Every week-ish, I'll post a "Weekly update" to let you know what is going on in the colorful world of VR Furballs. This is the episode 32 :)
GAMEPLAY MAGAZINE
I received a wonderful gift in my mail box around Christmas. The guys from the "GAMEPLAY" magazine (published in Belgium) sent me their January 2019 edition. They reviewed "VR Furballs - Demolition" and gave it an amazing score of 85/100!!!
It's simple, from the 8 VR games they reviewed in the magazine, only "Beat Saber" got a higher score (86/100), then "Red Matter" was not far with a 84/100. Thanks so much to the guys at "GAMEPLAY" for such an honor. I was reading lots of magazines like that when I was younger, and seeing my game in one is really amazing!
HELP US TRANSLATE THE GAME
You may not know it, but "VR Furballs - Demolition" is available in 15 different languages:
Bulgarian
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Dutch
English
French
German
Greek
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese
Portuguese-Brazil
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
The new Party Mode is already translated in English, French, Chinese and Korean. It is missing translations in the other 11 languages. Click below if you want to help:
We are also looking for translations in more languages. If your language is not translated yet, go check this post:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/704470/announcements/detail/2933400383266087264
DECEMBER COVERAGE
Big thanks VRFocus for being the only VR news website to follow up on the game.
And another big thanks to everyone who played or talked about VR Furballs - Demolition in December:
MaterGamingVR on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1omJZdNwHmY
Fdruid on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-zByEEVisio
The Baron on Youtube: https://youtu.be/rMVxsPebqsA
STEAM REVIEWS
Thanks to all of you who wrote a Steam review of the game. It reached 100 reviews yesterday, and all of them are positive!
For those who haven't reviewed the game, please take a few seconds to do it:
Don't hesitate to give us feedback about the game, to report bugs, or to give us ideas. Do it here or on Discord. VR Furballs was created for you, so we'd love to hear what you think about it!
Thanks again to everyone playing VR Furballs - Demolition! See you next week!
Steeve
Gamily Studios
HAPPY 2019 + BYE BYE 2018
First of all, the Furballs and I wish you a Wonderful, Happy, and Furry New Year!
But before jumping into 2019, which will be a really tough one for both the Furballs and myself, I'd like to look back at 2018. It was the first year out in the world for the VR Furballs, and we had quite a lot of up and downs...
AN ENCOURAGING START
VR Furballs - Demolition got out in Early Access on Steam on the 2nd of January 2018, so it will be celebrating its first release day soon. Back then a few hundreds curious players gave it a try, and honestly I didn't expect that much at first. Quite a few YouTubers also tried it, and I was so pleased to see that a vast majority of them really enjoyed the game. Of course the game was not perfect, and far from being finished, but overall this start was really encouraging.
A LONG ROAD
VR Furballs - Demolition got out of Early Access on the 21st of November 2018, so it took 11 more months to finish the 30 missing levels of the game (as well as improving a looot of other things). It wasn't an easy period, especially when the game was not selling much anymore after the first weeks (merely one copy a day). Luckily a few of you were of great help, and having you around to help and encourage me made a huge difference, so... LionXV, shane4games, Flag, kylatae, BOLL, computerchy and FunkeymonkeyTTR... THANK YOU. I know the Discord got a bit crowded lately, but I really hope you'll stick around.
THE ARCADE VERSION
On the way I try to go the Arcade path (or "Location Based" market). Quite a few VR Arcades have VR Furballs - Demolition in their catalog. But it does not take their either, and the revenue their are negligible. I hope the addition of the Party Mode will help a bit, but I'm not expecting too much.
THE RELEASE
The official release was somewhat disappointing. It reached my low target in term of sales, but once more, after the first week, it was back down to a copy a day or so. The Oculus Store release had the same effect. And finally, the Christmas update seems to not have helped much. On the positive note, I want to thank the LIV community here. A lot of LIV streamers made awesome mixed reality videos of the game the past 2 months, and once again, I was so happy to see that most of them enjoyed the game a lot.
THE RECEPTION
This is from far the most positive aspect of this VR Furballs adventure so far. The game counts now 98 Steam reviews, all of them positive! And there are soooo many sweet words in those reviews. I'm really happy and proud I managed to bring so much fun and joy to some of you by creating these adorable Furballs.
THE HAPPY TIMES
There was also quite a few happy moments over the year, starting with every single time one of you wrote a nice Steam review, or a nice message on Discord, or streamed/uploaded a video of the game. There was also the Early Access Level Creation Contest. I was amazed by the levels you all created. And there was those 2 times I presented the game in salons.
THE HARD TRUTH
But releasing a "simple" yet good game nowadays without a proper marketing budget seems to be mission impossible. There will always be those rare games that will shine and explode because of their exceptional attraction, but obviously VR Furballs - Demolition is not one of those. So, once again, to those who think that "making a good game" is all it takes, let me tell you that it is absolutely not the case.
