BoxBoy! was originally going to have larger stages, less story
Like most projects, BoxBoy! underwent some changes throughout development. The core idea of “creating boxes in order to make your way through puzzle landscapes” remained the same, according to director Yasuhiro Mukae. But there were a couple of things that changed in the final game.
Originally, HAL Laboratory was planning on creating “large stages that you could really sit down and spend a great deal of time playing.” The team also added “story elements in a move to encourage players to enjoy the game all the way through to the end.”
Mukae told Engadget:
Ever since the idea phase, BOXBOY! was centered around the idea of creating boxes in order to make your way through puzzle landscapes. We were able to proceed with development without this core gameplay concept changing much at all, from the very beginning.
One major change that did occur was how the game is structured overall. At first, we created rather large stages that you could really sit down and spend a great deal of time playing. We later reconsidered this, restricting the amount of content per stage and changing the structure so you could complete each stage more quickly. We also added story elements in a move to encourage players to enjoy the game all the way through to the end.
Mukae also commented on how long it took to complete BoxBoy!’s development. “Between the initial experimentation we did and the official project launch, it was about a year and a half,” he said. “We devoted half a year to experimentation, and once we kicked off the official project, it took us a year to wrap up the game.”
