Despite the growth of mobile gaming, PC games continue to show strong success, between streaming sessions on Twitch and growing communities that show support for them. One of these games is Block N Load, an innovative first-person shooter from the publishers of Runescape, Jagex.
The game has gotten quite a bit of attention since its release earlier this year, with its unique visuals and fun, constantly-changing gameplay, as you can see from the trailer below. And now, Jagex hopes to continue that success, as the game has officially gone free-to-play, so anyone can try it out without gouging their wallets.
We had a chance to sit down with the game’s design director, Ben Smedstad, to get a better idea of just how successful Block N Load has become, as well as what’s coming next.
First off, what would you say about Block N Load‘s success in its first few months of release Has your team already built up an ample community surrounding the game?
We have a core of passionate, skilled gamers that make up the center of the Block N Load community. They are very active on the message boards, join our twice weekly streams and participate in our chats and matches. Block N Load would not be where it is today, either in depth or quality, without their support and involvement.
For those who aren’t familiar with Block N Load, what’s the best way to describe it?
It’s hard to do without clichés! It s a game where building is definitely as important as shooting. You have a wide selection of Heroes, each with special weapons, abilities and blocks. You team up with four other folks, and are presented with an arena. You then have five minutes to build defenses around your bases, be as devious and smart as possible with turrets and landmines, traps and more. After those few minutes, the barriers are dropped and both teams set out to destroy enemy bases while defending their own. It s about teamwork, acting and reacting to what the other team is building and trying. Every single match is different and a win always feels rewarding. Lots of intense fun, in-game building and destroying. It s a whole new dimension in an FPS.
Did you get strong reception at the recent TwitchCon event What did you think about the event as a whole?
I wish I could have gone, but I had a lot of friends and former colleagues go to San Francisco to the Con. All were very excited when they came back, basically with the same message: You haven t seen anything yet, Twitch and streaming is going places. I argue it already has and am really looking forward to seeing how far this medium can go.
Would you say a game like Block n Load can thrive with online streaming sessions on Twitch?
Block N Load is great fun to watch. When you get two teams going against each other who know what they are doing, the ballet of building and destruction is amazing to witness: The moves they make; the clever traps and choke points; fighting over vision, the supply drops or the Blockbuster Boost – or just stopping an attack on a generator, get your popcorn out… It s worth the watch. Our official streams are Mondays and Thursdays at 8pm BST and the community team will take good care of you.
You stated that some “major changes” are coming to Block n Load. What are players to expect from these changes, and when would you say they’re coming?
This is a complete re-launch, not just an update. Here is a small summary of the changes:
A new Player and Hero Progression and rewards system; an entirely new Perks System; a challenge system; three new Heroes (for a total of 12); a new physics system; updated matchmaking and queuing; league features; a completely redone user interface; and more changes, balance tweaks and fixes than we can list here. A lot of work has gone into this Free-to-Play release, and we will continue to balance, polish and improve it for as long as it takes.
What’s probably the toughest part of promoting a game such as this to the Steam community or would you say the process is pretty easy?
Steam and its player community is great to be on and work with. We have found that people who try Block N Load for even a few matches, tend to stay and play and have a great time, but we have to get their interest in the first place. From there you hopefully have enough players to organically grow and say, Hey I tried out this game, it s cool and free, check it out, to others.
Is there any chance we’ll see Block n Load emerge on other platform’s consoles, perhaps?
Our focus is on PC right now, but nothing is off the table!
Finally, can we expect any expansions or sequels in the future?
Releasing our Free-to-Play update is just the next step for the game, not the last. New Heroes, new arenas, new modes and a lot more are on the way. We are listening and chatting to our community to see what they want in the future, whether it is specific heroes or balance, or whole new features they want to see in the future. That interaction really helps us to make the right decisions and prioritize what will come next for Block N Load.
Block n Load can be downloaded here.
