Support NeoGAF

[beelzebozo]

Probably my favorite genre, criminally neglected, is the pushing things around in an orderly fashion genre. Where can a person go to push things in an orderly fashion in such an age of this? Nowheres i tell you! In a time of complete, pushless despair, perhaps nothing can stop this dark period of inertia.

Enter: BOULDER BOY.

I've bitched for years about not having a portable Lolo game, thus I turn my fate over to the glorious world of indie game development, and the passion project of a small team committed to entertaining me when I should be doing work.

Teaser Video

Boulder Boy: A Retro Game Throwback That Rocks! - Kickstarter page

GOAL

$36,000 to fully fund the project, by September 22

PLATFORMS

Boulder Boy’s initial release will target the iOS, Android, PC, Mac & Linux platforms with a Nintendo Switch port as a stretch goal. At this time, online distribution methods are being discussed and have yet to be finalized.

WHAT IS IT?

Roll back to the past with Boulder Boy! Help Boulder Boy lift the curse that has rocked his world. Use your head to push through puzzles in an authentic retro playground plagued with traps and adversity!

Boulder Boy is a new title that harkens back to the classic Japanese design sensibilities of the 80s and 90s. Boulder Boy is inspired by fondly remembered titles such as The Adventures of Lolo, Sokoban, Pengo and Kickle Cubicle.

Striving for those classic aesthetics, Boulder Boy certainly looks the part with beautiful retro sprite art and pulsing NES-style synths.

FEATURES

• Authentic sprite art inspired by the late-greats of the NES/Famicom era.
• A retro chip tune soundtrack that ROCKS.
• Easy to learn, difficult to master mechanics that punish and delight in equal doses.
• An action-puzzler of a variety unseen in decades.
• Hundreds of levels spread over several uniquely themed worlds.
• Funny, irreverent presentation that is as much of a homage as it is a send-up to the titles that inspire it.

GAMEPLAY

Puzzles!

Action!

Controls that work smoothly on pc, mac, linux, and ios!

WHAT CAN I DO?

Contribute!

If you love Lolo, Sokoban, and Mole Mania, kick in and make this happen! Don't let the dream of a spiritual follow-up to these neglected games fall by the wayside. Don't let the indie space be a veritable trash dump of Metroid and rogue-like wannabes!

DO THE RIGHT THING. Click here and go kick in!

All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people with money to do nothing!

 

[tim.mbp]

They need to put a team info in the kickstarter page. Not knowing the developers experience or lack there doesn't make me want to contribute.

 

[andymcc]

They need to put a team info in the kickstarter page. Not knowing the developers experience or lack there doesn't make me want to contribute.

We are updating with that tonight/tomorrow morning!

 

[RM8]

Why aren't there more Lolo clones? This looks nice. And mobile is actually a great fit.

 

[-KRS-]

This looks pretty neat. Will keep an eye on it.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

This looks great, will back if it gets close to the Switch stretch goal.

 

[Tain]

Backed this the other day, best of luck to the devs!

 

[andymcc]

Backed this the other day, best of luck to the devs!

thanks!

also, added a bit more about us as an update. thanks everyone for the nice words!

 

[LasagnaPastrami]

Been waiting for something like this I can play on my iPhone! I checked the Kickstarter page out the video is funny and informative and their donation rewards are neat, you can be part of the game! Good luck to the devs and their Kickstarter goal

 

[beelzebozo]

is the song we hear in the teaser the main level theme? i'm curious how you're approaching that question of the central level theme, if that's handled like lolo where there's one basic song for the "game board," or if the music will vary across different levels.

there's an island feel to the game that kind of reminds me of adventure island nes.

 

[andymcc]

is the song we hear in the teaser the main level theme? i'm curious how you're approaching that question of the central level theme, if that's handled like lolo where there's one basic song for the "game board," or if the music will vary across different levels.

there's an island feel to the game that kind of reminds me of adventure island nes.

As of now, it's the first world theme. Unlike Lolo, there is much more thematic variety between the worlds which obviously will impact the sound of the music but also the mechanics of the levels. For example, enemy types, stage hazards and level gimmicks change based on the world theme.

