Hey there! 🙌
It's so good to see you all here! Today I'm going to tell you a story about the boy who lived...? Nope! About the boy who became the light - so to speak. This is the story of the first Bulb Boy game. Enjoy!💡
🟨 The spark that started it all (2014) 🟨
The idea to create a game about a boy with a light bulb instead of a head was born in 2014. At the time, Szymon was preparing various sketches in the style of a classic adventure games. One of our mutual friends noticed one of these childlike drawings and commented: “He looks like his head is glowing.” That one sentence was enough to spark our imagination. That's how Bulb Boy was born – a hero whose light was to illuminate the dark corners of a bizarre, grotesque universe.
When creating Bulb Boy, we drew on memories from our childhood and youth. We were inspired by old adventure games such as Gobliins, as well as more contemporary titles such as The Neverhood and Machinarium. We still love games that allow players to immerse themselves in unusual worlds - worlds full of puzzles, quirky characters, and atmospheres that you can lose yourself in. That's the kind of experience we wanted to give others.
(Bulb Boy concept / art)
🟨 The bittersweet process of creation 🟨
The production of Bulbware's first game was intense. On the one hand, there was the immense joy of creating our own project and the satisfaction of small successes. On the other hand, there were moments of doubt and problems. Our first Kickstarter campaign ended in failure, which could have stopped all work. However, something unexpected happened then - an investor who needs no introduction knocked on our door. PewDiePie saw the potential in the prototype and supported the project. This gave us wings.
It took us a little over a year to create Bulb Boy. During that time, we learned everything – from technicalities and puzzle design to coming up with dark and absurd characters. When the game was released, we received very positive reviews from the media and players. However, alongside the satisfaction, there was also disappointment – the sales results were far from what we had expected.
{Good old times, with 'Felix PewDiePie' Kjellberg)
🟨 Nintendo coming to the rescue 🟨
We didn't give up and worked on ports of the game at the same time. Each new version brought Bulb Boy to an ever-wider audience. The key moment was the release on Nintendo Switch. Our game was among the top 100 titles available in the eShop - 63rd, to be exact. This opened the door to a whole new group of players and allowed us to survive the most difficult moment in the studio's history.
A dream come true and a door to the world!
The success of Bulb Boy was like a childhood dream come true for us. In an instant, we stopped being just people who “wanted to make games”, instead we became a real development studio with our own hero who won the hearts of fans. This time gave us the opportunity to travel the world, participate in trade shows and industry events, meet extraordinary people, and share our project with thousands of players!
That's how our adventure with game development began - from a spark in a sketchbook, through failures and unexpected support, to success that gave us the courage to dream even bigger.
In the next devlog, we'll talk about how the idea for Bulb Boy 2: Jar of Despair was born and why we believe this story deserves its own, even brighter spotlight 💛
So all I can say now is... Take care and remember... May the light bulb be with you and guide you through the darkness! 💡
BULBWARE's SOCIAL MEDIA ARE HERE