A Boy and His Blob - Development

Development

WayForward's director Sean Velasco, a fan of the original NES title, felt the series "had a ton of potential" and was "a title whose time had come to be re-imagined." He felt the title would be a natural fit for WayForward's signature proprietary animation and 2D visuals. The rights to the series originally belonged to Absolute Entertainment, but Majesco Entertainment was able to acquire the rights after Absolute went bankrupt in 1995. WayForward, already having a positive working relationship with Majesco, pitched the "idea of a very heartwarming Boy and Blob, and having a very friendly game" that both improved upon the usability of the original title and featured 2D hand-drawn animation "reminiscent of animated movies from the '80s." The designer of the NES title and co-founder of Activision, David Crane, was not involved with the Wii title. However, the new developers expressed respect for both him and his work when creating the new title.

In terms of faithfulness to the original NES title, producer Robb Alvey explained "(it's about) the original spirit of the game and creating something for this generation of gamers. If you're familiar with the original game, you'll recognize immediately the homage we pay to its origin. And if you've never played the original, it's not going to feel like anything 'retro'." Sean Velasco similarly expressed that the game is a "re-imagining" of the original title instead of a direct sequel or remake. Some changes made to the gameplay include frequent save checkpoints and unlimited jellybeans.

Marc Gomez, as art director, was responsible for most of the game's signature look and feel. He wanted to do something very soft, inspired by the works of filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. The decision to make the boy "much younger and rounder" than his NES counterpart was also Marc's, as was the idea of making the blob "a more faithful companion (similar to) a dog." With the new, younger design for the boy and the blob, Marc "wanted them to have (a) mutual need for each other... One can't progress without the other." Overall, the game has around 4,000 unique frames of animation.

In terms of the game's controls, Sean Velasco wanted something "very intuitive for the family crowd" and wanted to "avoid anything that doesn't directly serve the game itself" such as, "waggle controls simply for the sake of waggle". The "hug" button is a vestigial feature of a more fleshed out emotion system abandoned during development. Managing the blob's emotions and keeping him happy throughout the game proved too much of a hassle during testing, so the mechanics were largely thrown out. However, Sean Velasco felt the in-game hug was "too heart-melting to ignore," so it was kept.

Velasco remarked that its simplicity allowed them to create a "very heartwarming...and friendly game" and to really highlight a "major component of the game, which is the friendship between the boy and blob." Gomez explained that "everything is about subtlety. There will be hints here and there letting you in on what is taking place. The story will develop as much as the player wants to venture in the details."