Tag Archives: ouya

Robert Pelloni releases and retracts background on bob’s game development

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bob's game faq

On January 30th, reader anonymouse commented that Robert had a new page that gave what he called “disturbing insight into the history of ‘bob’s game‘.” Personally, I think calling it disturbing is too strong, but I did find it very interesting. It was available from http://bobsgame.com/faq/ but has since been removed. It’s been replaced with a simple message. “Please wait for the full story and don’t post what was already here. Thank you.”

I’ll admit that I did save a .PDF copy, but I’ll respect his wishes. I hope he wouldn’t mind if I do at least say that it provided a bit of history and context to his development of bob’s game, and it reassured me that he really was trying to get this released. I’m looking forward to the “full story.”

I also received two comments (here and here) from reader shicky256 / Nathan M. on January 28th that Robert uploaded some new YouTube videos. While they weren’t all interesting to me, a few were and showed the location at which he did some of the development it seems.

February 2nd brought a comment by a reader who simply used the name “Who is Bob???” He points out that the bob’s game OUYA game was released. He links to a review of the game on OUYAbrew.com. To be clear, this bob’s game is simply a single puzzle game that’s supposedly a minigame from the RPG. (Although it is pretty complex and changes rulesets, so maybe calling it “simply a single puzzle game” is an understatement.) I’d just like to be clear that this bob’s game is distinct from the bob’s game RPG and from the bob’s game within the bob’s game RPG.

The strange tale of “bob’s game” attempts to keep the entire story of Robert Pelloni and his game organized. I’m going to consider these updates part of Act IX and update the article accordingly.

To everyone who’s following along or contributing to the conversation here on this blog, thank you! I appreciate all the comments, and I’m glad that there are still people interested in bob’s game. I know I don’t always update immediately when I receive a tip, but I’m glad to receive them!

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Robert Pelloni answers my AMA questions

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Pelloni started an AMA on reddit last week, and he took the time to answer my questions. There were no amazing reveals or anything, but it was nice to hear his answers.

I assume you refunded the BobsPasses because you didn’t sell enough to make a difference. Was that the reason, or was there another?

Correct, and I ran out of time to continue full time work on the RPG.

The .nds demo felt different than the Java one, but they’re obviously from different points in the RPG. Are they both still relatively indicative of the feel of the final RPG?

The Java version is the definitive version now, it is cleaner and I’m happier with the code. I am going to try a Javascript rewrite and maybe a C++ one, not sure which first.

Most people I know aren’t interested in bob’s game anymore. This seems primarily due to a lack of trust in you, thinking that you’ve been lying. I understand what they mean about the protest and the like, but I think it was also a performance and viral marketing more than lying.

Correct.

Were your intentions at other stages in bob’s game fully honest, or was there more to them? In other words, were you really hoping to release the nD, and what happened to it?

I did try to pursue funding for the nD and was talking to the Dingoo manufacturer. It did not go well, so I did what I could and turned it into a virtual console. nDworld was originally intended to be a connected portal for the handheld. By now I don’t think the nD is that relevant of an idea, and making a cheap Android handheld (nDroid?) would be better.

Did you really want to sell BobsPasses, or was that a commentary on gamers’ willingness to give money to a game that might not fully exist?

I was seriously selling them, but also kept it as a bit of commentary given the circumstances. It fit the situation well.

You do actually want to get the Kickstarter funded so that you can release the minigame and eventually the RPG, right?

Yes, I don’t know how to do anything else.

I hardly know what to believe anymore, but I’ve enjoyed both the marketing for bob’s game and the demos themselves. I’d love to sit down and play the full RPG someday! Thanks!

Thank you. I’d love for you to play it too.

Source: [bob’s game] my puzzle game (for Ouya/PC) Kickstarter needs some traction, AMA! : gamedev, Robert Pelloni, reddit.com, 12/9/13.

Direct link to comment: robertpelloni comments on  [bob’s game] my puzzle game (for Ouya/PC) Kickstarter needs some traction, AMA!, Robert Pelloni, reddit.com, 12/15/13.