blaston – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

September 30, 2021

Blaston Quick Draw Update Adds Wild West Duels, Free Weekend On Steam

A new seasonal game mode featuring wild west gunslinger gameplay is now available in Blaston. The new mode celebrates the game’s first birthday, alongside a free weekend promotion and discounted price on Steam for PC VR players.

The Quick Draw update will be one of the bigger ones since the Crackdown update, which added a single-player campaign a few months ago. By contrast, this update adds in a new multiplayer game mode that dials the action back a bit and focuses on a cowboy-themed showdown in a dusty desert terrain.

As you can see in the embedded trailer, you’ll be equipped with only one weapon, the Deadringer, with a special skin made especially for the game mode. The weapon will spawn in front of you, just like weapons normally do in Blaston, except in Quick Draw mode it’s all about who can grab and shoot the opponent fastest.

“The initial idea for Blaston was a western-style shootout,” said Resolution Games CEO and Co-Founder Tommy Palm in a prepared statement. “So being able to include a nod to that in the game while also appealing to a new and broader audience is really fun.”

In addition to the new mode, there will also be new in-game event challenges on weekends, running throughout the seasonal Quick Draw event and starting from October 8.

The free weekend promotion is available on Steam only, so you’ll need a SteamVR-supported headset to take part. For those on Oculus Quest, there’s no free weekend for the native Quest store version, but you will be able to try the title out on Steam through Oculus Link or Air Link if you have a VR-ready PC. The free weekend runs until 10am PT on Monday.

If you give Blaston a try and like what you find, you’ll also be able to take advantage of a limited ‘Weekend Deal’ on Steam, which sees the game reduced by 30% until October 6 at 10am PST. Plus, anyone that logs into Blaston during the sale period will receive $5 worth of blasts (Blaston’s in-game currency) for free, which you can use to purchase cosmetic, avatars and weapon skins.

The Blaston Quick Draw update is available now across all platforms, and the Blaston free weekend is available now on Steam for compatible VR headsets until October 4, 10am PST,

July 14, 2021

Demeo Dev Resolution Raises $25M Investment

Demeo and Blaston developer Resolution Games closed its Series C funding round with $25 million, which it says will allow for new titles, continued game updates and studio growth.

This brings the studio’s total funding to $38.5 million. The Series C round was led by Qualcomm Ventures LCC and BITKRAFT Ventures, along with Knutsson Holdings AB. There was also participation from investors from prior rounds, such as GV, MizMaa, GP Bullhound and more.

According to a statement from Resolution, the additional funding will allow for studio growth and continual updates of their existing VR titles:

The studio plans to dedicate more resources to ongoing development of existing titles as well as delivering additional live games. Already with more than 100 employees internationally, this latest infusion of capital allows the studio to accelerate company growth even further and scale ahead of the projected market growth as the industry model shifts toward games as a service (GaaS), which requires larger teams to support games post-launch with live-ops teams.

Boaz Peer, Senior Investment Director at Qualcomm Ventures Europe and Qualcomm Isreal, is joining Resolution Games’ board of directors. Malte Barth, a founding partner of BITKRAFT Ventures, will join as a board observer.

Resolution Games are the studio behind several prominent VR games, such as Demeo, Blaston, Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale, Angry Birds VR and many more. Demeo is one of our favorite VR games of 2021 so far and managed to land the top spot on our list of best multiplayer games on Oculus Quest. The game launched with just one campaign, but recently released an update with a second — Realm of the Rat King. According to Resolution Co-Founder and CEO Tommy Palm, this is just the first of “many new adventures” in the works for Demeo.

July 2, 2021

Facebook VR Head: Quest Ads Weren’t ‘Communicated Well’ But Backlash Was ‘Too Much’

Andrew Bosworth, VP of Facebook Reality Labs, responded to recent criticism and backlash surrounding Facebook’s decision to start testing in-headset ads, stating that the backlash was “frankly too much”.

