Topic: WayForward Speaks On Blob Development

[NWR_DrewMG]

A post-mortem at Gamasutra reveals the challenges of how to make a boy and a blob.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=21144

 Recently WayForward spoke with Gamasutra regarding the development of A Boy and His Blob.  The discussion covered many topics, including the type of team that developed the game, the vision of the product, and the type of development strategies employed by WayForward during the creation of the game title.    

A Boy and His Blob had a core development team of only six people, but by project's the end included over 35 game developers.  Blob took 11 months to develop, and was originally pitched by WayForward to Majesco at E3 2008.      

During the testing phase, WayForward brought in children between the ages of seven and eleven to playtest the game for them, relying on their feedback to determine what would appeal to their target audience.    Every Friday, the entire team was gathered to watch someone new – whether it was a child or an adult -, play the game.    Towards the end of development, there was someone playing the game full time, while a developer would be altering the levels on- the- fly depending on the result of the playthrough.  The result was a level of polish that both WayForward and Majesco felt satisfied with.    

Majesco supported WayForward the entire way through.  Initially they had concerns about the art style of the game and the marketing possibilities.  Eventually, the game was pitched to them as "sincere and heartwarming, with serious artistic integrity."        

The entire feature is available here at Gamasutra.

[ejamer]

I like reading these post-mortems.  You get an interesting view into how games are made, and sometimes it becomes easier to sympathize with any perceived shortcomings too (coming from a professional environment where deadlines occasionally dictate results).
 
My favorite quote from the entire article:
"Subsequent games using these animation techniques are going much more smoothly."
 
The animation and art style was wonderfully refreshing for A Boy and his Blob, and knowing that more games are in progress with the same animation techniques is great news.  Anyone who hasn't seen or played it yet should at least rent the game once to see how good it looks!

[NWR_DrewMG]

Agreed on all points.  I would love to see more games like this. 

[Kairon]

WayForward brought in children between the ages of seven and eleven to playtest the game for them
...
Eventually, the game was pitched to them as "sincere and heartwarming, with serious artistic integrity."

More developers need to realize that artistry, style, and excellence exist beyond the ages of 18-25.