THE UGLY
I want to thank again all those influencers who accepted to give the game a try, and the few press that talked about VR Furballs - Demolition. But then I want to point out all those bigger VR influencers and that weirdly biased VR press that never did. For some of the influencers (and the bigger they are, the more true it it), it is simply a money thing, they simply won't play games for free anymore, even if it is one of those rare gems, that's why you won't see VR Furballs on these channels. And for that VR press, it's simply because they are extremely biased. They seem to be only interested in either certain types of games (FPS, space stuff, etc...), or of course, big brands. You can be sure that they all made big articles about the upcoming Angry Birds VR.
THE COMING YEAR
2019 will be tough, for both the Furballs and I. It will be a happy tough for me, because I'm going to be a Dad. Not sure how happy it will be for the Furballs. As I said above, Angry Birds VR is coming, and it already made a 100 times more noise than the Furballs did. Although I'm sure the Furballs will be up to the fight, it will be quite an unfair one. You will still see the VR Furballs coming to the PSVR and Oculus Quest platforms this year, no matter what, but for sure, the arrival of the birds makes everything more complicated.
ALL IN ALL
Do I regret the VR Furballs adventure? No. I'm so proud of what I have achieved. It would of course have been better if it had been a financial success as well as a critical-acclaim... but I'm so happy it was at least one of them. Luckily the story doesn't end here, because I managed to maintain a healthy side-activity by freelancing for other game studios around the world half of the time. So I'll be carrying on with the VR Furballs for at least another year!
I wish you and the VR Furballs a happy and successful year 2019.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
The Furballs and I wish you all a Furry Christmas... wait, no, a Merry Christmas! We hope the real Santa will be as nice as Santa Furry was. You already got a nice Party Mode for the holidays. We hope you're having fun with it ;)
See you next week for a longer post about 2018, and about the coming year that will be a really tough one for the Furballs apparently.
Christmas update: NEW PARTY MODE
The big Christmas update is here! It brings a nice Christmas vibe for the holidays with its Christmas trees and Snowmen, and a brand new Party Mode!
PARTY MODE
WHAT IS THIS NEW PARTY MODE?
A perfect game mode for Friends or Family gatherings
A series of up to 6 mini-games arranged in a competitive way
An oversimplified game mode made for all ages
This Christmas, VR Furballs - Demolition turns into THE GAME that will make your Family and Friends fall in love with VR.
GAME UPDATE
Other than the new Party Mode, here is what changed in the game:
New: Added a 8 Bomb hits in a row bonus score in the Hit the Bomb mini-game.
Improvement: Use the OS language by default if the Steam settings language can't be retrieved.
Bugfix: Fixed buttons not showing up in the DEMO after re-playing the Balloon Fest mini-game before going to explore the Full Game levels.
Here is the development board of the game:
https://trello.com/b/Igk45fOo/vr-furballs-demolition
PLEASE WRITE A STEAM REVIEW
For those who haven't reviewed the game, please take a few seconds to do it. It's quick and it helps us a ton. Here is the direct link:
https://store.steampowered.com/recommended/recommendgame/704470
Don't hesitate to give us feedback about the game, to report bugs, or to give us ideas. Do it here or on Discord. VR Furballs was created for you, so we'd love to hear what you think about it!
Thanks again to everyone playing VR Furballs - Demolition!
Steeve
Gamily Studios
Weekly #31 - Upcoming Christmas update with new Party Mode
Dear Furballs,
Every week-ish, I'll post a "Weekly update" to let you know what is going on in the colorful world of VR Furballs. This is the episode 31 :)
UPCOMING CHRISTMAS UPDATE WITH NEW PARTY MODE
A big update is coming for Christmas. On top of the Christmas vibe, a brand new Party Mode will be added to the game.
This Party Mode is made for family or friends gatherings. The idea is to make everyone play the mini-games one by one, in a simplified and (a bit) competitive way. The goal is to make it so simple that anybody could pick it up instantly ;)
A first BETA version of this new Party Mode will be available in a few days. Please join the VR Furballs Discord to join the BETA and help us make it perfect :)
HIDDEN GEM
Thanks to all your great reviews on Steam, VR Furballs - Demolition made it to the Top 25 Hidden Gems ranking on Steam250 (both VR and non-VR). It even climbed in the Top 20 since I took that screenshot. It's really amazing!
PLEASE WRITE A STEAM REVIEW
For those who haven't reviewed the game, please take a few seconds to do it:
https://store.steampowered.com/recommended/recommendgame/704470
WEEKLY COVERAGE
Big thanks to everyone who played or talked about VR Furballs - Demolition the past weeks:
Autour d'un VR on VR4Player.fr : https://www.vrplayer.fr/playstation-vr-autour-dun-vr-5-podcast/
The Black Glove Gamer And Lil Jay on Youtube: https://youtu.be/MODdZpGq-2Y
Zitronenarzt VR on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qc34aM7sAv0
VR Power Hour on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/342724798?t=00h23m30s
POP2Review on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2a_HSPti7jk
MeganDanger on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/341693553
The VR Grid on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kfiapd2BFNY
Don't hesitate to give us feedback about the game, to report bugs, or to give us ideas. Do it here or on Discord. VR Furballs was created for you, so we'd love to hear what you think about it!