The program was set to start with a test of in-game ads in Blaston from Resolution Games, but Resolution Games decided to pull out less than a week after the announcement. The studio said it was still considering testing the program in its free fishing game Bait!.

In his latest Instagram AMA, Bosworth responded to the backlash in a series of short videos. He noted that Facebook hadn’t communicated the news “very well”, emphasizing that ads were intended to be “contextual and relevant”, and enable another revenue stream for developers.

But the executive also noted that he was “kind of staggered” by the reaction to the news and that he ultimately felt like the backlash was “too much”.

We’ve transcribed the segment below or you can watch it in full via the embedded video above.

Bosworth: Yeah. This one kind of blew up a week or two ago and it surprised me and it’s our fault. I don’t think we communicated very well. We’re here for developers. That’s the best way to help consumers have great content is to help developers build a business. So we are looking at ads for them, but it’s important that you hear me say ‘for them’ — it really is for developers, so they can take it, they can leave it.

Some developers decided to opt out. That’s totally fine with me. I think for some developers and for some content it’s going to be great. It’s also going to drive lower prices for consumers. As developers can spend less money trying to acquire consumers in the first place. I’ll be honest, I was kind of staggered people were like, “You’re going to put ads in my eyeballs?” I mean, yeah, it’s obviously not an app that you’re gonna use if they do a bad job of it. So for me, I’ve always believed in ads, I believe in great ads and that involves ads that are contextual and relevant and that’s kind of what we do.

So, you know, I get it. People were like, “you’re going to put ads on a device that I bought.” It’s like, yeah, like every other device that you bought. People are tweeting me that from their iPhones. So they bought a device, an iPhone, that has ads on it and their TV and every the device. It’s up to you what you engage with.

So to finally answer the question, it’s really up to developers, how they want to build these things. I think they’re going to want to do it in ways that feel native, that feel good to consumers. Cause that’s what they’re in the business of doing. We see this a lot already in sports games, where it actually enhances the realism to have the same sponsors.

So basically I don’t have a strong opinion about what the ad formats are. I think the real key is are they effective for the advertiser? Are they effective for the developer? Do they result in a good experience for the consumer? We care about all those things. And so it’s super early, like incredibly early. And the backlash was frankly too much.

June 22, 2021

Blaston Reverses Facebook’s VR ad Testing After Backlash

There was quite a bit of furore in the virtual reality (VR) community at the end of last week when Facebook announced it was going to begin early testing of VR ads, starting with Resolution Games’ PvP shooter Blaston. Well, as you’d expect this didn’t go down well and sparked an almighty backlash against the videogame. And Resolution Games most definitely listened, issuing a statement confirming Blaston’s removal from the test.

In a couple of tweets via the Blaston Twitter account the developer said: “After listening to player feedback, we realize that Blaston isn’t the best fit for this type of advertising test. Therefore, we no longer plan to implement the test.” This was then followed up with: “To make it clear, we realize that Blaston isn’t the best fit for this type of advertising test. As an alternative, we are looking to see if it is feasible to move this small, temporary test to our free game, Bait! sometime in the future.”

Blaston launched last year as a relatively cheap and cheerful shooter where two players stood on podiums trying to whittle each other’s health down using guns. The twist is that all the projectiles move in slow motion. It was well-received by critics and players alike for its easy to pick up and play mechanics. Since the ad debacle, you’ll notice on platforms like Steam and Oculus Store that there’s been a deluge of negative reviews purely due to the advertising news.

Whilst some are simply annoyed by the sheer prospect of advertising in a VR videogame, the general feeling seems to be that ads are fine in free-to-play titles enabling a developer to generate revenue but in a game you pay for it’s a big no-no. Advertising in games is nothing new but the subject of where and when they should be used – especially in VR environments – is far more contested.

Hence why Resolution Games mentioned moving the advertising test to one of its earliest VR titles Bait! which is free across all supported platforms. This is still a test at any rate with Facebook yet to mention how these plans may progress. At the time of the original announcement, Facebook did say other titles will be rolled into the test, those studios may have now reconsidered!

