**EDIT 1:**
The AMA has been a blast, guys! Questions are starting to slow down, so I am going to start looking for the Nintendo Switch game key winners! Don’t worry; I will also answer a few more questions throughout the evening. Stay tuned for the winners!
**EDIT 2:**
I had trouble choosing, but the winners have been selected: u/FreakPsych, u/RunnerJimbob, u/ArthurAlexander24, u/uke_traveler, and u/GameboyRavioli! Please check your chats so I can get you hooked up with a game key! Thank all of you guys for the awesome questions!
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Hi, I’m Narwhalnut and I’m an indie game developer!
Just a few months ago, I accomplished my childhood dream of launching one of my own games on a Nintendo Console. Belle Boomerang is a fast-action platformer packed with beautiful pixel art and exciting variation in every level! It is as tough as nails, but as cute as plush toys!
**Features:**
ā¢ An Array of Powerful Abilities:
There is no shortage of unique power-ups to keep the energy high!
ā¢ Bursting with Charm:
The lovely backgrounds and music celebrate the 8-bit era!
ā¢ Grand Boss Battles:
Test your mastery of Belle Boomerang’s many mechanics in rich, multi-segment bosses.
ā¢ Retro Difficulty:
Challenging action is met with modern design and precise controls. Do you have the reflexes?
[Here’s the trailer!](https://youtu.be/f7uAeiItAUY)
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Not only that, but **Belle Boomerang** **is on sale today for 50% off!**
[Here’s the store page!](https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/belle-boomerang-switch/)
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Ask me about anything: pixelart, chiptunes, level design, my favorite games, or absolutely anything else! I’ll be giving out a few Belle Boomerang keys to some of my favorite questions.
If you want to see more of my work, give me a follow on some of these places:
[Here’s my link tree!](https://linktr.ee/Narwhalnut)
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**I will start answering questions at 11am ET / 8am PT / 3pm GMT.**
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https://preview.redd.it/cpwizwrdcaib1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=0d8675ada45ef1b0269ed7b94b40466d8d76b247
by NarwhalNut
26 Comments
First of all, congratulations!! Getting a game on a Nintendo console is cool as hell. How surreal does it feel?
Also based on the screenshots, I’m guessing early Kirby was an inspiration for the aesthetic?
Knowing now what all it took to get to this point, what has you most excited for the future? Any takeaways from this experience you’re excited to delve into further?
Oh looks fun I might pick it up!
Question: if you had one magic wish what would you wish for?
Neat looking game, congrats on the launch! I’m curious about how you learned the skills needed to develop this game. If you could go back in time, what insights would you share with your former self to help development go faster/smoother etc. Said another way, what do you know now about game development that you wish you knew when you started out on this journey.
I’ve got a bunch,
– Did you do everything yourself? Or did you have help?
– What engine did you use for this?
– Based off youtube it looks like you’ve been at this for about 3 years, how did you work, level by level or did you do all the art first, then the music, then the levels, etc?
– What was the biggest challenge that you ran into?
– And last but probably most important: How did you manage to get the mods to change the banner?
I had a bunch of gold points so I’ll be playing your game while I eagerly await your answers š
Looks great! Was it actually developed as a NES game or on some kind of NES maker? Aside from widescreen, it def looks like you were working within NES limitations with the graphics and music (I say that as a compliment). Would it be possible to release this on a real NES cart thru Retrobit or a company that does that sort of thing?
Thatās super cool! Congratulations!
What led you to deciding on the boomerang as the iconic/signature weapon?
Looks adorable and already bought it after looking at the trailer.
Looks like it took inspiration from games like DuckTales and/or Mega Man with a little bit of Kirby.
Iāve got no question (sorry) but I hope people pick this up so you can continue to create more if your ideas.
Nice congrats!
So now that you are done if there anything you would have done differently or wish you knew when you started?
Is this your first āmainstreamā game? What was the process like as you worked with Nintendo/got this game ready for the switch?
Congratulations and well done on such an achievement.
You’ve mentioned how challenging the game is – is there another game you would compare it’s difficulty to?
Looks awesome! I’d like to know where did you get the idea for the game’s theme. Also, which games would you say we’re the most influential in your journey as a game designer?
What was the inspiration behind this game? How did the idea evolve as you developed it?
If you had to pick 3 games that inspired you to make Belle Boomerang, what would they be?
What game engine did you use? Was it homebrew?
Where any moments of doubt like thinking you couldn’t do it. I think that’s probably a pretty common thing with all creator so I apologize for asking.
From the trailer, it reminds me of an original GB Kirby game! Super cool, what were your biggest influences in creating this game?
How long did the game take to make, and, how long did you think the game was going to take to make?
Have you seen what we do in the shadows?
What was your “coding-food”? I know some coders who would only munch on specific snacks while coding. š
Usually people draw inspiration for their designs from somewhere. Who or what inspired the designs of your main characters?
Congratulations from Qtoid.
Congrats on making your dream a reality! My only question is how tired are you because there’s no way I would’ve been able to sleep after dropping something like this! Once again congrats I love seeing people do good!
Here are a few:
-What was the most frustrating part of making this game? / what most made you want to quit?
-What was the process of getting in on switch?
-If you were to explain the game in 5 words, what would you say?
-At what point did you feel the most accomplished?
-Looking back at how it started, are there any changes you wouldāve made then that are too late to make now?
Awesome great job!
About how long to it take you to create the game, from the drawling board to being able to see it come to life?
How long did it took you to complete the game?