Thanks again to everyone playing VR Furballs - Demolition! See you next week!
Every week, I'll post a "Weekly update" to let you know what is going on in the colorful world of VR Furballs. This is the episode 30 :)
WE MADE IT OUT OF EARLY ACCESS
We did it! After 22 months of development, including 10 months of Early Access, VR Furballs - Demolition finally got out of Early Access. Big thanks to everyone who got the game during the Launch Discount. You are now more than 900 people playing VR Furballs - Demolition. Unfortunately it is still very very far from the success we were hoping for, but knowing that you all love the game makes us extremely happy!
Keep helping us by letting others know that the game is worth a try... write a Steam review:
https://store.steampowered.com/recommended/recommendgame/704470
MIXED REALITY WITH LIV
VR Furballs - Demolition is fully compatible with the LIV Mixed Reality technology. A lot of Mixed Reality videos came out this week. We're preparing a small compilation, but for now, go take a look at how cool those are:
Wirrel42 on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/335714755?t=00h07m00s
RevChumley on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/334618950
HeyFalcon_ on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/336047797?t=00h30m00s
Fdruid on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6TCH8osuUcs
MeganDanger on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/335628196?t=00h15m00s
comedypipe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ciDIkrxyNqU
Andy Ma on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zw_wZsSDI1E
Tiddy VR Live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VkZAPamKabQ?t=663
Big thanks to all the streamers!!!
WEEKLY COVERAGE
You were also a lot playing VR Furballs - Demolition without Mixed Reality. Here are all your videos:
Syrsly on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/335714755?t=01h41m00s
Skunkynator on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/334214862
Mr & Mrs VR on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tQe2hgmKc5g
VR4Player.fr on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zeq9rMI0-KY
VRLAB DV on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Qd32SxA2-UE
Dexter and his toys on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0pdk1CnKUts
It's Taliyah Exposite on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7aL0m9hzjEk
It's Taliyah Exposite on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nkkR2Mr8nNk
Bok3Ron on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SY7GRu2D0_k
VR365 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ASSClmtxhkc?t=1585
Big thanks to all of you!!!
GAME UPDATE
Both the full version and demo version of the game have been updated earlier this week with the following changes:
New: Added LIV support to Oculus Rift owners. Let's make Rift Mixed Reality videos!
New: Added a holographic Mixed Reality camera when teleporting to preview where the camera will be.
New: Added "-noarcade" parameter to force not using the Arcade version.
New: Added a holographic pillar when changing HMD orientation to preview the new orientation.
Improvement: Improved Controller Teleportation orientation (arrow on the ground represents your play space front direction, and holographic head shows where your head will be looking at after teleporting).
Improvement: Mixed Reality camera is now hidden when LIV is not attached.
Bugfix: Fixed Teleport Rings had collision.
Bugfix: Fixed World 4 - Level 7 breaking by itself sometimes.
Bugfix: Fixed puff effect missing on the left pillar in the "Pillars rising" cinematic.
Bugfix: Fixed Level 3 of the DEMO not unlocked in the Level Selection menu.
Bugfix: Fixed Korean characters were missing.
Here is the list of the known and fixed bugs:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/704470/discussions/0/1692659135903288420/
WHAT'S NEXT
Here is the plan for next week:
Finish the Official Press Release.
Follow up on the Oculus Store submission.
Don't hesitate to give us feedback about the game, to report bugs, or to give us ideas. Do it here or on Discord. VR Furballs was created for you, so we'd love to hear what you think about it!
Thanks again to everyone playing VR Furballs - Demolition! See you next week!
Every week, I'll post a "Weekly update" to let you know what is going on in the colorful world of VR Furballs. This is the episode 29 :)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Our cute Furball Furry also found a costume for Halloween! You can go check this out in the full version of VR Furballs - Demolition right now ;)
NEW KEY ART
VR Furballs - Demolition has a brand new Key Art. What do you think about it?
GAME UPDATE
The full version of the game has been updated earlier today with the following changes:
New: Say "hellooo" to "Pumpky", Furry's evil orange twin.
New: Added World 3 - Level 7: "The Windmills".
New: Added World 3 - Level 8: "The Fast and the Furriest".
New: Graphics quality setting will now be set properly at first launch according to your hardware.
Improvement: Fixed dust effects disappearing suddenly at the end of the intro cinematic.
Improvement: Fixed dust effects fighting each other in the pillars rise cinematic.
Bugfix: Fixed initial stability of certain levels that would break by themselves right after being built.
Bugfix: Fixed Graphics quality setting on Oculus platform.
Bugfix: Fixed Baddy King clipping through its cage when nodding in the World selection menu.
Here is the list of the known and fixed bugs:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/704470/discussions/0/1692659135903288420/
WHAT'S NEXT
Here is the plan for next week:
Keep working on last missing levels (only 2 left)
Continue reworking the marketing assets (still on-going)
Don't hesitate to give us feedback about the game, to report bugs, or to give us ideas. Do it here or on Discord. VR Furballs was created for you, so we'd love to hear what you think about it!
Thanks again to everyone playing VR Furballs - Demolition! See you next week!
