Ravenprose said:I was bored, so I typed up this interview. It was good typing practice too.
You should get bored more often!
Thanks for getting bored. This was a great interview.
Wayforward is starting to develop a niche for revitalizing 8 bit franchises, and (assuming this game turns out well) keeping very true to the original instead of Rygaring it. I'd really like to see them continue on this path. They obviously have a passion and respect for the old-school games and that's whats needed to bring them back to life.
Thanks Raven, big time. Miyazaki FTW!
When is Ninokuni out? 
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/693838/Exclusive-Interview-WayForwards-Voldi-Way.html
ANother interview
Iga_Bobovic said:Ravenprose said:I was bored, so I typed up this interview. It was good typing practice too.You should get bored more often!
When I get bored I scratch my balls. I am nowhere near as productive as Raven is when bored. 
New preview:
http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=8345
I have way too much ball scratching to do.
I will wait on reviews but the game is already doomed being a 2-D home console game not called NSMB.
Nintendo Power Interview: A Boy and His Blob
Nintendo Power: How did WayForward get involved with A Boy and His Blob?
Sean Velasco, Director: It’s funny . . . I’m not exactly sure how the seed was planted! I found myself absent-mindedly brewing ideas for a sequel to the classic original game. In the middle of the day, the boy and blob would creep into my mind and start making a ruckus. I relented and decided to put these ideas into a pitch. WayForward had happened to be talking to Majesco recently, so the stars aligned and the game was begun.
John Beck, WayForward CEO: Majesco has an approach that is really encouraging and receptive to finding out what developers would be passionate to work on. When Sean had the idea for doing this, we were able to approach Majesco right away, and without feeling it would fall on deaf ears. We wish more publishers would take that approach because there is a pretty straight line between developer passion and highly praised games.NP: Why does WayForward have a passion for this property?
Sean: Like most children of the ‘80s, I grew up playing NES games. A Boy and His Blob was a breath of fresh air because of its focus on platform puzzling. Using your character mobility inventively as a lock-and-key mechanism is one of my favorite designs, so I loved the concept! Finally, the story of an awkward boy and his magical companion is a classic formula. For our new game, we want to really emphasize the friendship between our characters.
NP: What games have the dev team members working on this title been involved with recently?
Sean: I recently assistant-directed on Contra 4. Most of our team members were on Contra 4, and one or two were major players on LIT. As you can imagine, this game is quite the change of pace from horror-puzzling and alien-shooting.
Marc, Gomez, Art Director: Yeah, I worked with Sean before as animation director on Contra 4. Working with the same team helps a lot. We all know where our strengths lie.
NP: How does the new A Boy and His Blob tie in with the original game? Are these supposed to be the same characters? Is it a sequel? A remake?
Sean: This game is sort of a retelling of the original game. The boy and blob are not necessarily the same characters as before, but the situation and transformations are similar. Come to think of it, it’s a lot like the Legend of Zelda series in that way. If it’s a good enough explanation for Nintendo, then it’s good enough for me!NP : What can you say about the story?
Sean: The blob crashes down to Earth, looking for a hero to help save his home planet, Blobolonia. However, he finds a little boy instead. The two become fast friends and embark on a quest to get back to Blobolonia and overthrow the evil emperor.NP: The game looks absolutely amazing. How did you arrive at the graphical style? What served as an inspiration for the graphics and animation?
Marc: When deciding what look we wanted, we first focused on the mood and emotion we wanted to evoke. We took this inspiration from Miyazaki films, Winnie the Pooh’s friendship with Christopher Robin, and The Iron Giant. From there we decided the best direction was to go traditional with our animations. We have many experienced traditional animators working with us, so we ramped up quickly.NP: What was the process like designing the visuals?
Marc: Seeing as how we’re working with blobs, I didn’t want to give anything too hard of an edge. Everything in the game should feel soft and squeezable. I made the boy much younger than in the original A Boy and His Blob because I felt it helped portray his innocence. Both the boy and the blob should develop emotionally as the story progresses. Enemies were complex to come up with. Since they are blobs, you’re not sure if you want to run from them or hug them. I think the question to ask is, “Why aren’t more games 2-D?”
NP: What sort of approach are you taking with the music and sound?
Daniel Sadowski, Composer: For the musical approach, I felt that I wanted to inject many musical ideas into a different, unique sound. First, I felt that the score naturally ended up being a mix of orchestral music, film-score music, Japanese-video-game-influenced music, and a little bit of old retro-sounding music from the days of the old 8-bit scores. Secondly, this is a sentimental story about the relationship between the boy and his blob, so I definitely wanted to add that emotion into the score. Finally, this is also an adventure game, so I tried to put those elements into the game as well.I have to say that if we were to make another game of this type. I would like to continue this mix of music that I have created, and of course I would love to actually do a lot more music, so that perhaps the score would never loop! This is a composer’s dream!
NP: What kind of abilities will the blob have? How will the selection compare to the original game? What sorts of new jelly bean flavors/abilities will be available?
Sean: We have a comparable amount of jelly beans to the original game, some of which have returned from the original. The punch hole lets you drop down to lower areas and can be used as a trap for unsuspecting enemies. The tangerine trampoline will let the boy bounce to ridiculous heights and grab secret goodies. I don’t want to give too much away, but we have on transformation that really gets the boy rolling, and another one that has explosive possibilities . . .NP: Will there still be ketchup jelly beans? Because those always sounded pretty gross.