The backlash has slightly marred Blaston’s big Crackdown update this week. This has seen a new single-player campaign arrive, avatars and skins, as well as an upgraded social hub.

As the topic of VR advertising continues to divide the VR community, VRFocus will bring you further updates.

June 21, 2021

‘Blaston’ Reverses Course on Testing In-game Facebook Ads After Community Backlash

Blaston, the VR dueling shooter from Resolution Games, was the subject of a controversy within in the VR community after agreeing to test a new in-game ad system from Facebook. The company says it has decided no to go forward with testing ads in Blaston, but may do so with its free VR fishing game, Bait! (2016), in the future.

Last week Oculus announced that it would begin testing a Facebook advertising system inside select VR games. VR studio Resolution Games and “a couple other developers” were said to be participating in a pilot of the system. Blaston was the only title specifically named in the announcement, and Oculus used the game to show examples of how ads might appear inside of VR games.

An example using Blaston to illustrate in-game ad placement | Image courtesy Facebook

That made Blaston the center of discussion among members of the game’s community— and the VR community at large—which understandably would rather not see advertising in their games.

Part of the contention is that Blaston is a paid game ($10), which some feel means the game shouldn’t run ads. If anything, some said, in-game advertising should be limited to free games.

Today developer Resolution Games backtracked on its decision to test the Facebook ad system following the community backlash.

“After listening to player feedback, we realize that Blaston isn’t the best fit for this type of advertising test. Therefore, we no longer plan to implement the test,” the studio wrote on Twitter.

But Resolution Games hasn’t backed away from the idea entirely. A follow-up tweet posted three hours later said, “to make it clear, we realize that Blaston isn’t the best fit for this type of advertising test. As an alternative, we are looking to see if it is feasible to move this small, temporary test to our free game, Bait! sometime in the future.”

The debacle came at a bad time for Resolution Games as the studio just today released an update for Blaston which added new content to the game—content which the studio might have hoped would pay itself back over time from in-game ads.

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Many games today use monetization strategies other than a single, up-front charge. This has become increasingly popular for games designed for continuous play, as the model helps pay for ongoing support like the running of multiplayer servers and development of new content. Many games with this kind of model, like Fortnite, are free-to-play up front, but offer optional in-app purchases for ongoing monetization. But there’s also plenty of examples, like PUBG, which ask for an up-front cost and also monetize further with in-game purchases.

In-game advertising, however, isn’t commonly seen in these sorts of games. If anything, the in-game advertising model is much more common in the mobile gaming sector, and often sits right next to in-game purchases that may even offer to remove the advertising for a fee.

While the decision to use in-game advertising might have been seen as perfectly normal in a mobile game, it seems that VR—even when technically running on a mobile platform like Quest—is seen by many as being distinct from mobile gaming, and there’s a clear desire from some in the community to keep it that way.

Facebook, however, is far from the first company to play with VR ads. HTC revealed a similar in-game advertising system for VR content on Viveport back in 2017, though the program never caught on. Google experimented with VR ad formats as well, though the company has since exited the VR space. And there’s plenty of examples still of companies aimed at making advertising part of virtual reality, though it is something that users have largely rejected.

The post ‘Blaston’ Reverses Course on Testing In-game Facebook Ads After Community Backlash appeared first on Road to VR.

June 21, 2021

New Blaston Crackdown Update Adds Single Player Campaign

During the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2021 last week Resolution Games revealed a couple of incoming updates for two of its titles. The first arrives today for PvP shooter Blaston. Called the “Crackdown” update, players will have a single-player campaign to beat as well as additional content.

In the new campaign players will have to fight their way through four AI characters before finally facing their boss, Argentia in what should be some grueling matches. At the same time, players will learn a bit more about this dystopian universe by stepping into Scrapper Street. Only by playing the campaign will you be able to unlock and earn your way into the new fighting location, Scrapper’s Market, offering a much more gritty environment than the flashy original arena.

