With PAX East in full swing, one prominent figure who was there to share his insights was Cliff Bleszinski, one of the key figures behind the Unreal and Gears of War franchises.
Last July, Bleszinksi left his job at longtime employer Epic Games to found his own studio, Boss Key Productions. They’ve since been hard at work on a new IP, a shooter currently titled Project Bluestreak.
Boss Key were on site at PAX East to host their own panel, and revealed teaser footage of this upcoming game to attendees, which PC Gamer managed to capture:
Not much can be discerned from this footage other than a very distinct combination of science fiction aesthetics with traditional Japanese architecture. The presence of a locker room filled with futuristic firearms confirms that this upcoming title will indeed be a shooter of some sort.
The game will also reportedly run on the Unreal Engine 4 and will be a free-to-play, the latter of which has stirred up some discontent in those looking forward to play it. Bleszinski defended the studio’s decision by insisting that Bluestreak will not follow a pay-to-win model, and that every item purchasable with real world money can also be earned through gameplay.
The studio also added that the free-to-play approach will keep the game “honest,” in that “if it’s not good, you’re not going to keep playing it.”
Project Bluestreak will be published by Nexon, a Korean F2P specialist whose credits include MapleStory and Combat Arms. Boss Key have stated their intention to continue adding content to Bluestreak well past its release date.
Aside from showing off this new project, Bleszinski also shared his experience with Valve’s recently announced Vive VR headset, saying that he “felt like the first time I went to Disneyland. It was absolutely magical.”
Indeed, Vive has been hailed by many media outlets who got a chance to try it as superior to the Oculus Rift. The key advantage Vive has over the Oculus Rift is its use of positional lasers to keep track of the user’s position within a 15 by 15 foot space. This allows users to literally walk around their environment with their own legs, rather than a controller.
Gamespot in particular has declared that “Valve has taken the lead in the VR arms race” after trying out the unit.