Sean: The ketchup bean (which made the blob catch up to the boy in the NES game) has been controversial amongst the staff at WayForward. I’ll let programming virtuoso Larry Holdaway take the floor.Larry Holdaway, gameplay programmer: The ketchup bean always felt like a bit of a cop-out to me. There is a potentially fatal gameplay dilemma created when your toolbox (the blob) can move independently from your hero. It leaves open the possibility of permanently separating the two, thus dead-ending the game for the player. The easy but inelegant solution is to allow the player to warp the toolbox back to the hero. Let’s just say that I’m not a fan of easy, inelegant solutions . . .
NP: Will the gameplay still revolve entirely around feeding the blog jelly beans and using abilities or will there be other aspects? Will the boy have any innate abilities of his own?
Sean: The majority of the gameplay involves using the blob to help you. However, the boy will have new abilities like jumping and tossing beans in a variety of distances and angles.
NP: What sort of challenges will the characters have to overcome?
Sean: First of all, the player will have to contend with the environment! Pits of brambles, long drops, crumbling precipices, and wind that blows the boy around are just a few of the obstacles you’ll face.
Also, the emperor’s minions are everywhere on Earth and Blobolonia. They range from a mischievous bird who eats your jelly beans to bull-charging baddie that rushes at the boy. Since the boy and blob aren’t fighters, they have to use their brains to get out of sticky situations.NP: The original game was known for being very short if you knew what you were doing. How big is this game in comparison? What kinds of environments will you be exploring?
Sean: Our game has more than 10 times as much ground to cover as the original game! However, the new game is broken into a level structure so the player can play a level, then put it down and return later. There is tons of hidden treasure to find and secret to unlock, so you’ll be playing for a long time!
Throughout the adventure, the boy and blob travel from the natural beauty of Earth to the bizarre landscapes of Blobolonia. They will see forests, caves, and alien terrain: and they will witness firsthand the destruction that the Blobolonian emperor has wrought.
NP: A while ago when I spoke with Adam Tierney (director of WayForward’s LIT), he mentioned that one of his favorite classic games was Flashback and that game has some similarities to A Boy and His Blob. Was that an influence on pursuing this title and the direction you’re going with it?
Sean: Actually, one of my favorite games of that type is Out of This World, which was a sort of precursor to Flashback. We didn’t take inspiration from either title in particular, but our game shares the same meticulous attention to lush and believable environments.
NP: Why did you want to bring this title to Wii and not, say, DS?
Sean: Different versions were discussed, but we settled on Wii because the game could be so much bigger! That isn’t to say you should totally discount the possibility of the boy and blob appearing elsewhere . . . .NP: How will the controls work on Wii?
Sean: The game is played with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. We aren’t using any motion or IR control, so the game can also be played using the Classic controller.NP: The original NES game, though generally applauded, has received a mixed reaction throughout the years. How will this game be more accessible to all types of gamers?
Sean: The first game, even though it is a great concept, suffers from floaty control and confusing objectives. Our game will ease players into the game by introducing jelly beans slowly and carefully designing levels to make sure they are intuitive and silky-smooth.NP: In what other ways are you reinventing the property for a new generation of players and hardware?
Sean: This game is, at its core, a story of friendship. We’ve taken pains to make sure that the boy and blob are loveable. Also, we have tried to eliminate stifling gameplay conventions like menus, tutorials, and excessive hand-holding. Lastly, please pay special attention to the lighting in this game! The lighting was created especially for A Boy and His Blob and we are very proud of the atmosphere it lends to our levels.
Marc: I think the new look has a broader appeal and along with the other titles, hopefully we can bring back 2-D art to this new generation of gaming. These are exciting times for 2-D art, with the ability to display at higher resolutions and less color restrictions. You are only limited by your imagination.
NP: What’s your favorite Jelly-bean flavor/ability in the game? What about your favorite jelly-bean flavor in real life?
Sean: I can’t tell you my favorite transformation because it’s still a secret! In real life, I like them all except licorice.Larry: I think my favorite is plum, but I won’t tell you what it does. Sean, you can give me all of your licorice ones.
Marc: I had a whole bag of buttered-popcorn-flavored ones in the Reagan Library once. I got sick.
NP: Any chance that we’ll see the NES game included as a bonus?
Sean: If I answered every question in this interview fully, there would be no secrets left to reveal . . . .
NP: WayForward revitalized the Contra franchise, and you’re working on this. What is it about revisiting classic franchises that appeals to you?
Sean: Ask yourself: Isn’t it amazing to play a classic game and revisit the worlds that you experienced in you youth? Now imagine you had a chance to add to these worlds and craft them for a new generation of players!That being said, we are always cooking up ideas for amazing new games at WayForward. Hopefully, we can continue to reboot classic franchises and create awesome new original games.
NP: Is working with these classic franchises something you’d like to do more of?
Sean: I’m glad you asked. I would loved to have the reins of EVO: Search for Eden, Metroid, Mega Man, or Ninja Five-o
Marc: I personally would like to do River City Ransom; Adam wants to do Dig Dug.
Sean: If the right people are reading this, give us a call!
NP: Finally, why should players be excited about A Boy and His Blob making its long-awaited return?Sean: Everyone should look forward to A Boy and His Blob! Lush art, symphonic sound, and lovable characters will dazzle your senses. Most of all, the action-puzzle gameplay is delightful! It’s a classic game brought roaring into modern times, and I guarantee it is something very special.
Larry: Why? Because it’s made of win. Duh.