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NWR Interactive => TalkBack => Topic started by: NWR_DrewMG on January 21, 2010, 07:19:53 AM

Title: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: NWR_DrewMG on January 21, 2010, 07:19:53 AM

A second helping of Blob may be on the way.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20811

 In an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, WayFoward's Sean Velasco stated that he would be interested in returning to A Boy And His Blob for a future project.      

"Personally, I want to make a few small and crazy titles next," said Velasco, who directed the Majesco-published game. "Maybe some downloadable games? Another A Boy And His Blob game would also be amazing as the first one was such a great experience."      

A Boy And His Blob, a 2009 2D puzzle-platform hybrid for Wii, was well received for its cartoonish art style.      

"WayForward always has its heart in 2D," Velasco said of the game's style. "We are always expanding our horizons, but I would expect to see innovation, great characters, awesome game design and the loving attention to detail that we are known for."    

The rest of the interview with Velasco is available in the print copy of the Official Nintendo Magazine.

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: NWR_Neal on January 21, 2010, 03:34:18 PM

PLEASE MAKE A SEQUEL! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEILOVEYOUWAYFORWARDPLEASE!

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: broodwars on January 21, 2010, 03:34:39 PM

A game director wants to keep making more games in a series they've already invested a great deal of money doing the heavy groundwork on.  What a shocker.  It's nice to want things.  Well, I hope he follows through on his wish and makes another one, because A Boy & His Blob was an excellent (if somewhat flawed) puzzle-platforming game.

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 21, 2010, 03:47:14 PM

I still working on this game right now.
The entire 1st section was way too easy and things didn't even get remotely challenging until about halfway through the 2nd section. I just started the 3rd section (haven't even played the 1st level yet), but I'm hoping that for a sequel they allow you to carry all your jelly beans so that you have to figure out what to use and/or maybe limit how many of each bean you have.

One thing that is also missing from this game is a storyline. How did the kid know that the blob likes jelly beans and how did he know which jelly beans would turn him into what? They just throw you in a level with an unlimited amount of specific beans that you already know turn him into whatever is needed to get through that level.

I remember the original game being much much harder due to the fact tha you had to figure out what the beans do and which beans you need to use on your own. Not to mention that you only had a limited amount of beans at your disposal.

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: ThomasO on January 21, 2010, 08:12:24 PM

I finished the game a few days ago (all 5 bosses, still need to get all the chests and finish the challenge levels), and I really liked the game. It felt a bit like Scribblenauts, only with more polish and competency in mind.

If they do make a sequel, I would be pleased, but hopefully they fix some flaws I picked up:

• Loading screens. The game has 5-10 second loading screens, even for areas that you spend like 2 seconds (or less!) in. It really breaks the flow of the game, especially since the music stops during loading. They should optimize how the game handles its level data to make loading less intrusive.
• Save data. The fact that the game has fundamentally just one save file really limits the ability for other players to play the game also.
• The lack of explanation. I respect the game's risky decision to have virtually no text whatsoever, but it's a pain when you realize that some transformations have "other uses" that you could've used long ago, or took several tries to figure out how to control them (*cough*Parachute and Giant Ball*cough*). I suppose it helps with the "you're on your own" mentality the developers set up to make the puzzles more difficult, but a simple control icon quickly explaining something (a la New Super Mario Bros Wii and its [ (1) + (Shake Remote)] icon) would've been more effective. It feels like a game that if you lose the manual for, the learning curve is much steeper (though the manual didn't help with other than basic controls).
• Ambiguous bosses. The boss battles were the toughest not because of difficulty, but because it's rarely clear what you have to do. The second boss I defeated mostly on accident; I barely had any idea what I needed to do. The fact the boy dies after being scratched does not help either. And most of the time it's something cheap and you're like "WTF, I just had to do that?!" On a side note, making me walk through the walkway on the Emperor battle over and over was a pain.
• Backgrounds that blend too much with the foreground. I love the game's art style, but, specially on the fourth world's factory levels, there are many areas where you can't tell if that object is a backdrop or something that you can stand on. They blend too easily together, and it's very off-putting.
• Jerky camera. When using the Bouncy ball or the Giant Ball, the camera seems to move extremely haphazardly. In one of the fourth world's challenge levels, where the Giant Ball is used extensively, I got a bit nauseous from the constant, quick camera movement. The camera also seems to focus on questionable parts of the screen at times, forcing up to look up or down to see what you need, rather than 90% of the screen being solid wall.
• Blob's AI. Blob moves all right for the most part, but there's too many moments where Blob is stuck and you need to keep calling him. It would've been less irritating if a "quick whistle" button was implemented to quickly transform Blob into a Balloon instead of having to press C on the nunchuk over and over.

Although I really like the game, these are a few of the flaws that keep it from being a masterpiece, IMO. Hopefully they're fixed in a sequel.

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: Mop it up on January 21, 2010, 08:29:31 PM

I haven't yet gotten A Boy and His Blob, but I still hope for a sequel just because I'm enamoured with 2D games.

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 21, 2010, 08:44:21 PM

you missed it when it was on sale for $20  :(

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: Mop it up on January 21, 2010, 09:55:14 PM

That I did. I've missed a lot of sales, money's been tight as of recent.

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: KDR_11k on January 22, 2010, 07:48:52 AM

I think holding down C helps with whistling but that may just be a misperception.

Title: Re: A Boy And His Blob Director Wants Sequel
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 22, 2010, 02:07:59 PM

it doesn't and it is.