Interview
SEAN VELASCO: DESIGNER/DIRECTOR, WAYFORWARD TECHNOLOGIES
One of the most highly anticipated Wii games of 2009, a boy and his blob is a brand new version of the classic NES platformer, released in 1989. We caught up with Sean Velasco, Designer/Director with developers WayForward Technologies, who partnered up with publishers Majesco to create this stunning remake of a touching tale of two friends and a whole lot of puzzles…
blob Basics
For players completely new to a boy and his blob, what sort of game is it? What can you expect from the storyline and gameplay?
A boy and his blob is a platform-puzzle game, pure and simple. This means that it has traditional platforming action, but it’s also packed with puzzles that make the player think.
The first thing a player notices are the incredible visuals. What inspired you to go in this direction artistically – were there any particular influences?
Marc Gomez, the art director on blob, is most responsible for the game’s look. We knew we wanted a game that was soft and friendly looking, with heartwarming characters to accentuate the theme of friendship that the game portrays. From there, it was easy to decide on a hand-drawn look reminiscent of animated features. Miyazaki and Disney are obvious influences, but I think we’ve come up with a great style all our own.
The boy is very cute but the blob also has a lot of personality for such a simple figure. How do you infuse a “blob” with such character?
Attention to detail! We had to nail down the blob’s role as the boy’s faithful companion. He’s a bit like a dog, but it’s important to understand that he’s also an intelligent alien being.
Art-wise, getting the blob’s actions across was a challenge considering we had only eyes and a gooey form to work with. We had a detailed style guide, which is a sort of cheat sheet of do’s and don’ts when drawing and animating the blob. With these materials, the blob’s whimsical nature came through in all of his actions and animations.
I can’t stress enough that the programming of the blob was also a large factor in his personality. Lead gameplay programmer Larry Holdaway has a real knack for details in the blob’s AI. Larry would put in touches that no one might ever notice; but when I would see the blob running from danger or chasing down butterflies when he got bored, I knew he had crafted quite a character.
Why did you introduce new jellybeans – what can they do and will we still see the jellybean flavours from the original game?
It’s a new game with infinite new possibilities; we had to have new flavours! We have 15 in all, about half of which are new. Some of my favourite new ones are the banana anvil, which you can use to squish enemies and hold down switches, and also the mint double, which turns the blob into a doppelganger that does everything the boy does!
How challenging is the game and where does the challenge lie? Is there only one way to solve a level or multiple options?
Initially, I think players were expecting a walk in the park because of the game’s visuals. However, this is not an easy game, especially in the later stages. Simply completing the game is much easier than getting all the treasure. There are three treasures in each level and they get absolutely fiendish in the later stages. On top of that, you have 40 challenge levels, which are usually more action-oriented, and you have a meaty experience to say the least. Overall, I think you could put it on par with getting 100% completion in Yoshi’s Island for SNES… but maybe blob is a shade tougher! That being said, you don’t have to collect the treasure if you aren’t feeling up to the challenge.
As far as the ways in which the player solves the game, there are multiple ways to solve many of the puzzles. I'm extremely interested in seeing speed runs of the game once the community has gotten hold of it.
Is there any content that is unlocked after completion or any special challenges for added replay?
I mentioned that we have the 40 challenge levels. Whenever you get all the treasure in a given level, it unlocks a corresponding challenge level. These levels are focused bits of gameplay that are shorter and tougher than the normal stages. Then, completing the challenge levels unlocks your bonuses; concept art, videos, and some other secrets! Overall, there is a really nice breadcrumb trail to follow for completionists.
What sort of enemies do we meet and in what kind of environments?
All the enemies you meet are the emperor’s minions, who have been sent out to defeat the boy and blob. They take many forms, from a bashing bull charger to a little guy that rolls up into a ball and coasts down hills. These enemies usually have to be outsmarted instead of fought hand-to-hand.
We have eight main environments, both on Earth and Blobolonia. You go to forests, caves, alien landscapes, and imperial palaces. It’s quite a trek with a lot of variety.
What’s your favourite part of the game?