Completing the campaign will not only unlock the new arena but players will also gain access to the Octo Agent avatar, ModOps skins and the Viper Ellipse gun as a reward.

And then there’s the upgraded Ozo Lounge, the social space at the heart of Blaston. With the new improvements, players can use Tokens to play an enhanced version of arcade title Alien Blast – which is now called Super Alien Blast – as well as a jukebox to liven up the party. Plus, if you want to feel like you’re really inside Blaston Resolution Games has integrated bHaptics support for its TactSuit range.

Blaston has also been in the news for other reasons. Last week Facebook announced it was going to start testing ads inside VR videogames beginning with Blaston. Whilst this was only an initial test the announcement has led to Blaston getting review bombed on Steam and Oculus Store.

VRFocus said in its review: “Blaston is another one of the great examples that can only be made in VR and a perfect fit for Oculus Quest. The fast and furious gameplay is instantaneous, grab a gun and shoot it, with the real enjoyment coming from dodging all over the place.”

Blaston supports Oculus Quest and Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. The “Crackdown” update is free to current Blaston owners. For further updates from Resolution Games, keep reading VRFocus.

June 21, 2021

‘Blaston’ Gets Single-player Campaign & Social Features in New ‘Crackdown’ Update

Blaston (2020), the online duel-shooter from Resolution Games, released an update today called ‘Crackdown’ which brings a host of new content and social features to the game, which includes a single-player campaign.

Resolution says the new single-player campaign not only acts as a way to enhance the game’s overall appeal (there’s a boss fight), but also gives new players a way to get more comfortable with the game before heading off to duel real competitors.

In the campaign, Crackdown is said to flesh out the world of Blaston by introducing two competing factions. Here’s how Resolution describes it:

Now players, who take on the role of a new NeoTexx contender, can not only wade through the Octopresence ModOps forces cracking down on illegal Blaston matches in The Warhouse arena, but they can also make their way to the new arena, Scrapper’s Market, and take on their boss, Argentia.

The update also brings new social features that should help players better connect. A new social hub, called Ozo Lounge, lets players socialize, challenge each other to duels, take pictures and upload them to Discord, enjoy the jukebox in Disco 99, and play a newly refined version of Super Alien Blast, the game’s arcade-game-within-a-game.

Oh, and if you happen to own a bHaptics TactSuit, Crackdown also includes support for the Quest version of the game, so those users can feel incoming hits.

“We’ve seen more than 4 million online matches of Blaston played to date, and we’re just getting started,” said Tommy Palm, founder and CEO of Resolution Games. “With new players discovering Blaston every day, we’re committed to building out our virtual world of underground combat for a long time to come. Crackdown is just one of several significant updates that are already on our roadmap — with a big focus on giving competitors everything they need to feel like a virtual champion.”

Blaston is available on Oculus Quest and SteamVR headsets. If you haven’t had a chance to play, check out our hands-on with Blaston to see why we liked it so much.

The post ‘Blaston’ Gets Single-player Campaign & Social Features in New ‘Crackdown’ Update appeared first on Road to VR.

June 17, 2021

Facebook Begins Testing VR Ads Starting With PvP Shooter Blaston

It’s finally happening, Facebook has announced its now testing in-headset virtual reality (VR) ads, a feature everyone knew was coming but not necessarily looking forward to. When it revealed the v29 update in May, ad testing was part of the Oculus App as a way to make discovering new content easier. The in-headset ads feature is a different beast, designed,in part, to help developers generate revenue.

Unlike ads you might see online or whilst playing a mobile videogame Facebook is working on unobtrusive ads – often called “in-play ads” – that don’t suddenly pop up and ruin your gameplay experience. Instead – just the the above gif indicates – these adverts are naturally installed into the scenery just like you’d see at a football match or F1 race. Developers can then include these ads into their products, which in turn generate additional revenue.