For the record, the second world theme has an even more chill, laid back tropical vibe (it's actually a beach stage!). The third stage, which hasn't been shown yet, has a spooky lead (not telling you what the theme of the stage is tho!!!).

 

[The Illiterati]

The LoLo games are great. I don't really think of them in the same way as Sokoban etc games even though they're obviously related. I want Lolo back.

 

[beelzebozo]

As of now, it's the first world theme. Unlike Lolo, there is much more thematic variety between the worlds which obviously will impact the sound of the music but also the mechanics of the levels. For example, enemy types, stage hazards and level gimmicks change based on the world theme.

For the record, the second world theme has an even more chill, laid back tropical vibe (it's actually a beach stage!). The third stage, which hasn't been shown yet, has a spooky lead (not telling you what the theme of the stage is tho!!!).

this is all great news, as the single stage theme that just went on and on was one area that HAL really phoned it in with lolo. i love the idea of the levels changing thematically--that really feels like a step forward and nice evolution and expansion of this concept.

The LoLo games are great. I don't really think of them in the same way as Sokoban etc games even though they're obviously related. I want Lolo back.

i agree, i categorize sokoban and lolo quite differently. this definitely seems more like the latter, though, or even something like SNES goof troop, or toki tori--bright, colorful, character-driven puzzle games that deal heavily with spatial reasoning.

 

[jb1234]

Why aren't there more Lolo clones? This looks nice. And mobile is actually a great fit.

Yup, my first thought is that this is a genre that could defintely use more exposure. Will be keeping an eye on this Kickstarter.

 

[andymcc]

this is all great news, as the single stage theme that just went on and on was one area that HAL really phoned it in with lolo. i love the idea of the levels changing thematically--that really feels like a step forward and nice evolution and expansion of this concept.

Gosh, I'm not usually the kind of person who mutes game soundtracks but when your already two hours into retrying a later stage in Lolo you're already pulling out your hair....

The LoLo games are great. I don't really think of them in the same way as Sokoban etc games even though they're obviously related. I want Lolo back.

My main impetus for wanting to make this. A game I wanted to play.

 

[andymcc]

Just a heads up: we're gonna do some live streaming over Labor Day. We're gonna play games that influenced Boulder Boy and maybe we'll show off some gameplay footage too

 

[Ben Morales]

I love Sokoban games! Little Magic is probably my favorite Sokoban-like game of all time and this one has a cutesy factor similar to it. Will be watching for sure!

 

[beelzebozo]

Just a heads up: we're gonna do some live streaming over Labor Day. We're gonna play games that influenced Boulder Boy and maybe we'll show off some gameplay footage too

let us know this is happening here? i'd love to see it. in particular, i'm curious as you're playing some of these influencing games to hear about elements you pulled, or were inspired by.

 

[andymcc]

let us know this is happening here? i'd love to see it. in particular, i'm curious as you're playing some of these influencing games to hear about elements you pulled, or were inspired by.

Well, the choices are still up in the air. If anyone has any suggestions, we're open to them! you can also hit us up on Twitter @bikkurigames where all of the dev staff have access. There will definitely be a Lolo or two though

We're making an update on the Kickstarter pretty soon. But, before that, here's some cute sprite gifs made by our resident artist.

Just a cute one of our enemy sprites:

A test of our first boss: PUGSNAKE

Have a good long weekend!

 

[beelzebozo]

holy shit! that design.

 

[andymcc]

To those interested we are streaming Boulder Boy influences!

Come hang and ask questions if you want!

 

[andymcc]

We made an update!

Here we show off one of the bosses (i shared an early image of it on here) and concept art for another!

The Pug Crab! See a theme? Pug everything!

 

[ornery]

BOULDER BOY UP IN THIS HOE

WATCH ME CRANK IT, WATCH ME ROLL

 

[andymcc]

BOULDER BOY UP IN THIS HOE

WATCH ME CRANK IT, WATCH ME ROLL

I approve.

 

[andymcc]

We got a pretty nice write up in siliconera

http://www.siliconera.com/2017/09/09/boulder-boy-lolo-like-puzzle-game-magic-pugs-determined-rocks/

Pretty good tag line imho