That’s a tough one. Later in the game, you encounter some really fiendish switch puzzles using the blob clone; I really adore those parts. However, I also really enjoy the areas with the boy and blob in silhouette. The lighting effect in these stages really shine (no pun intended). There are too many facets… I can’t decide!
Are there any potential plans for a sequel? If not, can you tell us what you’re planning next?
We have tons of ideas to expand on the blob universe, including introducing some new characters and of course, refined transformations. I’d like to give the original game’s open-world structure a try as well. These quirky ideas seem perfect for another, smaller platform…
As far as other games go, WayForward has some killer stuff in the pipeline. This cycle is over, and now it’s time to gear up for the next! Get excited!
Development Details
A boy and his blob was a big hit on the NES back in the late eighties. What attracted you about the game and led you to create this new version?
I originally played the game as a kid and for some reason, returned to the concept. Having a versatile toolkit that’s used to solve environmental puzzles is a strong concept, and giving that toolkit a personality clinches the deal. At WayForward, we agreed that this franchise had legs and could be turned into an awesome game with our great talents in creating memorable platform games.
Did you get in touch with the developers of the original game or was this an entirely independent process? Did you meet any major obstacles as you moved from the concept to project execution?
This game was developed totally independently by WayForward and Majesco.
As far as problems go, we had quite a few to solve during development. A good example is what we call the “bean trail”. We have this predictive bean trail that shows you where your bean is going to land when you throw it. This lets you bank your shots and gives you more precision overall. This feature was developed because initially, players had a lot of trouble making the beans go where they wanted.
Another good example is making a game without an interface. You see, we wanted to keep text and other interface elements out of the game as much as possible, to keep the player from getting bogged down. From this idea came the concept of the boy’s hideouts, where he views his collected treasure and chooses levels. These hideouts have all the functionality of a menu system, except that they are seamlessly integrated into the game.
When a problem arises, the whole team chimes in and tries to come up with the best solution. Solving these problems cleanly and integrating them seamlessly into the game’s existing structure is one of my favorite parts of my job.
How has the game changed when compared to the NES version?
In too many ways to count! Everything is new, although we have kept many of the same elements like some of the same beans and locations. The three biggest changes, I would say, are improved player mobility and learning curve, the animated presentation, and the game’s flow being split into a level structure.
Anyone who played the original boy and his blob and is still playing games today is likely to have fond memories of the original title. How do you go about living up to the memories and meeting the expectations people might have of the franchise all these years later?
We’re confident that our knack for creating compelling gameplay will draw players in whether they have played the original game or not. That said, we have many nods to the original game that will make nostalgic players smile. From music to transformations to familiar locales; when you play this game you’ll fall in love with the boy and blob all over again.
WayForward has been creating games on many Nintendo platforms recently – Wii, WiiWare, Nintendo DSiWare, etc. You seem to have a knack for concepts that work well on your chosen system. How did you approach the Wii platform with regards to this project? Was it a natural fit and how much did you adapt the concept for the platform?
Majesco was the decision maker behind the platform, and the Wii console’s audience and capabilities are a totally natural fit. We knew early on that we didn’t want to use any motion control or IR for this game, and I think focusing on the traditional control interface really paid off. However, WayForward is always looking at how we can take advantage of the latest and greatest platforms; LIT is a good example of how we’ve used all of the features of the Wii; it was really a love letter to the system. On Nintendo DSiWare, the concept for Mighty Flip Champs could only be done with two screens.
Which other recent games on Nintendo systems have impressed you and why? Are there any other upcoming games you’re keeping an eye on that you find exciting?
Recently I’ve been addicted to Little King’s Story on Wii. It’s like Pikmin plus city building! It oozes charm and gets quite tough. Quirky titles like this need to be supported! What else… I just finished Super Metroid on Virtual Console for the zillionth time, this time in 1:45, which isn’t too bad for being so rusty. Super Metroid is one of my favourites of all time… what else? I just finished Earthbound for the first time, at the advice of Lead Level Designer Mike Herbster, who adores it. And now I’ve moved on to Mother 3, which I am enjoying, but it’s quite a depressing story so far. Whew, is that everything? As far as future Wii offerings, I’m looking forward to the purportedly more difficult Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Thanks for letting us fill everyone in on a boy and his blob. Look forward to it this holiday season!
