any customs issues are purely the responsibility of the winner.
• Obviously this is limited to current LBP2 Beta participants;no,we do not have any Beta keys.
• Employees of Media Molecule and Sony are discouraged from entering,although I’d love to hear if any took a look (and how quickly they figured it out).

Saturday Update:

• Sorry for any delay in responding to friend requests so that keys can be sent;unfortunately it’s a manual process.
• So far we’ve had a couple interesting entries,but no definitively correct ones.  A few hints:
  • Although there’s likely a simpler solution,there isn’t a bunch of “extra logic”in the chip.  I.e.,it’s not a simple circuit made deliberately complex.
  • There are eight “inputs”,one “output”,and a binary “state”.  The one I shared has an initial state of “off”,but that needn’t be the case.
  • One versed in the appropriate sciences may recognize the implementation quickly;what it’s implementing is old and frequently published.
  • What the microchip is attached to may be a clue itself.

Sunday Update 1:

• Some clues have been added to the level itself!  A randomizer and some keys reveal some of the chip’s behaviour in an artificial setting.

Sunday Update 2:

• Clues will be added to the level throughout the day up to the deadline.