“This is a key part of ensuring we’re creating a self-sustaining platform that can support a variety of business models that unlock new types of content and audiences,” states an Oculus Blog post.

The testing is still early at the moment with Resolution Games’ shooter Blaston being the first. Further titles will be added in the near future as Facebook gathers feedback from studios and the community alike. The ads won’t be out of your control either, as Facebook says you’ll be able to manage what is shown to you. “We’re including controls to hide specific ads or hide ads from an advertiser completely. Users can also access more detailed Ad Preferences from any ad via our “Why am I seeing this ad?” interface.”

In-play ads are nothing new as companies like Admix have been leveraging this type of advertising for several years now, mainly in the mobile gaming space. It’s popular with mobile developers as the market is dominated by free-to-play titles so finding additional way to generate revenue is a bonus, especially for indie devs. VR is slightly different due to most apps requiring an upfront payment but the market is much smaller than mobile so there could be some way to go before ads in VR generate significant funding streams.

That’ll only happen when VR goes truly mainstream which Facebook and Oculus Quest 2 is pushing towards. For further updates on this features continued rollout, keep reading VRFocus.

(Disclosure: Admix is the parent company of VRFocus)

June 15, 2021

Blaston Crackdown Update Adds Single-Player Campaign This Month

Later this month Blaston is adding a single-player campaign to its dueling shooter with an intense boss fight.

The Crackdown update to Blaston arrives June 21st. It was announced during the Upload VR Showcase. Check out the details in the video below with a sneak peak at at the boss:

Until this update, Blaston has been a multiplayer shooter that’s a bit like a cross between Ironlights and Wands. The player is restricted to a small platform in which you need to dodge slow-moving projectiles sent by the other player. It launched in October last year on PC VR and Quest with strong reviews. Alongside the new single-player campaign, Resolution is also adding more depth to the world around the core gameplay, with a token system and a new area to find and unlock.

Blaston comes from Stockholm-based Resolution Games which is building out a slate of multiplayer VR games. They’ve launched incredible tabletop role-playing game Demeo (which is also getting a new campaign this month) as well as cross-device asymmetric title Acron: Attack of the Squirrels, frantic kitchen game Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale, as well as Angry Birds VR and more.

Resolution revealed earlier this year the studio saw a 500% boost in downloads across all of their VR titles after the Oculus Quest 2 launched.

You can find Blaston on Steam and the Oculus Store.

April 7, 2021

Blaston Adds New Ricocheting Vector Gun And Seasonal Quests

Multiplayer shooter Blaston from Resolution Games reached a milestone after monthly updates with the latest new features adding seasonal quests as well as a new Vector gun with bullets that bounce on surfaces.

Blaston from Resolution Games

The latest updates also balance weapons and add new reward upgrades, along with the expected bug fixes. For those unfamiliar, Blaston is a dueling game that’s sort of like Ironlights and Wands — you face off in 1v1 battles with players contained within small platforms that limit where they can dodge the slow-moving projectiles. It released last October for both PC VR and Quest to very strong reviews on both Steam and the Oculus store.

Resolution Games is a Stockholm-based studio developing a pretty solid reputation for building family-friendly VR games, particularly ones that focus on fun multiplayer mechanics. Acron: Attack of the Squirrels has one player in VR playing against others on tablets or phones, while Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale adapts the frantic kitchen multiplayer mechanics of Overcooked to VR. They’re also the studio behind Angry Birds VR as well as casual VR fishing game, Bait. The studio is also developing tabletop role-playing game Demeo due out next month.

Earlier this year the company revealed they’d seen a 500% boost in downloads across all of their VR titles after the Oculus Quest 2 launched. They didn’t reveal sales figures, but they published a chart (that’s missing a Y-axis label) showing a large relative bump in sales when Quest 2 released.

Have you played Blaston? Let us know in the comments below what you think of it.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated with info referencing downloads and sales success after publication.